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Companies named after people

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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 for 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 - from the first initial of each of the company's three founders: Bill Coleman, Ed Scott and 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

Citron - Andr Citron

Corel - from the founder's name Dr. Michael Cowpland. It stands for 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 and 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 - Eleuthre Irne 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 and 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, he replaced the "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

Nestl - Henri Nestl who created the milk-based food in 1867

Northrop - Jack Northrop

P

Path - Charles and mile Path, who founded the Socit Path Frres 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 the first letters of the 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

 

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