# Urban Legend - The Gap?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-the-gap/61808>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 13, 2001, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-the-gap/61808 "2001-04-13T09:54:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-the-gap/61808/1 "2001-04-13T09:54:05Z")

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I remember, many years ago, hearing that ‘The Gap’ was named for the triangle of open air that appears at the crotch of too-tight women’s jeans. (brings a whole new meaning to the old slogan ‘Fall into the Gap’) Has anyone else ever heard this? What is the True Origin of the name?

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**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-the-gap/61808/2 "2001-04-13T12:45:13Z")

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Sounds very much like an urban legend. [The Gap](http://www.gapinc.com/) website doesn’t have anything about the origin of the name, but the most common belief is that the name came from “generation gap.” For example, [Lexis](http://web.lexis.com/xchange/careercenter/VRCompanies/Other/Other.asp?_comp=GAP) gives that as the reason behind the name. I don’t know if Don or Doris Fisher (the founders) have confirmed that, though.