A list of company name etymologies:
* 3M – Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company started off by mining the material corundum used to make sandpaper.
* 7-Eleven – 7-Eleven was founded in 1927 as Tote’m (so called because customers “toted” away their purchases). In 1946, Tote’m became 7-Eleven to reflect the stores’ new, extended hours – 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., seven days a week. […]
* adidas – from the name of the founder Adolf (Adi) Dassler. […]
* Intel – Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company ‘Moore Noyce’ but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain, so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics. […]
* SEGA – “Service Games of Japan” (SeGa) Founded by Marty Bromley (an American) to import pinball games to Japan for use on American military bases.
Fun.
(via GeekPress)