Lego is a simplified version of two Danish words “Leg Godt” which means “play well”. This is another Scandinavian brand on the list with a quite straightforward name. The brand’s name is the permanent reminder about the main ingredients the product was initially made of– Coca leaves and Cola berries. Volkswagen is another example of a global brand with quite a simple and ordinary name which literary means “peoples’ car”. One of the world’s largest producers of IT hardware has a pretty boring name, which is an acronym for two words “integrated” and “electronics”. One of the most popular fast-food chains in the United States was named after its founder daughter’s nickname – Wendy.

Basically, Walmart means mart of Walton, as the company’s founder’s name was Sam Walton. WalmartĪnother company with the name of its founder placed at the core. This, once a very popular producer of electronics, derives its name from the first invention of its founder – an ever-sharp pencil. Unlike Cisco founders, Ingvar Kamprad invented a proper acronym which consisted of the first letters of his name and surname – “I” and ”K” complimented with the first letters of the name of the villages where he grew up – Elmtaryd and Angunnaryd. You might think that the name of this brand is a kind of acronym, but no, the guys were too lazy to invent something, so they just removed “San Fran” from “San Francisco”. The name of the world’s biggest river perfectly suited the concept. AmazonĪccording to the official version, Jeff Bezos, the company’s CEO, wanted a name for his company which starts with “A” and means something huge. He always wanted to build something bigger than the company he worked in so he decided to name the company “International Business Machines”, because something “international” is obviously larger than “national”. Watson, the CEO of IBM from 1914 to 1956 was a former employee of the “National Cash Register” company. The manufacturer of the most durable phones in the world started as a wood-pulp mill which later expanded to the production of rubber products and got its name from the Finish village where it was located – Nokia. Since the company wasn’t producing any rice, it slightly changed the spelling. The company initially manufactured sewing equipment was named after its founder Kiichiro Toyoda, whose name literally means “fertile rice fields”. John Warnock, the founder of the company, loved the creek (Adobe Creek) running behind his house so much that he decided to name his company after it. Did you also think Adidas means 'All Day I Dream About Sport'? :) 6. This nickname was coupled with the first three letters of Adolf’s surname to form the name Adidas. The famous brand of sportswear got its name from the company’s founder Adolf Dassler, whose nickname was Adi. Those who played on their consoles as kids in the 80s and 90s won’t argue that it was something really out of this world at that time. This is an acronym for two Japanese words “Nin” – entrusted, and “Ten-Dou” – heaven. It’s a mix of a Latin word “Sonus”, which means “sound”, and American slang “Sonny”, which is used to describe a young, proactive and stylish young person. The name of the brand as we know it is an adapted version of a more complicated Japanese word “Kwanon” – a name of Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy. Probably, this figure is the amount of users Google founders expect to have after establishing the domination over the universe. The name of the world’s most popular search engine is derived from the word “googol”, which stands for “1 followed by 100 zeros”.

Let’s see how 30 famous brands got their names and why we remember their identity better than the 10 commandments or our relatives’ date of birth. The fact is that behind every outstanding brand there is a great story or a person who makes the company stand out among competitors and have its devoted followers and disciples. Some were named after their founders others were invented artificially or emerged by chance. Some brands have more appealing names than others.

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