Names Etymology - name origins

It basically means ‘the origin or history of names’. It’s a strange word in itself and it’s origin is as follows: In the Greek language the meaning of the word etymon is ‘true sense of a word’. The Greek word logia means ‘study or doctrine’. So there you have it! Obvious really!

I find the etymology of Company names interesting as many are really surprising. I thought I would share some here as examples for you, followed by the names etymology of some surnames.

Company names etymology:

A&M Records – this was named after it’s founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.

Adobe Systems – this company took it’s name from the Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of the company co-founder John Warnock.

Alfa Romeo – the famous car company was originally known as ALFA. This is an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. When Nicola Romeo bought ALFA in 1915, his surname. was added, creating Alfa Romeo.

Amstrad – Amstrad Consumer Electronics plc was founded by Sir Alan Michael Sugar in the UK. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading.

Fiat – acronym of Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin)

IKEA – the furniture store’s name is 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 village in which he grew up: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.

Lancôme – It’s founder, Armand Petitjean, was exploring the ruins of Le Chateau de Lancôme while vacationing in the French countryside. His inspiration for the company's logo, the rose, was all the wild roses that grew around the castle.

Nike – named after the Greek goddess of victory. Appropriate for a sports and fitness brand as the Greeks were such incredible athletes.

Pepsi – the drinks company was named from the digestive enzyme pepsin.

Prada - the Italian high fashion house was named after the founder Mario Prada, who founded Prada in Milan 1914.

Reebok – this is an alternate spelling of rhebok which is an African antelope.

Rolls-Royce – In 1884 Frederick Henry Royce started an electrical and mechanical business, making his first car, a Royce, in 1904. He was introduced to Charles Stewart Rolls on 4 May that year. The pair entered into a partnership in which Royce would manufacture cars to be sold exclusively by Rolls, and the cars would be called Rolls-Royce.

Samsonite – the luggage company is named from the Biblical character Samson, renowned for his strength.

Starbucks – the coffee house chain is named after Starbuck, a character in Herman Melville's book Moby-Dick.

Subaru – named after the Japanese name for the constellation known to Westerners as Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. Subaru was formed from a merger of seven other companies, and the constellation is featured on the company's logo.

Virgin – it’s founder Sir Richard Branson relates in his autobiography ‘Losing My Virginity’ that when he was starting up his record mail-order business one of his female friends suggested: 'What about calling it Virgin? We're complete virgins at business.'" And it stuck! Richard also owns several of the Virgin Islands which is a nice touch!

Yahoo! – The word Yahoo was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book Gulliver's Travels. It means a person who is physically repulsive and barely human. The company founders David Filo and Jerry Yang jokingly considered themselves yahoos. It's also an interjection to show joy, as alluded to in Yahoo.com commercials that end with someone singing the word "yahoo". It is also sometime jokingly referred to by its backronym, Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.

Yoplait – the name is formed from the merger of Messrs Yola and Coplait in 1965.

I cover the names etymology of surnames in a separate section. Hope you've found these comapany name origins interesting!

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