“While Jim Henson did have a childhood acquaintance named Kermit, it was not an uncommon name at the time, and Jim always said that the Frog was NOT named for this child from his elementary school. I think Jim just liked the sound of the name - it has nice hard sounds and a sort of nasal quality that make it rather funny. By the way, another Kermit worked in the Muppet Workshop and helped to build the original Big Bird! (Again, no relation to the Frog.) I think Jim did, however, ensure that future generations would not continue using the name for their male children!”
The "other Kermit" that Falk is referring to is Kermit Love, who began his career building puppets for Henson in 1965, with the La Choy Dragon.