Is Zillow named after a Dr. Seuss character?

Last night my kid requested a bedtime book we hadn’t read in awhile. There’s A Wocket In My Pocket by Dr. Seuss is a treasure trove of character names, even by high Seuss standards. There’s the Yottle In The Bottle, Woset In The Closet, Nink In The Sink, Zamp In The Lamp and of course the Zillow.

The “Zillow on my pillow” that “always helps me fall asleep.” So naturally when I woke up, I visited Zillow’s About page which, dubiously, says the following:

The Zillow name evolved from the desire to make zillions of data points for homes accessible to everyone. And, since a home is about more than just data—it is where you lay your head to rest at night, like a pillow—Zillow was born.

Seems awfully coincidental. And perhaps it is. But it could also be that Seuss royalties were just too high so the brand team—or founders who were bootstrapping the operation before there was a brand team—decided to write their own little story to hide the fact their brand is borrowed from Seuss.

A quick web surf reveals that I’m not the only one who’s asked this, but I’m unable to find any answers. So please speak up if you’re the Joe In The Know.