Why is the Baltimore football team named the Ravens?

Answer 1

A fan contest was held to select a new team name when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. The name Ravens was selected over 'Marauders' and 'Americans' due, in part, to the fact that poet Edgar Allen Poe spent the last years of his life in Baltimore, and one of his most famous poems is called 'The Raven'.

The Ravens name was picked based on the famous poem. Which is why the Baltimore Ravens' mascots are three ravens named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. If you have seen the M&T Bank commercial with Todd Heap and their mascot, you'll realize that they say, "Heap has it, Poe has it, Captain Defense has it. It's checking built for Baltimore, only from M&T Bank."

(The Browns name was transferred to the new Cleveland team, and both the Ravens and 1999 Browns considered "new expansion teams" created by the relocation.)
They chose a name that was felt personified both the city of Baltimore and also general toughness - Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" was felt to meet both criteria.

Answer 2

The team is named the Ravens after Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem "The Raven." Poe lived most of his life in Baltimore, and that's where he wrote this poem.