Ray Romano Didn’t Love the Title ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’

With such a snappy title as Everybody Loves Raymond, it’s no wonder so many viewers were interested in the show’s storylines, characters, and comedy. The phrase immediately piques a potential audience member’s curiosity: who is Raymond, why does everybody love him, and does he live up to the expectations? Strangely enough, the main character’s actor wasn’t in love with the title. In a 2022 interview with Larry King, actor and comedian Ray Romano shared the reasons why he felt that Everybody Loves Raymond wasn’t the best title for the series in which he starred.

‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ Doesn’t Fit the Character

In the March before the seventh season of the show aired, the cast of Everybody Loves Raymond joined King for an interview to talk about behind-the-scenes details, careers before the show, and the relationships on set. King brought up a rumor that Romano wasn’t the biggest fan of the title of the show, and Romano confirmed the rumor to be true. “First of all,” Romano stated, “you’re a stand-up comic, you have very low self-esteem to begin with.” Before creating Everybody Loves Raymond, Romano had been working as a stand-up comedian. It’s a staple for many comedians to use self-deprecating jokes, and Romano is no exception.

However, telling the audience that “everybody loves Raymond” in the title is potentially asking for pushback. No one likes being told what to do, and thinking that a character is used to everyone loving him could place assumptions in a viewer’s mind before even seeing the show. Ray Barone doesn’t agree with the title most of the time, but a new audience member wouldn’t know that and might wrongfully assign arrogance to the character. Titles can be tricky to choose, and this one began as a placeholder for the show that stuck around until finalization. Despite Romano disliking the title, he told King, “I’m learning to live with it now.”

The cast interview shed light on a lot of details regarding the show, including the origin of the phrase “everybody loves Raymond.” Romano stated, “[The title] came from a sarcastic comment my brother made, who is a police officer. And he said, ‘Look what I do for a living, and look at Raymond. Yeah, everybody loves Raymond.’” The sarcasm of Romano’s brother Richard Romano, a retired NYPD sergeant, laid the groundwork not just for the title of the show but for many of the main themes and premises. Rather than just being a one-off comparison, a jab between brothers, the phrase was changed to be Robert’s jealous and morose catchphrase. The sibling rivalry was highlighted for the show, and from there, Robert’s character began to flourish into something completely different from his inspiration.