BRAND SPECIAL...BRAND NAMES STORIES 11 TO 22

BRAND NAMES STORIES 11 TO 22

11 Starbucks is named after a character in Moby-Dick.

In an interview with The Seattle Times, Starbucks cofounder Gordon Bowker told the story of how they arrived at the name. At first, they were going through a list of words beginning with "st" because they thought those were powerful. 

"Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo," he said. "As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville's first mate [named Starbuck] in Moby-Dick."

12 Soylent gets its name from a sci-fi novel.

Soylent — that meal-replacement drink that's a Silicon Valley favorite — got its name from the science-fiction novel "Make Room! Make Room!" which is about how population growth depletes the world's natural resources. In the book, soylent is a blend of soybeans and lentils.

13 Gap refers to the generation gap between adults and kids.

The first Gap store opened in 1969 with the goal of selling good jeans. The name referred to the generation gap between adults and kids.

14 Wawa is named after an area of Pennsylvania.

The convenience-store chain's name means two things: 1. It's the name of the area in Pennsylvania where the company's first dairy farm was located. 2. It's a Native American word for a Canada Goose (the one pictured in the company's logo).

15 Häagen-Dazs may sound Danish, but it's completely made up.

Reuben Mattus, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, named his ice-cream company Häagen-Dazs as a way to pay tribute to Denmark, according to an interview with the Jewish news publication Tablet Magazine. But the name doesn't actually mean anything.

“The only country which saved the Jews during World War II was Denmark, so I put together a totally fictitious Danish name and had it registered,” Mattus said. “Häagen-Dazs doesn’t mean anything. [But] it would attract attention, especially with the umlaut.” 

16 Nike is the Greek goddess of victory.

17 Gatorade was developed for the Florida Gators.

A team of doctors at the University of Florida developed the sports drink for the Florida Gators football players, who were struggling to play in the heat.

18 Venmo was inspired by a dead language.

Andrew Kortina, founder of the digital-payments app, writes on Quora:

"When we were brainstorming names, one of the roots we were exploring for inspiration was the Latin, vendo/vendere, 'to sell.' As soon as we said venmo, we liked it because it was short and made for a good verb: 'Just Venmo me for dinner.'"

19 Under Armour decided to use the British spelling because it made a better phone number.

The name Under Armour came about somewhat accidentally, according to The Washington Post's interview with CEO Kevin Plank. Plank said he had landed on the name Body Armor, but couldn't get the name trademarked. He told The Post:

"I was a bit dejected, but I had lunch plans that afternoon with my oldest brother, Bill. So, I show up to pick him up, knock on the door, and he looks down at me the way only an older brother can look at a younger brother, and he asks, “How’s that company you’re working on, uhh ... Under Armor?”

So how did Under Armour end up with that weird spelling?

"The reason we added the 'U' in 'Armour' is that I was skeptical at the time about whether this whole internet thing would stick," Plank told The Post. "So I thought the phone number 888-4ARMOUR was much more compelling than 888-44ARMOR. I wish there was a little more science or an entire marketing study behind it, but it was that simple."

20 Amazon was named after the world's biggest river.

When Amazon first launched in 1995, founder Jeff Bezos had a different idea for his brand name.

Bezos wanted to call his online bookstore Cadabra, according to Brad Stone's book about the company. But Amazon's first lawyer, Todd Tarbert, managed to convince him that the name sounded too similar to "Cadaver."

Bezos is also said to have favored the name Relentless, and if you visit Relentless.com today, you'll be redirected to Amazon's website, Business Insider reported. 

Bezos finally settled on Amazon, named after the largest river in the world, and incorporated an image of the river in the company's first logo.

21 Monsanto is the middle name of the founder's wife.

Agrochemical company Monsanto was founded in 1901 by John F. Queeny. He named the business after his wife, Olga Monsanto Queeny.

22 Verizon stems from the latin word Veritas, meaning "truth."

Verizon was the product of a merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE, both telecommunications companies. The name is a mix between the latin word "veritas" meaning "truth," and horizon, which is meant to signify that the brand is forward-looking.

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