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We’ve done this before, deciphering famous people’s famous initials. My lasting memory from round one? Receiving angry emails about how I capitalized edward estlin cummings. People weren’t pleased and let me know it. We need some sort of Firefox plugin that checks for unauthorized capitalization and threatens to quit.
Today we’ll be deciphering the alphabet soup that is corporate America, plus examining the origins of non-acronym company names. Several of these companies claim to have dropped the names that formed their initials. This is a practice I do not accept. So save your, “AARP is no longer known as the American Association of Retired Persons” emails (and your “AARP is not part of corporate America” emails, too.)
3M – Minnesota Manufacturing & Mining
BASF – Badische Anilin und Soda Fabriken
HSBC – Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
AARP – American Association of Retired Persons
A&W Root Beer – Named for founders Roy Allen and Frank Wright
Alcoa – Aluminum Company of America
AMC – American Multi-Cinema
Arby’s – I thought it was Roast Beef. But I learned it really came from the founding Raffel Brothers (”ar,” “bee”).
CBS – Columbia Broadcasting System
Coleco – Connecticut Leather Company
ESPN – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
MBNA – Maryland Bank National Association
MCI – Microwave Communications Inc.
QVC – Quality, Value and Convenience
H&M – Hennes & Mauritz
Hasbro – Hassenfeld Brothers
JVC – Japan Victor Company
LoJack – The opposite of hijack.
Chime in with those I’ve missed.
Comments (23)
Comment
AT&T = American Telephone and Telegraph
posted by Jason! on 4-16-2007 at 9:23 am
You forgot JPMC, JP Morgan Chase, one of the major private banks.
posted by Catherine Thomas on 4-16-2007 at 10:01 am
IBM – International Business Machines
NABISCO – National Biscuit Company
posted by WizardBoy on 4-16-2007 at 10:02 am
Sprint – Southern Pacific Railway Integrated Networks
BMW – Bavarian Motor Works
posted by Scott on 4-16-2007 at 10:05 am
Alcan- Aluminium Company of Canada
posted by Chris Thorpe on 4-16-2007 at 10:10 am
LG (as in appliances) Lucky Goldstar (though I believe they have changed it recently)
ADP (Automatic Data Processing)
(had to get a plug in!) lol
posted by Jane on 4-16-2007 at 10:16 am
NCR — National Cash Register
posted by Howar on 4-16-2007 at 10:31 am
KFC – Kentucky Fried Chicken
posted by Barry on 4-16-2007 at 10:50 am
Sorry, I forgot:
FedEx – Federal Express
Nortel – Northern Telecom Limited
posted by Barry on 4-16-2007 at 10:54 am
VF Corp – Vanity Fair (apparel, not the magazine)
Not really a company, but some states instead of liquor stores have state regulated ABC Stores – Alcohol Beverage Control Stores
posted by al on 4-16-2007 at 11:09 am
Haribo (of Gummi Bears and other candy) HARI Company of BOnn
UPS- United Parcel Service
posted by Ben on 4-16-2007 at 11:51 am
Sabre (the parent company of Travelocity and the Roaming Gnome) once was shorthand for “Semi-Automated Business Research Environment.”
posted by Karl on 4-16-2007 at 11:51 am
What about DHL? I asked a DHL guy one day and even he didn’t know.
posted by Heidi on 4-16-2007 at 12:33 pm
CVS: Consumer Value Stores
A&P: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company.
posted by who's Tony? on 4-16-2007 at 2:13 pm
IHOP – International House of Pancakes
UPS – United Parcel Service
posted by Maureen on 4-16-2007 at 2:49 pm
DHL came from the names of Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn.
DHL originally carried bills of lading between Honolulu and California. AirBorne Express, originally was Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California, which hauled Hawaiian flowers to the mainland. In 2002, Deutsche Post World Net (the German post office) bought DHL and in 2003, bought AirBorne Express, merged them and repainted everything red and yellow.
posted by Paul Ding on 4-16-2007 at 3:10 pm
Necco: New England Confectionary Company
posted by Cynthia on 4-16-2007 at 10:24 pm
C & H Sugar Stands for California and Hawaii because the Sugarcane is grown in Hawaii and processed in California.
posted by CropTillDawn on 4-17-2007 at 12:14 am
RCA – Radio Corporation of America
CBS – Columbia Broadcasting System
NBC – National Broadcasting Company
ABC – American Broadcasting Company
posted by Robert on 4-17-2007 at 7:53 am
The Arby’s = “roast beef” assumption comes from an ad campaign they did in the late ’80s or early ’90s, where they said it stood for “American Roast Beef, Yes Sir.” It didn’t stick.
posted by Ryan on 4-17-2007 at 8:43 am
GEICO = Government Employees Insurance Company
posted by Clay on 4-17-2007 at 9:47 am
WHAT ABOUT “F U B A R”?
F F____D
U UP
B BEYOND
A ALL
R RECOGNITION
posted by HIQUE IQUEMAN on 4-17-2007 at 1:19 pm
MG (car) – Morris Garages
posted by Robert - again on 4-17-2007 at 7:17 pm