The duo was named after two real people. While going to college, creator Mike Judge lived next door to a destructive, unsupervised, 12 year-old who called himself "Iron Butt," as he claimed to feel no pain after challenging others to kick him hard in the rear. One of this boy's friends was nicknamed "Butt-head" by Mike Judge and his classmates. There was another boy who lived a few blocks away named Bobby Beavis, though Judge says that he was absolutely nothing like the character aside from his laugh.
The program was brought back for an additional season in 2011, 14 years after it originally ended. In 2020, it was announced to be coming back for at least two more seasons.
The show included the titular characters, wearing t-shirts that read AC/DC and Metallica, providing commentary on real-life music videos. The band Winger took offense to the biting comments made by the duo about one of their videos. Upon hearing this, a new character, Stewart, was created to be constantly bullied and ridiculed. Stewart's shirt reads "Winger."
Principal McVicker was based off Mike Judge's 9th grade alcoholic band director, who would come to school hungover, smelling like liquor, shaking with anger, and stutter as he talked.
During a 1993 U.S. Senate hearing on violence in television, Sen. Ernest F. Hollings famously referred to Beavis and Butt-Head as "Buffcoat and Beaver." The error was mocked in the episode, Pool Toys (1994).