The protagonist of Corduroy is a teddy bear named...Corduroy. We're not sure how much thought went into choosing this title.
In all seriousness, "Corduroy"was Freeman's nickname for his son, Roy, who loved wearing corduroy overalls—no word on whether those overalls were missing a button.
Freeman had also previously written a short story called Corduroy, the Inferior Decorator, starring a boy who wanted to paint the walls of his house. Sadly, HGTV and Pinterest weren't around back then for publishers to appreciate this character's DIY drive, and the story never made it to print, but Freeman recycled the name for his most famous character. (Source)