Companies named after people

A
20th Century Fox – William Fox
A&M Records – Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss
A&W Restaurants – after Roy Allen and Frank Wright
Abbott Laboratories – Dr. Wallace Calvin Abbott (1888)
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. – David Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch
Adam Opel AG – Adam Opel
adidas – Adi Dassler
Alza – name of the founder Alex Zaffaroni.
Amstrad – Alan Sugar - A M S TRADing
Aston Martin – Lionel Martin
Audi – founder August Horch (audi is Latin 4 horch which means listen in English)
Avery Dennison Corporation – R. Stanton Avery

B
B&Q – from the initials of its founders, Block and Quayle
Baedeker's – Karl Baedeker
Baldwin Locomotive Works – founded by Matthias W. Baldwin
BEA Systems – first initials of the founders: Bill Coleman, Ed Scott & Alfred Chuang.
Beck's – co-founder Heinrich Beck (1873)
Bell Labs – Alexander Graham Bell
Also: BellSouth
Benz & Cie. (later Daimler-Benz) – Carl Benz
Black & Decker – founded by S. Duncan Black and Alonzo G. Decker
Bose Corporation – Amar Bose
Brooks Locomotive Works – founded by Horatio G. Brooks

C
Cadbury – John Cadbury opened his shop in 1824
Casio – Tadao Kashio
Chrysler – Walter Chrysler
Citroën – André Citroën
Corel – from founder's name Dr. Michael Cowpland. COwpland REsearch Laboratory.
Cray Research – Seymour Cray

D
Daimler-Benz (later DaimlerChrysler) – Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz
DaimlerChrysler – Gottlieb Daimler and Walter Chrysler
Dassault Group – Marcel Dassault
De Lorean Motor Company – John De Lorean
Debian – project founder Ian Murdock named it after himself & his girlfriend, Debra.
Dell – Michael Dell
The Dow Chemical Company – Herbert Dow
Dow Jones & Company – Charles Dow and Edward Jones
Dunlop – John Boyd Dunlop
DuPont РEleuth̬re Ir̩n̩e du Pont.

E
Eatons – Timothy Eaton
Edison Records – Thomas Edison
Eli Lilly and Company – Eli Lilly
Ericsson – Lars Magnus Ericsson

F
Ferrari – Enzo Ferrari, founder
Ford Motor Company – Henry Ford

G
Gartner – Gideon Gartner
Ghirardelli Chocolate Company – Domingo Ghirardelli
Global Gillette – King C. Gillette
GLOCK – Gaston Glock
Goldwyn Picture Corporation (later merged into MGM (Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer)) – a combination of the names of Samuel Goldfish (he later adopted the name Samuel Goldwyn), Edgar and Archibald Selwyn
Gottlieb – David Gottlieb

H
H. K. Porter, Inc – railroad locomotive manufacturer founded by Henry Kirke Porter
Hanna-Barbera Productions – William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Harley-Davidson – William Harley and Arthur Davidson
Harvey Norman – Gerald Harvey and Ian Norman
The Hershey Company – Milton Hershey
Hewlett-Packard – William Hewlett and David Packard
Honda – Soichiro Honda
Honeywell – Mark Honeywell
Horlicks – James Horlick, William Horlick who founded the company in Chicago in 1873

I
IKEA – from an acronym using the initials of the founder Ingvar Kamprad, who was from a family farm called Elmtaryd, which was near the village of Agunnaryd.

J
JCPenney – James Cash Penney

K
Kawasaki Heavy Industries – Shozo Kawasaki
Kroger Co. – Bernard Henry Kroger
King Kullen Grocery Co. – founder Michael J. Cullen, replaced "C" with a "K" for marketing purposes.

L
Lamborghini – Ferruccio Lamborghini
Lancia – Vicenzo Lancia.
Levi Strauss & Co. – Levi Strauss
Louis B. Mayer Pictures (later merged into MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)) – Louis B. Mayer (original name Eliezer Meir)

M
Mars, Incorporated – Frank C. Mars
Mattel – from founders Harold "Matt" Matson and Elliot Handler
Mazda – Jujiro Matsuda, also possibly inspired by Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda.
McDonald's Corporation – Dick McDonald and Mac McDonald
MGM or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – after the last names of Samuel Goldfish and Edgar and Archibald Selwyn and Louis B. Mayer.
Miele – Carl Miele.
Mitel – from Mike and Terry's Lawnmowers after the founders Michael Cowpland and Terry Matthews

N
Nestl̩ РHenri Nestl̩ who created the milk-based food in 1867
Northrop – Jack Northrop

P
Pathé – Charles and Émile Pathé, who founded the Société Pathé Frères in 1896
Peugeot – Armand Peugeot who founded the company in 1882
Philips – Gerard Philips, who founded the company in 1891
Porsche – Ferry Porsche
Procter & Gamble – William Procter and James Gamble

R
Robert Bosch GmbH – Robert Bosch, who founded the company in 1886
Renault – Louis Renault
Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works – founded by Thomas Rogers
Rolls-Royce – Charles Rolls and Henry Royce
RSA Security – from first letters of last names of founders Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir and Len Adleman.
Ryanair – Tony Ryan

S
Sainsbury's – John James Sainsbury
Sears – Richard Sears
Formerly Sears, Roebuck – Sears and Alvah Roebuck
Siemens AG – Werner von Siemens
Singer Corporation – Issac Merritt Singer, inventor, improvements in the design of the sewing machine
Stewart-Warner – John K. Stewart and Arthur P. Warner
Suzuki – Michio Suzuki

T
Tata – Jamshetji Tata
Tesco – amalgamation of TES (from T. E. Stockwell) and CO (from Jack Cohen)
Thomas Cook Travel, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomas Cook
Various named after Elihu Thomson
Alstom
Thomson SA
Thomson-CSF (now Thales Group)
Thomson-Houston Electric Company (now General Electric)
THX – from the name of the technology's inventor and the audio technology of a 'crossover' amplifier: Tomlinson Holman
Tim Hortons – Tim Horton
Toyota – Sakichi Toyoda
Trump Air Shuttle, airline, named after owner Donald Trump
TVR – from the first name of the company founder TreVoR Wilkinson

W
Waitrose – named after founders: Wallace Waite and Arthur Rose
The Walt Disney Company – Walt Disney
Wal-Mart – Sam Walton
Warner Bros – the brothers Jack Warner, Sam Warner, Harold Warner and Albert Warner
Wendy's – founder Dave Thomas' daughter Melinda "Wendy" Thomas
WHSmith – William Henry Smith

Y
Yamaha Corporation – Torakusu Yamaha

No comments: