Some brands stick to the founder’s surname, others lean on clever wordplay or acronyms. But the most memorable ones often arise from bizarre ways rooted deep in history, reflecting how the company began or invoking legends from centuries past.
Bizarre Ways Behind These Brand Names
10 Volkswagen
Volkswagen literally translates to “Car of the People” in German. The name was born out of a Nazi‑era promise to put an affordable automobile within reach of the average citizen. Cars had been the preserve of the elite, so Adolf Hitler championed a low‑cost model that would let everyone enjoy the perks of motoring.
Production wasn’t smooth at first, so the regime poured resources into building factories capable of churning out the first Volkswagen. The debut model, the KdF (Kraft durch Freude – “Strength through Joy”), rolled out in 1938 and the brand has been rolling forward ever since.
9 Nokia
Nokia didn’t start out as a phone maker at all. In 1865, Fredrik Idestam founded a modest Finnish paper mill. He later set up a second mill beside the Nokianvirta River, which inspired the company’s name, Nokia AB.
The firm diversified into rubber, forestry, cables, and generators. When Europe’s telecom market deregulated in the 1980s, Nokia seized the moment, launching Europe’s first fully digital telephone exchange in 1982 and eventually becoming a household name in mobile phones.
8 3M
3M began as a modest venture by five men who founded the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, later shortened to 3M. Their original goal was to mine corundum at Crystal Bay in the early 1900s, but the mineral turned out to be soft and of limited abrasive value.
Undeterred, the fledgling company embraced a “listen to anybody with an idea” mantra. A breakthrough came in 1923 when a car engineer needed a tape that wouldn’t react with paint—enter Scotch tape. From that point on, 3M kept inventing, eventually evolving into the adhesive giant we know today.
7 Cadillac
The luxury automobile brand Cadillac traces its name to French explorer‑soldier Antoine Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac, born in 1658. After a series of deceitful tales and a reputation for a sly mind, Cadillac secured King Louis XIV’s permission to found Fort‑Pontchartrain du Detroit, which later blossomed into the city of Detroit.
Because the Cadillac headquarters sit in Detroit, naming the brand after the city’s founder felt fitting, cementing a legacy that blends exploration with automotive opulence.
6 Asus
Although today Asus is synonymous with cutting‑edge electronics, its name harks back to Greek mythology. The company says “Asus” is derived from Pegasus, the winged horse symbolizing strength, purity, and adventurous spirit.
The spelling was trimmed to “Asus” to climb alphabetic lists—an early SEO‑savvy move that helped the brand appear near the top of business directories.
5 Arm & Hammer
Arm & Hammer, famous for baking soda, kept its striking logo after the original spice mill closed in 1867. The emblem draws from Roman mythology—specifically the god Vulcan, patron of fire and metalworking.
Vulcan’s fiery power was once feared, so temples to him were placed outside city limits. The company linked Vulcan’s might to the power of baking soda to make dough rise, a tamer but still potent application.
4 Sharp
Sharp began in 1915 when Hayakawa Tokuji, at 21, invented the mechanical pencil. He christened the product the “Ever‑Ready Sharp pencil,” emphasizing the pencil’s keen point. The company adopted the name Sharp to reflect that precision.
After the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the pencil factory, Tokuji sold the rights, moved to Osaka, and eventually shifted to radios. By the time he passed in 1981, Sharp had become a leading name in electronics.
3 Volvo
Volvo’s name translates from Latin as “I Roll.” While perfect for a car company, the moniker originally described a different product: ball bearings. Between 1915 and 1924, the Swedish firm produced ball bearings as a subsidiary of AB SKF.
When the owners decided to try their hand at automobiles, it took three years before the first Volvo rolled out of the Hisingen plant in Gothenburg, launching a legacy that would span the globe.
2 American Express
American Express didn’t start as a credit‑card giant. In 1850, it began as a high‑speed delivery service, a response to the unreliable U.S. postal system.
The founders soon realized that transporting money between banks was far more profitable. Gradually, they shifted focus to financial deliveries, eventually evolving into the global financial services powerhouse we know today.
1 Bluetooth
Bluetooth’s name and logo both pay homage to Viking king Harald Blå tand—literally “bluetooth.” Legend says the king’s dead tooth turned a striking blue, and he was renowned for forging peaceful communications between rival factions.
When engineers needed a name for a wireless communication protocol, they chose Harald’s epithet to symbolize seamless, non‑violent connections. The logo merges the two runes (ᚼ and ᛒ) that spell out his name, creating the iconic B‑shaped symbol seen on countless devices.