Supernatural: The Winchesters originally had a different name—Here’s why it was changed

Supernatural ran for 15 seasons, and brothers Sam and Dean still have a strong fan base. However, one interesting thing about Sam and Dean is that they were not initially planned to carry the surname Winchester.

While now it is impossible to refer to them with anything other than the Winchester Brothers, that was not the case in the beginning.

Created by Eric Kripke, it is already known that Supernatural had gone through multiple changes before it hit the small screens. Fortunately, these changes mostly worked in favor of the show.

Similarly, the surname Harrison, which was the original choice for Sam and Dean had to be changed to Winchester for legal reasons, and it goes without saying that the change has stuck well with the audience.

Sam and Dean’s surname was changed from Harrison to Winchester in Supernatural to avoid legal troubles

Eric Kripke had mentioned previously that the iconic Winchester was a late addition to Sam and Dean’s name as originally the plan was to call them Sam and Dean Harrison. This was meant as a tribute to Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford in Star Wars films. When the surname was decided, so was the location, and it was Lawrence, Kansas.

However, the makers got to know that Dean Harrison was actually a resident of the state Supernatural was going to be shot in and they thought it was best to change the surname to avoid any kind of legal trouble.

Thus the Winchester surname came into being, and fans were introduced to Sam and Dean Winchester instead of Sam and Dean Harrison. While talking about how the team settled on Winchester, Kripke mentioned that there was a gun company named Winchester in the 19th century and there was also a Winchester Mystery House in San Jose that belonged to the family owning the gun company, and both of these inspired the surname.

More about Supernatural

Led by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki who portray the Winchester brothers, Supernatural follows them as they deal with various supernatural entities, including ghosts, monsters, and more. Their story came to an end after 15 seasons and the brothers were reunited in heaven in the finale.

Talking about that emotional finale, Eric Kripke told Entertainment Weekly,

“I had a long talk with Jensen [Ackles] about it and I had a long talk with [co-showrunners] Andrew [Dabb] and Bob [Singer] about it and I think it's the best possible ending for the show. It was interesting, they pitched it to me and I went off to think about it for a couple days, and admittedly, me being me, I spent some time thinking, ‘Okay, is there any other ending I would pitch back that I think is better?’”

He further added,

“And I spent a couple days trying to chase down a couple avenues and couldn't come up with anything better. So I went back and I was like, 'Guys I think it's the right one.' There's some substance to it but there's something emotional, I think there's a positive energy around it.”

The finale was quite well received by the audience, and while Supernatural ended in 2020, the fandom is still alive and thriving.

Supernatural can be streamed on Netflix.

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