Sons of Anarchy is the name of the motorcycle club the series is focused on, but a fan theory suggests there’s a lot more to the name, and it’s all about Gemma Teller-Morrow. Created by Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy premiered on FX in 2008 and lived on for a total of seven seasons, coming to an end in 2014. The series was a hit from the beginning and was praised for its tone, the performances of the main cast, and the themes it addressed, most notably racism and corruption, not only within the title club but among others as well.
Sons of Anarchy tells the story of Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), VP of the motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy in the fictional town of Charming, California. When Jax finds a manifesto written by his late father, John Teller, in which he wrote his vision, plans, and goals for the club, he goes on a personal journey that makes him question his path, role in the club, his relationships, and more, especially as his father's ideas were very different from those of the current President (and Jax’s stepfather), Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman). A big player throughout Sons of Anarchy was Gemma Teller-Morrow (Katey Sagal), Jax’s mother, who is at the front and center of a theory on the real meaning of the name of the series and the club.
Although the name “Sons of Anarchy” makes sense for a group of men who ride motorcycles and want to break free from society’s rules, fans have given it a different meaning and interpretation when taking into account the personalities of certain characters and their role in the series. A theory posted on Reddit suggests that Gemma is at the center of it all, and she represents anarchy. This goes all the way back to her being involved in the death of John Teller along with Clay, which played a role in many of the problems and conflicts the club got into years later.
Gemma used her position as “old lady” of one of the founders of the club, wife of the president, and mother of the VP to show power and threaten people with it, which led to many conflicts that affected the club one way or another. Gemma also tended to lie a lot, which reached a peak moment in season 7 when she lied to Jax about Tara’s murder, making him believe the ones responsible were the Chinese, which got SAMCRO into a major conflict with the Chinese mob and other clubs and groups. Although Gemma was only the mother of one member of the club, the rest called her “mom”, and she served as a mother figure to all of them and their families, so that’s where the “sons” part of the MC’s name comes from.
Her role as anarchy and the trigger of it ultimately led to her death and that of other members, most notably Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) and Jax. This interpretation of the meaning behind the name of Sons of Anarchy matches Gemma’s role in the series and the events in the show, and it’s an interesting way of seeing the characters, their arcs, and a good explanation of why the events in every season happened the way they did.