I read that the name Lynrd Sknrd was a spoof of a HS teach named Leonard Skinner who told the boys in the band they would amount to nothing.
Luckily for them, Ed King showed up.
That’s part of it. Skinner would harass them about having long hair etc.
A little trivia, before they called themselves Lynyrd Skynyrd, they were called “The One Percent” circa ‘69 or ‘70.
That was when my wife’s father and his partner recorded them in their local studio.....the 1st recording of Freebird was done at that time....before MCA discovered them.
Mr. Skinner was a crew-cut military veteran who tangled with these long-hairs in the mid-60s. Later on, they became good friends and it broke Mr. Skinner’s heart when they had that plane crash.