Companies named after people

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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

  • 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, founder

• 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

  • Alstom

  • Thomson SA

  • Thomson-CSF (now Thales Group)

  • 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