Companies named after people

20th Century Fox – William Fox

A

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 Michael 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

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

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