Companies named after people

[sajiv]

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 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
          o 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 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 – Eleuthère Irénée 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

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      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
    * Nestlé – Henri Nestlé who created the milk-based food in 1867
    * Northrop – Jack Northrop

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      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 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
          o 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
          o Alstom
          o Thomson SA
          o Thomson-CSF (now Thales Group)
          o 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