Nike
Nike used to be called Blue Ribbon Sports.
- It's not unusual for companies to rebrand themselves, but those original names tend to be forgotten.
- Some tech giants used to go by completely different names - Google was BackRub, eBay was AuctionWeb, and Amazon was Relentless.
- Many companies, like eBay, Nike, or Subway, changed their names just before becoming insanely popular.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Ever heard of the search engine BackRub? Probably not - but you've definitely used it. The website that Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded in 1996 was rechristened Google a year later.
Companies undergo rebranding all the time, but occasionally their new names catch on so quickly that the old ones are virtually forgotten. In Google's case, BackRub was still a relatively unknown side project for Brin and Page, until increasing traffic to the search engine prompted them to find a more marketable name.
Other present-day tech giants went by completely different names as well - Amazon, for example, used to be called Relentless.
Many of the companies on this list changed their names early on. In Best Buy's case, they changed their name from Sound of Music just before they expanded their stores nationwide.
Here are some of the most drastic name changes undergone by today's most recognizable companies. Note that, where possible, we've pointed out the logo changes if the original version is available in the public domain.
