3M
From the company’s original name, Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company. It was changed to 3M when the company changed it’s focus to innovative new products.
7-Eleven
Renamed from “U-Tote’m” in 1946 to reflect their newly extended hours, 7am until 11pm.
Adidas
The company name was taken from it’s founder Adolf Dassler whose first name was shortened to the nickname “Adi”. Together with the first three letters of his surname it formed Adidas.
Adobe
The name Adobe came from the Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of Co-Founder John Warnock.
Amazon.com
Jeff Bezos wanted a name for his company that began with “A” so that it would appear early in alphabetic order. He began looking through the dictionary and settled on “Amazon” because it was the river he considered the biggest in the world, as he hoped his company would be.
Audi
Founder August Horch found a name for the company by translating his name, which means “hark!”, “Listen!”, into Latin. Horch’s name was already in use by his previous car manufacturing company. Four rings represented the auto union of Audi with DKW, Horch and Wanderer.
Canon
Named after the company’s first camera, the Kwanon, in turn named after the Japanese name of the Buddihst Bodhisattiva of Mercy. In 1935 Kwanon was changed to Canon to be better accepted by people worldwide.
Coca-Cola
Derived from the coca leaves and kola nuts used as flavoring. Founder John S. Pemberton changed the “K” of kola to “C” to make the name look better.
ebay
Originally, the sute belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar’s consulting firm. Omidyar had tried to register the domain EchoBay.com, but found it already taken by the Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, so he shortened it to his second choice, ebay.com.
IBM
In order to one-up his former employers (National Cash Register), Tom Watson Sr called his company International Business Machines.
Ikea
A composite of the first letters in the Swedish Founder Ingvar Kamprad’s name, plus the first letters of the names of the property and the village in which he grew up- Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.
Intel
Shortened from Integrated Electronics.
Lego
Combination of the Danish “Leg Godt”, which means to “Play well”. Lego also means “I put together” in Latin, but the Lego group claims this is only a coincidence.
Nike
Named for the Greek Goddess of Victory. The swoosh symbolizes her flight.
Nikon
Shortened version of the Nippon Kogaku, meaning “Japanese optical”
Nintendo
Transliteration of the company’s Japanese name, Nintendou. The first (Nin) can be translated as to “entrusted”; Ten-dou means “heaven”.
Nissan
The company was earlier known by the name Nippon Sangyo which means “Japan Industries”.
Nokia
Started as a wood-pulp mill, the company expanded into producing rubber products in the Finnish city of Nokia.
Pepsi
Named from the digestive enzyme Pepsin.
Reebok
Comes from the Afrikaans spelling of Rhebok, a type of African antelope.
SAAB
Shortened from Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget which means “Swedish Aeroplane Company”
SEGA
Shortened from Service Games of Japan which was founded by Marty Bromley (An American) to import pinball games to Japan for use on American military bases.
Sharp
Took it’s name from one of it’s founder’s first inventions, the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil.
Skype
The original concept was Sky-Peer-To-Peer, which morphed into Skyper, then Skype
Sony
From the Latin word “sonus” meaning sound, and “sonny” a slang word used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster.
Starbuck’s
Named after Starbuck, a character in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick
Verizon
Combination of Veritas (Latin for “truth”) and horizon
Virgin
When Richard Branson was starting a business, one of the girls suggested: “What about virgin? We’re complete virgins at business.”
Vodafone
From voice, data, telefone
Wendy’s
Wendy was the nickname of Founder Dave Thomas’ daughter Melinda
