We Have a Word For It ... And Here's Why

A little brand name info, courtesy of the Word Origin Calendar.

AUDI
The German car company by this name was founded in 1899 by August Horch. Horch, however, was prevented from using his own name in this company because of trademark conflicts with his first company, which he had named after himself. Therefore, he translated the German word horch, which means "to listen," into Latin, yielding "Audi."

CANON
This giant electronics company got its name from its first generation camera. Produced in 1934 in Japan, the camera was called the Kwanon, a Japanese name for a Buddhist goddess. A year later, the name was changed to its modern spelling so that the product would not seem too old fashioned.