The Bar X logo is derived from the Roman numeral for the number 10,000.

The name for the Foundation came from one of the board members, Brian Eno. He came up with the term after moving to New York from England where he found that what people meant when they referred to "now" in new York was quite different than in England. In England it meant "the time we are in," where in New York it meant "this minute." Accordingly The Long Now is defined as the last and next 10,000 years. That length of time was noted by Peter Schwartz as marking the beginning of agriculture and civilization as we know it.

"The Long Now Foundation", "Long Now", "Longbets", Longmail", "10,000 year Clock" and "Millennium Clock" are Trademarks of The Long Now Foundation. 01997 through 02002.