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How Did These Brands Get Their Names?

Find the origin of these famous brands names.
Quiz by Elboy
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Last updated: May 12, 2023
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First submittedMarch 23, 2022
Times taken155
Average score43.8%
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1. Lego was named after...
The name of the founder's dog
The first syllables of the co-founders' names
A Danish phrase
The word Lego comes from the Danish phrase "Leg godt" which means "play well".
2. Nike was named after...
The Hawaiian word for "shoe"
The Greek goddess of victory
The Japanese word for "speed"
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory.
3. Google was named after...
An onomatopoeia
A Sci-Fi character
A number
The name of the compagny derived from the mathematical term "googol" which is a number equals to 10100. In decimal notation, it is written as the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeroes.
4. Audi was named after...
The acronym of "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt"
The name of the founder's dog
The Latin version of founder's name
The founder was named August Horch. "Horch!" in German means "hear" and "Audi" is the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin.
5. Häagen-Dazs was named after...
The names of the 2 founders
It is a completely made up word
The Austrian birthplace of the 2 founders
One of the 2 American founders invented the phrase "Häagen-Dazs" in an attempt to make the brand name Danish-sounding. However, the letters "ä" or digraphs like "zs" do not exist in Danish.
6. Samsonite was named after...
The Biblical character Samson
The founder was named Sam Sonite, quite simply
The samsonite mineral
Jesse Shwayder, who founded the company, was a religious man who named his initial cases Samson, after the Biblical strongman.
7. Schweppes was named after...
The Founder's German hometown
The sound of sparkling water in a cold glass
The name of the founder
The full name of the founder is Johann Jacob Schweppe.
8. Adidas was named after...
A blend involving the name of the founder
A German phrase
The acronym of "All Day I Dream About Soccer"
Founder was named Adolf "Adi" Dassler, so Adi+Das
9. Mattel was named after...
A combination of the nicknames of 2 founders
A French word meaning "childhood"
A Latin phrase
Mattel is a combination of "Matt", nickname of Harold Matson, and "El" in Elliot Handler, two of the company's founders
10. Mars, Incorporated was named after...
The name of the Ancient Roman god of war
The founder's taste for astronomy and in particular the planet Mars
The name of the founder
Mars, Inc. was founded in 1911 by American businessman Franklin Clarence Mars.
11. Rolex was named after...
It is a completely made up word
The name of the founder
A Latin phrase
This name was created to be easily pronounceable in any language, and short enough to fit on a watch face, according to the creator's wishes, Hans Wilsdorf.
12. Ray-Ban was named after...
It is a completely made up word
Optical physicist Ray Banner
The physical properties of the glass
Sunglasses are meant to ban sun rays. So Ray+Ban.
By the way, Ray Banner is an invention for this quiz!
13. Toblerone was named after...
A blend involving the name of the founder
An Italian phrase
An alpine mountain
Toblerone was created by Emil Baumann & Theodor Tobler 1908. The brand name is a blend formed from Tobler and Torrone, which is a type of nougat.
14. Bluetooth was named after...
It is a completely made up word
The English version of Swedish creator's name
A Scandinavian king who had... well... blue teeth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson was the a king of Denmark and Norway in 10th century. The stories goes he had bad teeth that appeared black or "blue", or that he was fond of blueberries that colored his teeth blue.
Also, the Bluetooth logo is a merging of the Scandinavian runes ᚼ (Hagall) and ᛒ (Bjarkan), Harald's initials.
15. Kodak was named after...
It is a completely made up word
A developing process called kodacography
A short form of the founder's name
Kodak was founded by George Eastman and Henry A. Strong in 1892. According to a 1920 ad, the name "was simply invented – made up from letters [...]. It was short and euphonious and likely to stick in the public mind."
16. Starbucks was named after...
A theory that words beginning with "st" sound powerful
A contraction of "Start making bucks"
The science fiction hero Buck Rogers
Following this advice, the 3 founders chose "Starbo," a mining town in the Cascade Range and from there, the group remembered "Starbuck," the name of a character in the book Moby-Dick.
+2
Level 82
May 12, 2023
Always thought Lego came from latin lego "I assemble"
+1
Level 70
May 12, 2023
This translation would have made a lot of sense... but no ^^ There are so many misconceptions about brand names, in particular ADIDAS and Audi.
+2
Level 9
May 12, 2023
Interesting quiz, you could add Haribo that comes from HAns RIegel BOnn ! Perhaps in a second part? :)
+1
Level 70
May 12, 2023
Of course there are so many other brands I could have add here and Haribo is a good choice for a possible sequel. Thank you for the idea!
+2
Level ∞
May 12, 2023
Good quiz! Wasn't Starbucks at least informed by the character Starbuck in the novel "Moby Dick"?
+1
Level 70
May 12, 2023
Thank you!

Indeed, the brand is named after the character Starbuck, as indicated in the explanation. The creators looked for names starting with "st", words said to sound powerful.

They first thought of the city of Starbo before finally choosing Starbuck.

My wording of the question is perhaps a bit tricky?

+2
Level 59
May 12, 2023
Nommed! Latine?
+1
Level 70
May 12, 2023
Fixed. Thanks!
+1
Level 59
May 12, 2023
6/16 :(