Shakespeare popular quote says “What’s in a name? While a lot of people do agree with this statement but if you talk to marketing and advertising professionals, they will tell what all a simple name can express. Some brands have even become a part of our daily vocabulary, you can read such names by clicking here. Today, we are sharing the stories which made brands choose their names. Have a look:
1. Canon
Canon got its name from Kwanon which is the Japanese name of Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy. Later, it was changed to Canon for easier acceptance.
2. Amazon
CEO and founder Jeff Bezos wanted something starting with ‘A’ and he picked Amazon because it is the biggest river in the world-which relates with the company in terms of its reach in the e-commerce market.
3. Sony
Sony got its name from the Latin word, ‘Sonus’ which means sound mixing with an American slang ‘Sonny’ which means bright youngster.
4. Vodafone
Vodafone is actually the combination of the services it provides- Voice, Data and Telefone.
Also Read: Popular Brand Names That You Are Probably Pronouncing Wrong
5. Volkswagen
Back in the time when German roads had very expensive cars, Volkswagen made for middle-class people and its name also means ‘People’s car’ in German language.
6. Nikon
Nikon is the short form of Nippon Kogaku which means ‘Japanese Optical’.
7. Starbucks
Starbucks is named after a character in Moby Dick, Starbuck. Originally the name of a ship from the novel ‘Peqoud’ was suggested, but it got rejected and they settled for ‘Starbuck’, the chief mate of that very ship.
8. Virgin
You won’t believe this but this name was picked as the team members belonging to the company were virgins and it was actually suggested by a girl in Richard Branson’s team.
9. Durex
Like Vodafone, Durex is also the combination of what the brand wants to deliver- Durable, Reliable and Excellence.
10. Fanta
Fanta has a unique story behind its name, once the head of the German Coca-Cola team asked them to use their ‘Fantasie’ (imagination) for the name of their new brand. Guess what, the team ended in choosing Fanta from the word fantasy.
11. Hewlett Packard(HP)
Founders William Hewlett and David Packard flipped a coin to decide whose name would come first and added the second founder’s name as suffix.
12. Microsoft
Microsoft is actually the combination of words Microcomputer and Software.
13. Coca-Cola
This name was derived from the two main ingredients- Coca leaves and Cola berries.
14. Nike
There are many stories behind why Nike was used as the name. For your information, the word Nike comes from the Greek goddess of victory, which is pronounced as “ny’kee”
15. Google
Google was adapted from ‘googol’ which means 1 followed by 100 zeros. This perfectly expressed founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s vision at that time.
