To local people and visitors alike, the Kent Downs are probably more commonly known as the North Downs. When the Kent North Downs were first selected as an AONB, the name 'Kent Downs' was chosen to distinguish it from the Surrey Hills - its sister AONB in the Surrey North Downs.

When the Kent Downs AONB Unit was set up in 1997, a logo was needed to enable people to recognise the Kent Downs as an AONB. The Kent Downs is one of the most important areas of the UK for the range of chalk habitats and species, and orchids are among these. A national scarce plant, the beautiful lady orchid, is found almost entirely within the Kent Downs AONB and nowhere else in the UK. It is found in woodland, scrub and open grasslands on the chalk and ragstone soils. It therefore represents many of the important habitats that make the Kent Downs AONB so special and this is why it appears on the logo for the area.