The confusion may be that for at least version 3.0, it *is* the “GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE” as documented here: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.html

I believe you mean that version 1.0 doesn’t begin with “GNU”.  That sounds correct; I believe Affero had an idea, drafted it (with some help from GNU), and then put it out… but as their own license.  Later it got folded in as a GNU license.  Anyway, that’s the history as I (poorly?) remember it.

The text of of the GNU Affero General Public License seems to be consistent with my recollections:

“An older license, called the Affero General Public License and published by Affero, was designed to accomplish similar goals. This is a different license, not a version of the Affero GPL, but Affero has released a new version of the Affero GPL which permits relicensing under this license.”

--- David A. Wheeler