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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