For one, it’s a little more romantic than referring to it as simply “the garage”, and for another, it was the name of Lockheed Martin’s advanced design and engineering department for their classified aircraft. I am also a history and warplane buff, so the name seemed fitting.
“Skunk Works is an official
pseudonym for
Lockheed Martin's
Advanced Development Programs (
ADP), formerly called
Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, highly classified research and development programs.”