That little piece at the end of your shoelace is called an aglet. Sources state that Harvey Kennedy, an English inventor, was known for giving the shoelace its popularity. In the 70s, he made over two and a half million dollars off of just the shoelace itself.The word “aglet” is derived from the Old French word “aguillette” or “aguille” which means: needle. With this, you can understand why it would be derived from this word; the aglet is a lot like a small needle at the very end of the shoelace.