The familiar clover symbol of the club movement had a long history by the 1920s. The term "4-H," however, was more a shorthand name than the identification of a particular national movement. Probably more than anyone else, Gertrude Warren of the national staff for boys and girls club work at Extension, USDA was responsible for giving the name "4-H" to Extension's youth program in a formal manner.

Throughout the early 1920s she used the name in brochures and releases from the Washington, D.C. office. Indeed, Warren deliberately had used the name in a 1918 publication. At a conference of Extension youth leaders held in Washington shortly after the end of the war, Warren had the opportunity to promote the term 4-H as the official name of club work. Some at the meeting preferred the name "Junior Extension Work," but Warren's perseverance and the fact that the term 4-H had become a part of common usage for club work prevailed. By 1924, 4-H was recognized universally as the name of club work in the United States. The use of the name 4-H and the clover symbol gave individual members a sense of belonging to an organization that reached beyond their immediate area. And, like the emblem, the name is one of the best visible "tools" we have in promoting and publicizing the entire movement.