Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel with her husband, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson in 1945, noticed her daughter, Barbara, playing with paper dolls ... Ruth named the doll Barbie, after ...

Handler was inspired to create Barbie after watching her daughter Barbara, the namesake of the doll, and her friends play with paper dolls ... she recalled in her 1994 book Dream Doll. “‘ ...