Do you know why Barbie is called Barbie? Ruth Handler had noted that her daughter Barbara preferred playing with paper dolls that looked like adults rather than like children. When in Europe, she noticed a German doll named Lilli and bought it for Barbara. Ruth and Elliott Handler, the co-founders of Mattel, bought the rights to market Lilli: with a hair colour change from blonde to brunette, and a name change to Barbie (after Ruth?s daughter Barbara). She was sold in the United States at New York?s annual Toy Fair.