25 True Stories Behind Company Names

In 1946, it changed its name from U-Tote’m to 7-11 after the new store hours of 7 AM to 11 PM went into effect.

This famous company name comes from the Japanese name “Nintendou.” Roughly translated “Nin” means “entrusted” and “ten-dou” means “heaven.” In other words, it means “Leave luck to heaven.”

The Pepsi founders were evidently a bit nerdy. The name of their world famous product is derived from the digestive enzyme pepsin.

Atari is taken from a Japanese word used in the game “Go” that signals when an opponent’s pieces are in danger of being captured. This is much like the word “check” is used in chess.

It might seem fairly simple, but this classic cracker and snack manufacturer is just short for the original name – National Biscuit Company.

Derived from the Latin word sonus, meaning “sound,” they chose this word because it’s so easy to pronounce in most languages.

This company’s name came from the nickname of founder Adolf “Adi” Dassler. Rudolf “Rudi” Dassler, his brother, also started a shoe company called “Ruda,” which later turned into Puma.

This international company started out as wood pulp mill just outside the Finnish town of Nokia.

Although some people believe that the enunciation of Arby’s stands for “roast beef.” This isn’t true. It actually stands for the initials of its founders, the Raffel Brothers.

Short for Service Games of Japan, this company originally imported pinball machines onto US military bases around the Pacific Rim.

The company’s first product, the ever sharp pencil, is actually where this multinational corporation got its name.

Not many companies dive into the world of fiction literature to find inspiration for their brand, but Starbucks is not just any company. Its name comes from a character in the story of Moby Dick.

This company was named after a body of water (Adobe Creek) that ran through the property of founder John Warnock.

A Reebok is actually a type of antelope found on the savanna in Africa. These days, it’s also the inspiration behind the name of an international brand.

Allegedly, its name was taken from the coca leaves and kola nuts used in the original ingredients.

For this one, you should check out our list on 25 famous logos with hidden images as it explains the Amazon logo perfectly. Essentially, however, Jeff Bezos wanted to convey the idea that you could find anything you were looking for…from a to z.

Although it may be hard to believe, this name was suggested to Richard Branson by his friend who noted that they were “complete virgins at business.”

Because it was owned by Echo Bay Technology Group, the name was originally supposed to be Echobay. The URL, however, was already taken by a mining company, so the founders had it shortened to eBay.

While the name was originally Consumer Value Stores, it was shortened to CVS in 1996. CEO Tom Ryan decided that the name would now stand for “customer, value, service.”

Standing for American Multi-Cinema, AMC is a pioneer in multi-screen theatres.

If you speak German, then you already know Volkswagen literally translates to the “people’s car.”

By combining his own initials (Ingvar Kamprad) and the initials of the place he grew up (Elmtaryd Agunnaryd), Ingvar came up with his company name.

Founder Dave Thomas decided to name the chain after his daughter Melinda, well his daughter Melinda’s nickname to be exact.

Very appropriately named, the word “kia,” roughly translated from Hanja, means “rising from Asia.”

Lego is a mashup of the Danish phrase “leg godt,” which means play well.