Wilson created the name 'Lululemon' because he thinks Japanese people can't say the letter 'L.'

He told Canada's National Post Business Magazine, "It's funny to watch them try and say it," when asked about his views on the Japanese pronunciation of the company's name.

In 2009, he wrote:

It was thought that a Japanese marketing firm would not try to create a North American sounding brand with the letter “L” because the sound does not exist in Japanese phonetics. By including an “L” in the name it was thought the Japanese consumer would find the name innately North American and authentic.

In essence, the name “lululemon” has no roots and means nothing other than it has 3 “L’s” in it. Nothing more and nothing less.