Google, Apple, Nike: 10 big brands that changed their names

Here are 10 well known brands that previously had some lesser known names (Source: Getty)

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but would a search engine named 'Backrub' command as much respect and credibility as Google does? Or would the name 'Blue Ribbon Sports' wield the same impact as Nike with its 'Just Do It' tagline? Maybe not.

Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to mirror its focus on building the ‘metaverse’. It wants to be recognised beyond social media and bring to the fore the futuristic work it is invested in.

While a name change may not greatly impact the already existing image of Facebook, rebranding has often proved immensely successful for companies seeking to revamp their image, influence or reach.

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Take a look at some of the biggest companies that have undergone a brand change.

Google was initially called 'Backrub'

Google was initially called BackRub (Source: Getty) (Jeremy Moeller via Getty Images)

Can you imagine what it would sound like to say 'why don’t you BackRub it' instead of 'let me just Google it for you'?

Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin called their initial search engine 'BackRub' in 1996, named for its analysis of the web's 'back links'. But the name, thankfully, didn't stick for the rapidly improving search technology.

The intent on finding a suitable name that related to the indexing of an immense amount of data resulted in registering the name 'google.com' on September 15, 1997. And the rest is history.

Pepsi-Cola was originally called Brad’s Drink

Once known as Brad's Drink, it was rebranded to Pepsi in1898(Source: Getty Images) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

This story dates back to 1893 when a North Carolina pharmacist named Caleb Bradham developed and began serving a carbonated drink he called 'Brad’s Drink'.

He served the beverage from the soda fountain in his pharmacy and believed in the health, energy and digestive benefits of the sweet and bubbly brew, which originally included the enzyme pepsin and the cola nut.

It was those ingredients that probably resulted in renaming of the drink, even though pepsin was dropped from the formula at some point.

In 1898 Brad’s Drink was renamed 'Pepsi-Cola' and would go on to become one of the world’s most recognised brands and celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1998.

Apple, Inc. was originally called Apple Computers

Tech giant Apple was once known as Apple Computers (Source: Getty) (Jeremy Moeller via Getty Images)

The tech behemoth, founded in 1976, today popularly known as Apple was originally named Apple Computers by founders Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in 2007, announced the company dropping the word 'computer' from its name to become 'Apple Inc'.

Steve Jobs has said that among The Mac, iPod, Apple TV and iPhone only one is a computer, so it was important to drop the word from the brand's image which also includes other consumer electronics.

AOL was formerly known as Quantum Computer Services

AOL has undegone numerous name changes over the years (Source: Getty) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

One of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, AOL has been through several name changes in the effort of rebranding. It was formerly called AOL Inc. before which it was famous as America Online. But even before it was identified under these names it was originally called Quantum Computer Services and its short-lived founding name was Control Video Corporation (or CVC).

Sony was originally called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo

Consumer Electronics company Sony was once called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Source: Getty) (YUKI IWAMURA via Getty Images)

In 1946, a radio repair shop was founded under the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo which produced Japan's first tape recorder, called the Type-G. This company would go on to be known as the now world famous consumer electronics company Sony.

In 1958 the founders decided that Tokyo Tsushin Kenkyujo would be renamed as Sony Corporation, mainly because it had a global appeal, was easier to pronounce and was more in line with the company's core values of 'open-mindedness and freedom'.

But in over 6 decades as of April 2021 Sony Corp was rebranded as Sony Group Corp. to reflect its diversification into other areas such as games, movies and music and to shrug its image as a purely consumer electronics focused company.

Yahoo was formerly known as 'Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web’

Yahoo is an acronym for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle (Source: Getty) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

Can you imagine the 'Yahoo' yodel with that name? Yahoo which is an acronym for 'Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle' was initially named after its founders in January 1994.

Jerry Yang and David Filo created a website and named it 'Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web' which was a directory of other websites organised in a hierarchy unlike a searchable index of pages.

The original name was likely a little long-winded so the change was destined. Since the name Yahoo had previously been trademarked, Yang and Filo added the exclamation mark to the name.

Nike was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports

One of the world's biggest sports brands was once called Blue Ribbon Sports (Source: Getty) (Andrea Verdelli via Getty Images)

Did you know that Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory? And, did you know it was originally called 'Blue Ribbon Sports'?

Founded in January 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) the company initially operated in Oregon as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger. It officially came to be known as Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971.

SUBWAY was originally called Pete’s Super Submarines

Subway started out as Pete's Super Submarines (Source: Getty) (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Subway was founded by 17 year old Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super Submarines. It was renamed Subway two years later, and a franchise operation began in 1974. It has since expanded to become a global franchise and a favourite fast-food joint in most countries.

Playboy would have originally been called Stag Party

Playboy would've been called Stag Party if not for a last minute name change (Source: Getty) (Gabe Ginsberg via Getty Images)

Most famous for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude models or ‘playmates’, one of the world's best known brands Playboy was going to be called 'Stag Party' influenced by a cartoon book that its founder Hugh Hefner had read.

A last minute letter from the lawyer of a lesser known brand called 'Stag magazine' saying that it was an infringement on their title led to the world receiving its first Playboy.

IBM was originally called Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation

IBM stands for International Business Machines after its name change (Source: Getty) (Emanuele Cremaschi via Getty Images)

Multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation IBM originated from the bringing together of several companies that worked to automate routine business transactions.

In 1911, these companies were amalgamated into the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). This name was complex and not very relatable, so it was renamed International Business Machines (IBM) a name that helped the company align with its aspirations and also to escape the limitation of an office appliance.

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