Big Name Companies with Hidden Stories

Many companies have small stories that go along with their names. Some corporations are simply named after it’s founders but others, such as Wendy’s, have a more colorful story. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest companies with interesting pasts.

1. Wendy’s

Dave Thomas was the founder of Wendy’s and opened his first restaurant in 1969.

He named his company after his daughter, Wendy. She had freckles and greeted the customers in a blue-and-white striped dress and red-and-white striped socks.

Read more about Dave Thomas and his journey here.

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2. Twitter

Jack Dorsey, a founder of Twitter, came up with the idea for its name.

He said he was flipping through the dictionary looking for inspiration when he came across the word “twitter.” Dorsey was quoted saying,

“The definition was 'a short burst of inconsequential information,' and 'chirps from birds'. And that's exactly what the product was.”

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3. LEGO

Ole Kirk Christiansen, the founder of LEGO, created its name by combining the two Danish words “leg godt,” which means “play well.”

Funny enough, that the word “lego” in Latin means “I put together.”

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4. eBay

eBay was actually originally named Echo Bay. However,

the domain echobay.com was already taken so it was shortened to eBay.

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5. Spotify

Martin Lorentzon and Daniel Ek were the ones who named this company.

They were randomly yelling out potential names when Ek misheard Spotify. After he Googled it, he found that the name was not taken and registered the domain. Ek now seems to be a bit embarrassed about the origin of Spotify’s name, however and claims it is a combination of the words from SPOT and IDENTIFY.

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Do you know any more companies that have interesting stories behind their names? Be sure to let us know on Twitter! @Meeman901