10 Bizarre Ways Famous Brands

Got Their Names

© Alex Noudelman

1. Volkswagen

Volkswagen means “Car of the People” in German, and there’s

a good reason it has such a name. The Volkswagen came

into existence as a spearhead of the Nazis’ plans to make good on their promise to look after the average citizen. Cars were

only reserved for the social elite, so Hitler proposed an affordable

car, which allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of the rich.

2. Cadillac

Emerging from the ruins of the second failed company of Henry Ford (founder of Ford Motors),

the Cadillac luxury car brand was named after the French explorer and soldier Antoine

Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac, born in 1658. Antoine wasn’t a well-liked historical person. He often lied about who he was, and people often spoke of his

“evil mind.”

3. Adidas

The company name was derived from its founder’s first and last names: Adolf (Adi) Dassler. The first name was shortened to his nickname (ADI) and combined

with the first 3 letters of his first name.

4. ASUS

Asus may deal with modern electronics, but their name has nothing to do with it. According

to their website, the name “Asus” comes from Pegasus, the flying horse from ancient Greek

mythology. Asus claims that their business is the

embodiment of “strength, purity, and adventurous spirit,”

just like a pegasus.

5. Twitter

The name Twitter was picked out of a hat. A small group of employees

from Odeo, the San Francisco podcasting startup where Twitter

initially began, had a brainstorming session. They were trying to come

up with names that fit with the theme of a mobile phone buzzing in

your pocket. After narrowing down the options,

they wrote them down, put them in a hat, and let fate decide. Fate

decided on Twitter.

6. Nintendo

The three words “Nin" "ten" "do” is Japanese for “we do all that we can, as best as we can,

and await the results." Nintendo is sort of a motto and company name all in one. Who knew that the gaming giant was so poetic?

7. Baidu

Baidu was picked off the last line of an 800-year old classical

Chinese poem which ended with the poet finding the woman he

had been searching high and low for. Literally, it is translated

as hundreds of times, but in context, it meant a persistent

search, for the ideal.

8. Volvo

Volvo’s name translates to “I Roll’ in Latin. While this most definitely relates to cars, the name originally related to a

different product altogether: ball bearings. The Swedish business produced ball bearings as a subsidiary

of AB SKF from 1915 to 1924.

9. Skype

Originally Sky-Peer-to-Peer, it became Skyper but had to do

away with the r since the name had already been

taken.

10. Snickers

Snickers is a popular chocolate bar brand all over the world. It’s referred to as

“Marathon” in the UK. However, in the US,

Snickers was named after the Mars’ families favorite pet

horse.

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© Alex Noudelman