Certain elements must be considered when choosing a name for a professional sports team. The name should be unique, versatile and it should represent the city. As a result, the name Chicago Fire was chosen by a group of people, which included Investor-operator Philip Anschutz, President Bob Sanderman and General Manager Peter Wilt.

The Chicago Fire was selected over other team name contenders such as the Blues, Rhythm and Wind because of the passion the name evokes. "The name Fire has such a sense of history in Chicago. We wanted a name that was a reflection of this great city, and everyone in this city knows about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871," said Fire GM Peter Wilt. "In addition, the rebuilding process that the city went through has become a great source of pride for Chicagoans.

"We wanted something with energy, something with punch and that flows. The classic-looking badge with the 'C' in the middle was a more conservative look that will stand the test of time. Because the Great Chicago Fire has such history, we wanted to use something with history, hence the 'C' in the middle of a Fireman type badge. We chose the 'C' to represent Chicago, similar to other sports teams in Chicago that use that characteristic in their particular logos, like the Bears and Cubs. The secondary logo, which features a speeding firetruck replacing the 'C', instills power and speed, something that shows force and cannot be stopped".

The six points in the middle of the logo are representative of the four six-pointed stars in the "City of Chicago" flag. The four stars in the city's flag represent four monumental events in the history of our great city, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World's Fairs of 1893 & 1933 and the Ft. Dearborn Massacre.