Behind the Meaning of the Band Name: Steely Dan American Songwriter Steely Dan is a band named after a dildo, which appears in Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. The songs are about a variety of colorful topics and characters, including drug dealers, hookers, DID YOU KNOW THAT ABOUT STEELY DAN? They're named after a dildo from the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. Donald Fagen recalled to Mojo magazine: "We had to come up with Did you know that Steely Dan got their name from a steam powered dildo, in William S. Burroughs book Naked Lunch? Anywho, here's a lady frog with a Fanny pack flying in