What do < and > stand for?

I know that the entities < and > are used for < and >, but I am curious what these names stand for.

Does < stand for something like “Left tag” or is it just a code?

• < stands for the less-than sign: <
• > stands for the greater-than sign: >
• ≤ stands for the less-than or equals sign: ≤
• ≥ stands for the greater-than or equals sign: ≥