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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 taken466
Average score43.8%
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1. Lego was named after...
The word Lego comes from the Danish phrase "Leg godt" which means "play well".
A Danish phrase
The first syllables of the co-founders' names
The name of the founder's dog
2. Nike was named after...
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory.
The Japanese word for "speed"
The Greek goddess of victory
The Hawaiian word for "shoe"
3. Google was named after...
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.
A Sci-Fi character
An onomatopoeia
A number
4. Audi was named after...
The founder was named August Horch. "Horch!" in German means "hear" and "Audi" is the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin.
The Latin version of founder's name
The acronym of "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt"
The name of the founder's dog
5. Häagen-Dazs was named after...
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.
The Austrian birthplace of the 2 founders
It is a completely made up word
The names of the 2 founders
6. Samsonite was named after...
Jesse Shwayder, who founded the company, was a religious man who named his initial cases Samson, after the Biblical strongman.
The samsonite mineral
The Biblical character Samson
The founder was named Sam Sonite, quite simply
7. Schweppes was named after...
The full name of the founder is Johann Jacob Schweppe.
The Founder's German hometown
The sound of sparkling water in a cold glass
The name of the founder
8. Adidas was named after...
Founder was named Adolf "Adi" Dassler, so Adi+Das
A German phrase
A blend involving the name of the founder
The acronym of "All Day I Dream About Soccer"
9. Mattel was named after...
Mattel is a combination of "Matt", nickname of Harold Matson, and "El" in Elliot Handler, two of the company's founders
A Latin phrase
A French word meaning "childhood"
A combination of the nicknames of 2 founders
10. Mars, Incorporated was named after...
Mars, Inc. was founded in 1911 by American businessman Franklin Clarence Mars.
The founder's taste for astronomy and in particular the planet Mars
The name of the Ancient Roman god of war
The name of the founder
11. Rolex was named after...
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.
It is a completely made up word
The name of the founder
A Latin phrase
12. Ray-Ban was named after...
Sunglasses are meant to ban sun rays. So Ray+Ban.
By the way, Ray Banner is an invention for this quiz!
It is a completely made up word
Optical physicist Ray Banner
The physical properties of the glass
13. Toblerone was named after...
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.
An Italian phrase
A blend involving the name of the founder
An alpine mountain
14. Bluetooth was named after...
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.
The English version of Swedish creator's name
It is a completely made up word
A Scandinavian king who had... well... blue teeth
15. Kodak was named after...
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."
A short form of the founder's name
A developing process called kodacography
It is a completely made up word
16. Starbucks was named after...
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.
A contraction of "Start making bucks"
A theory that words beginning with "st" sound powerful
The science fiction hero Buck Rogers
9 Comments
+2
Level 84
May 12, 2023
Always thought Lego came from latin lego "I assemble"
+1
Level 72
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 14
May 12, 2023
Interesting quiz, you could add Haribo that comes from HAns RIegel BOnn ! Perhaps in a second part? :)
+1
Level 72
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 72
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 62
May 12, 2023
Nommed! Latine?
+1
Level 72
May 12, 2023
Fixed. Thanks!
+1
Level 62
May 12, 2023
6/16 :(