List of companies named after people
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIS : List of companies named after people
This is a list of companies named after people. For other lists of eponyms (names derived from people) see Lists of etymologies.
- 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&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
- Brooks Information Technology – founded by Matthew Brooks
- 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
- 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.
- Eatons – Timothy Eaton
- Edison Records – Thomas Edison
- Eli Lilly and Company – Eli Lilly
- Ericsson – Lars Magnus Ericsson
- Ferrari – Enzo Ferrari, founder
- Ford Motor Company – Henry Ford
- 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. 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
- 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.
- JCPenney – James Cash Penney
- 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.
- 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)
- Marriott Corporation (later split into Host Marriott and Marriott International) – founder J. Willard Marriott
- 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
- Nestlé – Henri Nestlé who created the milk-based food in 1867
- Northrop – Jack Northrop
- 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 – Ferdinand Porsche
- Procter & Gamble – William Procter and James Gamble
- 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 plc/Rolls-Royce Motor Cars – 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Yamaha Corporation – Torakusu Yamaha
See also
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