Looking to compete with a cracker made by their competitor Sunshine Biscuit, they tasked an employee, Sydney Stern, to create a name and advertising plan. Inspired by a hat, Stern created the name Ritz which appealed to individuals suffering in the Great Depression, offering them “a bit of the good life.

The name "Ritz" comes directly from the surname of César Ritz (1850–1918), the legendary Swiss hotelier who founded the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and The Ritz Hotel in London. Born the youngest of thirteen children to a poor peasant family in the Swiss village of Niederwald, César worked his way up from a waiter's apprentice to become the "King of Hoteliers and Hotelier to Kings." His obsession with luxury, impeccable service, and modern amenities (like en-suite bathrooms in every room) revolutionized the industry. His name became so synonymous with opulence and high-class living that it entered the English language as the adjective "ritzy" and inspired the Irving Berlin song "Puttin' on the Ritz." The modern Ritz-Carlton brand was formed much later when American developer Albert Keller bought the rights to use the "Ritz" name and combined it with the name of the "Carlton" hotel, another establishment César Ritz had managed. Thus, the global symbol of luxury today is effectively a tribute to a self-made Swiss man's reputation for elegance.