I What’s In A Name?

Business

What’s In A Name?

Facebook is not the first company to decide to start a new chapter with a new name. These household brands also launched with different monikers to what they now use.

Facebook Meta

Facebook announced that it was changing its corporate name to Meta—the Greek word for “beyond”—in October 2021. Cofounder Mark Zuckerberg stated that Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life, and the company has since made several investments, including in creating the AI Research SuperCluster, which is expected to be the world’s fastest computer by mid-2022. Under the Meta parent company, the social apps Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have retained their famous names.

Brad’s Drink PepsiCola PepsiCo

In 1893, pharmacist Caleb Bradham developed a carbonated drink named Brad’s Drink. In August 1898, he changed the name to Pepsi-Cola after its ingredients enzyme pepsin and the cola nut. In 1965, Pepsi-Cola and Frito Lay combined their two companies to create PepsiCo, delivering salty snacks as well as the popular beverage. Today, PepsiCo’s products are consumed more than a billion times a day in more than 200 countries. The company reported $70 billion in net revenue in 2020 and the Pepsi brand was valued at $18.2 billion as of July 2020, according to Forbes.

BackRub Google Alphabet

Although Google was officially founded in 1998, its journey began in 1995, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University. A year later, in 1996, the two cofounders created a pioneering search engine, which they first named BackRub before changing it to Google shortly after. In 1998, Sun Microsystems cofounder Andy Bechtolsheim invested $100,000 with Page and Sergey, and Google Inc. was born. Google Inc. went public in 2004, and in August 2015, the cofounders announced the launch of Alphabet Inc, which became the parent company of Google and its subsidiaries.

Dunkin’ Donuts Dunkin’

The Dunkin’ Brands company announced in September 2018 that it was shortening the name of its Dunkin’ Donuts chain by dropping “Donuts” from its branding and logo. The switch to the shorter name took place in January 2019. The company stated that the change was a step towards it becoming a beverage-led brand.

Square Block

Just a couple of days after Jack Dorsey resigned from Twitter in December 2021, his California-based financial services and digital payments company Square Inc., announced that it would be changing its name to Block. The name change was introduced to distinguish the company from its “seller business” as it expanded through acquisitions. Since the company’s start in 2009 it has acquired Cash App, TIDAL, and TBD54566975.