Name Origins of Indian Iconic Brands | Stories !!

We Indians are proud to have our diverse cultures and our heritages which are unique in nature. With 29 States and 7 Union Territories, India is rich in its tradition among all the countries around the world. India is also proud to have some of it's iconic companies from FMCG to automotive, which are very familiar to common households. 

But do you know how their names were being derived? What is the story behind the names? Let's take you through some interesting stories here.

➥ Amul - The word ‘Amul’ derived from ‘Amulya’, which means ‘priceless’ in Sanskrit, is also an acronym for Anand Milk Union Ltd.

➥ Boroline – The company manufactures an antiseptic perfume cream, which was launched in 1929 in Culcatta by Gourmohan Dutta, a rich Bengali merchant. The name was derived from the ingredients - antiseptic 'boric' powder and the Latin word for oil 'oleum'.

➥ Dabur – Dabur’s founding father Dr. S K Burman was fondly called as “Da-ktar Bur-man” by the locals, thus giving its name to the brand. (Daktar is the Bengali salutation for Doctor).

➥ Dalda was imported by a Dutch company, Dada & Co. To reflect its ownership, Hindustan Lever added “L” for Lever in the middle of the 'Dada' to form Dalda which later became a common household name.

➥ Chelpark - Chelpark was formed when 'Chel'aram family partnered with 'Park'er pen company for it's India operations. The new venture inaugurated it's head office in Bangalore in 1985.

➥ Cinthol - The brand was launched on 15 August, 1952 by Burjor Godrej. A combination of synthetic and Phenol, Godrej decided to tweak the first letter from S of 'Synthetic' was tweaked to C to make it a gentler brand name.

➥ Havells – Anglicized form of the name 'Haveli Ram Gandhi', the original founder of the switchgear company. The company changed their name to Havells India Ltd (Apostrophe is removed from the word Havell's) with effect from July 28 2007.

➥ Lakmé - Lakme was started in 1952 as a 100% subsidiary of Tata oil mill. “Lakmé” derives its name from Sanskrit for “Lakshmi”, the goddess of wealth and epitome of beauty..

➥ Maruti - Maruti refers to the Hindu God 'Hanuman', son of 'Marut' (The God of Wind, also known as 'Pavan'). Maruti Udyog Ltd. has created a sandstorm in domestic automotive sector since its inception in 1981.

➥ Mahindra & Mahindra - Mahindra & Mahindra was first established as 'Muhammad & Mahindra' in 1945 by the brothers J. C. Mahindra and K. C. Mahindra, and Malik Ghulam Muhammad in Ludhiana, Punjab to trade steel. After the Partition of India in 1947, Malik Ghulam Muhammad left the company and emigrated to Pakistan where he became the first finance minister of the new state. In 1948, K. C. Mahindra changed the company’s name to "Mahindra & Mahindra".

➥ RANBAXY - "Ran"jit Singh and Gur"bax" Singh, two talented employees of Japanese Pharmaceutical company established "Ranbaxy" by merging their names. The company was found in the city of Amritsar, in the early 1960s.

➥ Tanishq – The name was coined by Xerxes Desai, now retired Vice-Chairman and MD of Titan Industries. The name took “Ta” from TATA and “Nishk” meaning a piece of jewellery.

➥ Tata Sumo - Sumo is derived by taking the first two alphabets of 'Su'mit 'Mo'olgaonkar , the MD of Tata Motors

➥ Wipro – Abbreviation of "Western India Palm Refined Oil Limited", the company that was originally founded by Mohamed Premji in 1945.

➥ Zandu – Zandu was named after its visionary founder Zandu Bhattji, who prepared Ayurvedic medicines for the King of Jamnagar. He established his first Ayurvedic Medicine manufacturing factory in Jamnagar in 1964.

Quite interesting the name origin stories! Isn't it?

I am sure that there must be many other Indian companies which have multiple stories behind their 'NAMES'. If you know some, then mention in the 'Comment' section..

References: mythicalindia.com, marketingmind.in, linkedin.com