This is a list of company names with their
name origins explained. Some origins are
disputed.
7-Eleven Convenience stores; renamed from "U-Tote'm" in 1946 to
reflect their newly extended hours, 7:00 a.m. until 11:00
p.m.
adidas from the name of the founder Adolf (Adi) Dassler.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos renamed the company Amazon (from
the earlier name of Cadabra.com) after the world's most voluminous
river, the Amazon. He saw the potential for a larger volume of
sales in an online (as opposed to a bricks and mortar) bookstore.
(Alternative: Amazon was chosen to cash in on the popularity of
Yahoo, which listed entries alphabetically.)
KFC short for Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is popularly believed
that the company adopted the abbreviated name in 1991 to avoid the
unhealthy connotations of the word 'fried'. The rumor that it was
because the Commonwealth of Kentucky trademarked the name
"Kentucky" is false. Recent commercials have tried to imply that
the abbreviation stands for "Kitchen Fresh Chicken".
Maggi food company named after its founder, Julius Maggi. It was
taken over by Nestlé in 1947 and survives as a brand name.
Coca-Cola derived from the coca leaves and kola nuts used as
flavoring. Coca-Cola creator John S. Pemberton changed the 'K' of
kola to 'C' to make the name look better.
Pepsi named from the digestive enzyme pepsin.
Sharp Japanese consumer electronics company named from its first
product, an ever-sharp pencil.
BenQ Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life.
LEGO combination of the Danish "leg godt", which means to "play
well". Lego also means "I put together" in Latin, but LEGO Group
claims this is only a coincidence and the etymology of the word is
entirely Danish. Years before the little plastic brick was
invented, LEGO manufactured wooden toys.
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