{"id":1301,"date":"2009-12-03T10:18:17","date_gmt":"2009-12-03T17:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=1301"},"modified":"2009-12-03T10:18:17","modified_gmt":"2009-12-03T17:18:17","slug":"15-brand-names-decoded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2009\/12\/03\/15-brand-names-decoded\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Brand Names Decoded"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Olivia Putnal<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn where these popular company names originate from<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some time or another, you\u2019ve probably contemplated how the name Walmart came about, or how a name like Starbucks became so popular. We\u2019ve wondered the same things, so we set out to learn the origins of 15 popular brand names. Check out how some of the most-favored brands began their corporation and who or what sparked the inspiration for its name.<\/p>\n

Sephora<\/strong><\/p>\n

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One of the most well-known beauty stores actually began in France in 1969 and later opened its first US store in 1998 in New York City. Sephora gets its name from a blend of two words. The first is the Greek word \u201csephos,\u201d which means \u201cpretty,\u201d and the second is the name \u201cZipporah\u201d who, according to the Bible, was the wife of Moses known for her beauty. Photo courtesy of Nelson Cupeles. <\/em><\/p>\n

Banana Republic<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This popular and classic clothing store began in 1978 with founders Mel and Patricia Ziegler. The name was meant to reflect the originality and travel theme that the store wanted to maintain. Photo by Retna. <\/em><\/p>\n

GEICO <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Have you ever wondered what these letters stand for? At the start of the company, founder Leo Goodwin\u2019s first goal was to attract the U.S. government employee and military personnel demographic. \u201cGovernment Employees Insurance Company\u201d was the initial slogan. Photo courtesy of Geico.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Google <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Believe it or not, the word \u201cGoogle\u201d was a play on words by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997. They longed for a name that would reveal the wide range of information that lives on the Web; the word \u201cGoogle\u201d was derived from the mathematical term \u201cgoogol,\u201d meaning a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Photo courtesy of Google.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Yahoo<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Another brand name that originated as an acronym, Yahoo stands for \u201cYet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.\u201d Creators Jerry Yang and David Filo transformed \u201cJerry and David\u2019s Guide to the World Wide Web\u201d in 1994 into the search engine site that we have today, claiming they also liked the actual definition of a yahoo meaning \u201crude, unsophisticated, uncouth.\u201d Photo courtesy of Yahoo.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

LEGO<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Created in 1934 from the Danish phrase \u201cleg godt,\u201d which means \u201cplay well,\u201d the name LEGO was later found to mean \u201cI put together\u201d in Latin\u2014the perfect description for this beloved children\u2019s toy company. Photo courtesy of Lego.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

eBay<\/strong><\/p>\n

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eBay founder Pierre Omidyar originally started a website called AuctionWeb for listing, viewing and placing bids on the products. When his wife mentioned she wanted to find other PEZ collectors to trade with, the process began for a new and improved site. At that time, Omidyar\u2019s web consulting company was called Echo Bay Technology Group, however, when he tried to register the domain name EchoBay.com\u2014it was already taken. So he settled on a shorter version: eBay.com. Photo courtesy of ebay.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Wendy\u2019s <\/strong><\/p>\n

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We all know and love the familiar face of the owner and spokesperson for this American fast-food chain, Dave Thomas. When challenged to create a business could compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1969, Thomas came up with Wendy\u2019s Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurant, naming it after his daughter Melinda\u2019s nickname, Wendy. Photo courtesy of Nelson Cupeles. <\/em><\/p>\n

Walmart<\/strong><\/p>\n

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After touring the country in order to become familiar with everything discount retail, Sam Walton began the Walmart phenomenon with his wife in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962, gaining inspiration for the name from the couple\u2019s own last name. Photo courtesy of Walmart.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Gap <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Gap Inc. was started by Donald and Doris Fisher with the dream of a clothing store that bridged the generation gap. The store was meant to target a younger generation, but in a classic, yet casual way. Creator Don Fisher \u201ccouldn\u2019t find a decent pair of jeans that fit him, so in 1969 he solved his problem by creating the Gap brand.\u201d Photo courtesy of Nelson Cupeles. <\/em><\/p>\n

Target<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In 1962, the first Target store opened its doors in Minnesota. The Director of Publicity, Stewart K. Widdess, described his thinking behind the creation of the store name and logo: \u201cAs a marksman\u2019s goal is to hit the center bull\u2019s-eye, the new store would do much the same in terms of retail goods, services, commitment to community, price, value and overall experience.\u201d Photo courtesy of Target.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Borders<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This reliable bookstore was named after the original founders, Tom and Louis Borders, who opened an 800-square-foot used bookstore in 1971, calling it simply Borders Book Shop. As the company expanded over the years, the name has remained the same. Photo courtesy of Borders.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s <\/strong><\/p>\n

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The world\u2019s largest chain of hamburger fast-food joints was founded by none other than Dick and Mac McDonald in 1948. The only items originally served were the classic hamburger, cheeseburger and an assortment of drinks, potato chips and pie. The hamburger was first priced at only 15 cents! Photo courtesy of Nelson Cupeles. <\/em><\/p>\n

CVS Pharmacy <\/strong><\/p>\n

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When this retailer opened its doors in 1963, selling only health and beauty products and later adding the pharmacy departments in 1967, the letters stood for \u201cConsumer Value Stores.\u201d Now, present CEO, Thomas Ryan, likes to say the letters represent \u201cConvenience, Value and Service.\u201d Photo courtesy of Nelson Cupeles. <\/em><\/p>\n

Starbucks<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Surprisingly enough, this well-liked coffeehouse got its name from the first mate in Herman Melville\u2019s novel Moby Dick. Originally called Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices, it has since had its name shortened to Starbucks Coffee Company. Photo courtesy of Nelson Cupeles. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Olivia Putnal Learn where these popular company names originate from Some time or another, you\u2019ve probably contemplated how the name Walmart came about, or how a name like Starbucks became so popular. We\u2019ve wondered the same things, so we set out to learn the origins of 15 popular brand names. Check out how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1301"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1302,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1301\/revisions\/1302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}