There have been several threads over the years, on electronics newsgroups
debating thhis question. Nobody vehemently denies the following
attribution, though quite a few concur:
Re: What's BNC stand for???
Author: Joe Seymour <joes@sr.hp.com>
Date:1996/10/28
Forum: sci.electronics.misc
BNC does not stand for British Naval Connector or Bayonet Navy Connector,
as it is often told in the US.
The N connector was developed by a committee in 1942 and was named N after
Paul Neill of Bell Laboratories, a member of the committee who worked on the
connector. The C connector followed this and the C came from Carl Concelman
of Amphenol. Concelman and Neill jointly developed the Baby NC connector.
Joe S.
Reference: September 1990 supplement to MICROWAVE JOURNAL
1990 State of the Art Reference, Microwave Coaxial Connector
Technology: A Continuing Evolution by Mario A Maury Jr.
This is an excellent article on the history and technology of connectors.