It takes a lot to become a household name. You've got to have a good product and a
catchy name that will hopefully work in a variety of situations and be easy to remember.
Here's a look at how a handful of now-famous companies wound up with their current names.
1
IKEA. The name ‘IKEA’ is simply a combination of initials. The ‘IK’ comes from ‘Ingvar Kamprad’, the founder of the company, and the ‘EA’ comes from Elmtaryd’ and ‘Agunnaryd’, the farm and village he grew up in.
2
Canon. This company was once known as ‘Kwanon’, which is a goddess in Buddhism. However, the name was changed to ‘Canon’ in an attempt to be more ‘appealing to the masses’ in 1935.
3
‘LEGO’ is a combination of the words ‘Leg got,’ or ‘Play well’ in Danish.
4
SONY. The name of this now-incredibly-popular company derives from a Latin word: “Sonus” which means “sound.”It also is a play on the word “Sonny” which was a slang expression used in 1950’s Japan to describe a “Smart & Presentable young man.”
5
Haagen-Dazs. This particular name really utilized strategy, as it was named so because the creators of the company wanted to convey an aura of “old world craftsmanship.” The name was meant to sound Danish, but it has zero meaning in the language.
6
WD-40. The story goes that this product was successfully developed after 39 failed attempts in the lab. “Water Displacement achieved on the 40th try.”
7
Yahoo! The name of this popular search engine is actually an acronym for “Yet Another Hierarchal Officious Oracle.”
8
Pepsi. Originally known as ‘Brad’s Drink’ thanks to inventor Caleb Bradham, Pepsi was eventually dubbed ‘Pepsi-Cola’ in 1898. This comes form the word “dyspepsia” which means indigestion.
9
Google takes its name from “Googol,” the mathematical term for 1 followed by 100 zeros.
10
Virgin. While brainstorming ideas for their mail-order record company in high school, one of Branson's friends quipped "We’re all virgins. Why don’t you call it Virgin?"
11
Blackberry. The keypads on a Blackberry vaguely resemble the drupelets of an actual Blackberry.
12
Spotify. While brainstorming names, Daniel Ek misheard Martin Lorentzon thinking he suggested “Spotify” as a name. They now joke that the name is a combination of the words “Spot” and “Identify.”
13
Starbucks got its name from the first mate in “Moby Dick.” They used it in an attempt to evoke “The romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders.”
14
Reebok is an alternative spelling for “Rhebok” which is an Afrikaans-Dutch word for a type of antelope. They chose this name to represent speed and grace.
15
Skype. The original name of this company was “Sky Peer-To-Peer” before being shortened to “Skyper.” Eventually, they dropped the “R” and “Skype” was born.
