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Story behind famous brand names ...

What were they thinking while naming the company?


Ever wondered what might have gone into the founder's mind while naming a company? Most names are so attractive that you might be wondering how much time and money they would have spent to come up with such names. The truth is far from what business school teaches. Many names are decided at the spur of the moment than extensive research. It is their product quality which has stood out and made the name worthwhile.

In this brain tickler, we have went behind the stories of some of the most popular products you may using at home or very familiar with. First attempt to see whether you can guess what might have happened and then check the answers in the following page.

Good luck!


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Image credit: blogs.corporatelogos.ws

Today Apple is one of the most admired companies. Ever wondered why Steve Jobs chose "Apple" to be the name of this computer company?

A. Because he likes "Apple" and he wanted the name to come before "Atari" (competitor) in the telephone book.
B. Because he wanted to "Think different"
C. Because his investors and team wanted him to choose AppleGabby Douglas (Gymnastics)
D. Because he worked at Apple farm before getting into computer business.

Answer: [a]
On the day when they had to file the name of the company to the government, every one came up with different names like Matrix electronics, etc etc but nothing was sticking while the time was sticking. So Steve Jobs told the team, if we are not coming up with a agreeable name by 5pm we will file it as "Apple Computers". Later he revealed that he likes "Apple" and he wanted the name to come before "Atari" (competitor) in the telephone book.


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'Coca Cola' aka 'Coke' is one of the most recognized brand across the world. How did the founder John S. Pemberton came up with the name?

a. Since Coke is made with Cocoa he named it as Coca Cola
b. Since Coke is made with Cocoa and it is in liquid form he named it as Coca Cola
c.Since Coke is made with Cocoa and Kola nuts he named it as Coca Cola
d. Since Coke is made with Chocolates and Caramel he named it with two Cs - as Coca Cola

Answer: [c]
Since Coke is made with Cocoa and Kola nuts he named it as Coca Cola by replacing K with a C.


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So how about the Coke's competitor Pepsi?

A. Pepsi contains a dose of Peppermint added to the core recipe and hence the name.
B. It is named after the digestive enzyme Pepsin.
C. It is named after the last name of the founder Mike Pepsi.
D. They wanted to name the drink which can be used to symbolize "Peppy" (party) occassions.

Answer: [b]
Yes, it derives its name from Pepsin, one of three principal protein-degrading, or proteolytic, enzymes in the digestive system, the other two being chymotrypsin and trypsin. The word Pepsin is derived from the Greek word pepsis, meaning digestion (peptein: to digest).


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Any one who has a printer or scanner at house will know what hp means. It refers to the last name of the founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. Do you know how they settled on Hewlett-Packard instead of Packard-Hewlett?

A. As Bill was elder to Dave, they went with the age order.
B. As the company's idea was Bill's, Dave agreed to that order.
C. Bill really got the loan for starting the company and Packard was his chosen man to run the company they agreed on that order.
D. They agreed to toss a coin to see which order will win and the hp order won.

Answer: [d]
Even though it sounds playful, it was a toss which decided the name of this multi-billion dollar company. The Hewlett-Packard order won and hence the name stayed.


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Volkswagon, with symbol VW, is one of the most desired car around the world. Do you know how that name came about?

A. 'Volks Wagon' in German means 'People's car'. It was designed and manufactured to become a people's car.
B. 'Volks Wagon' is really the name of the engineer who designed this car.
C. 'Volkswagon' is the last name of the founder who started this company.
D. 'Volkswagon' is German means "Best Engineering". It was named to show the excellence in German engineering.

Answer: [a]
'Volks Wagon' in German means 'People's car'. It was designed and manufactured to become a people's car. Interesting Hitler museum gives credit for Volkswagon to Hitler. According to the museum, Hitler wanted to come up with a car which is affordable and easy to use. So he hired the renowned engineer, Ferdinand Porsche (yes, the founder of Porsche) to design this people's car - Volkswagon. So if you are owning a Volkswagon, you are really owing a Porsche!

Other Interesting Facts:

3M - Short form of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company.
7-Eleven - Renamed from 'U-TOT'M' to reflect their newly extended hours.
Adidas - Founders name Adolf (Adi) Das (Dassler)
Nike - Named after greek goddess of victory. The swoosh symbolises her flight.
Amazon - Named after the river to symbolize lot of books.
Cisco - short for San Francisco where the company was found.
Blackberry - To avoid mail name, they chose BlackBerry because the device’s buttons looked like seeds, the word was pleasing to the ear, and the device was black.
Adobe - The name of the creek behind the Adobe founder's home.

Hope you had fun !