SSQ stands for 'Stacey Swain Q'. Stacey Swain was the lead vocalist and only female member of the group. Q is in reference to the group Q which Stacey Swain and Jon St. James were a part of prior to the creation of SSQ. In 1986 the band decided to focus in on the attention Stacey Swain was receiving and changed their name to Stacey Q... 'Stacey' for obvious reasons and 'Q' to represent the band.

In a radio interview on September 22, 2006, Swain revealed that the idea for the name SSQ actually came from Jon St. James. She said that he was fishing in a lake "no bigger than a bathtub" and made a joke that the boat was the "S.S. Q," a reference to his and Stacey's current band, Q.