The B.E.2 was one of the first fixed-wing aircraft to be designed at what was then called the Royal Balloon Factory (the organisation was formally renamed as the "Royal Aircraft Factory" on 26 April 1911). The team responsible for its design came under the direction of British engineer Mervyn O'Gorman, the factory's superintendent. The "B.E.2" designation was formulated in accordance with the system devised by O'Gorman, which classified aircraft by their layout: B.E. stood for Blériot Experimental, and was used for aircraft of tractor configuration (although in practice, all of the B.E. types were biplanes rather than the monoplanes typical of the Bleriot company).