In B2C businesses, the names of popular brands are what usually make them different in their peculiar industries. Although the founder(s) of these companies have made laudable efforts in their brand’s popularity, the brand’s everyday sales are largely attributed to their names. Looking into the history of these popular brands will not only interest you but will also intrigue you to know how exactly their names came to be. In this article, a brands’ list containing 8 companies from different industries will be made and a short history of how those companies got their names will be written. Let’s get started!
8 brands and how they got their names.
Apple: Apple is a giant in the electronics industry, the company was named after the fruit from the fruitarian diet of its CEO and co-founder; Steve Jobs.
Amazon: Amazon got its name from its CEO, Jeff Bezos. Bezos wanted a name that would start with the alphabet “A” so that his company will rank amongst the first when searched alphabetically. Using a dictionary, Bezos came upon the words Amazon, which means a place that is “exotic and different”. Also, Amazon is the name of the biggest river in the world. These 2 meanings prompted Bezos to name his company Amazon. He mentioned that he wanted the company to be the biggest and most exotic store in the world. Undoubtedly, Amazon meets all these attributes and more.
Coca-Cola: this popular drink is made from 2 major ingredients: Coca and Caffeine. The coca part is gotten from the coca leaf while the caffeine is gotten from kola nuts. The first names of these 2 major ingredients were joined together to get Coca-Cola. Interesting right?
Caterpillar: a lot of people have wondered where this tractor company got its unorthodox name from. Well, wonder not, for I shall explain it in a jiffy. Holt manufacturing company, the manufacturer of Caterpillars, invited a photographer to take pictures of their tractor. The overwhelmed photographer exclaimed that the tractor looked like a monster caterpillar, and that was how the name stuck.
HP: this very popular and patronized gadget manufacturing company that was founded in 1939 was named from the surnames of its founders. William Hewlett and David Packard decided to flip the coin to choose whose surname would come first. William won and till today HP stands for Hewlett Packard.
Kinko’s: Kinko’s is a company that offers all-round computer business services. Do you know that this famous company got its name from its founder’s hair? Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s had a full, wild curly hair which his friends nicknamed “kinky”. In turn, he named his company Kinko’s.
Nike: this well-known shoe company got its brand name from “Nike” the Greek goddess of victory. The swoosh sign or big “good” sign on its logo is a sign of the goddess’s flight.
Nivea: Nivea cosmetics company got its brand name from the Latin word “nix, nivis”. Which when literally translated means “snow white”.