In the late 1990’s, Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were undergraduate students at Stanford University. They had created a search engine and named it “BackRub”. They weren’t sold on this brand name until their friend Sean suggested “Googolplex”, which is a mathematical term for 10 to the power of 100. They liked the idea but preferred the shorthand “googol”. Sean misspelled it, and in the process, searched to see if the name Google.com was available. Wallah, Google was born.
Coca Cola’s founder Dr Pemberton, initially named the soft drink after the two main ingredients- Cocaine Leaves and Kola Fruits. Dr Pemberton’s partner thought it would look better if both words started with a C, rather than a K or a CK. He then sat down and mapped out a logo, that still stands very famous today.
7 Eleven chain was initially named Tote’m Stores, however in 1946 this name was changed to 7 Eleven to reflect their hours of operation: 7am-11pm. Today, a large portion of the petrol station 7/11s are actually open 24 hours! The name however remains unchanged to reflect their origins.
McDonalds is named after the initial founders, the “McDonalds Brothers”. The business was recognised in 1954 by Ray Kroc who suggested they franchise, and he built the company to be the most successful fast food franchise in the world.
The story of how Facebook came to be is quite interesting. “Facebook” refers to a catalogue of photos students were given with their fellow cohorts faces in it. It was kind of like a year book, or a school photo pack. Facebook was founded in the dormitories of Harvard University by Mark Zuckerberg, who created an online catalogue for peoples faces, hence the brand name ‘Facebook’.
Nike is named after the ancient greek goddess of Victory. A fitting brand name for a sporting brand that is so often represented by the most talented people in sport.
Apples’ Co-founder Steve Jobs was not only a lover of eating Apples, but also had a history working on an Apple orchard. When he named Apple, he had just returned from an apple farm and thought the name sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating”
How many of these brand name origins and logos are you familiar with?
