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Origins of Corporate Names

Created by OldOne

Fun Trivia : Quizzes : Corporations
Origins of Corporate Names game quiz
"It seems as if corporate names made more sense in the old days when companies were inclined to take a name that described what they did. This quiz runs down the origins of what seem to be non-descriptive names."

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  



1. You may see the name of FMC corporation on a variety of specialized equipment around airports, and on street sweepers and such. They also produce chemicals, and have spun off a military vehicle operation. What did "FMC" originally mean?
    Federated Mining and Chemicals
    Fredericks Marchant Corporation
    Food Machinery Corporation
    Federal Machine Corporation


2. The initials NCR appear on equipment and information systems found in businesses. What did "NCR" originally stand for?
    Newmont, Craig, and Rogers
    Northeast Carbon Recording
    New Castle Receiving
    National Cash Register


3. The Japanese car maker Nissan was once known as Datsun? How did the name "Datsun" originate?
    Three initials of the three founders plus the English word "sun."
    The city in Japan where the company started
    Japanese da (moving) plus tsun (spirit)
    A river near Osaka


4. Sun Microsystems is a high tech company making computer workstation and high performance servers. How did the name "Sun" originate?
    The initials of the three founders
    An abbreviation for Stanford University Network
    From the sun as being symbolic of light and power
    From the name of founder McNealy's cat, Sunshine


5. Exxon is one of the world's larget oil companies. How did it get its name?
    It was named for the founding Exxon family
    It was named for the oil rich Exxon Hills in West Texas
    It means "energy" in ancient Greek
    It was picked from a list generated by computer


6. TRW was a large conglomerate once known for highly diverse divisions having interests in everything from auto parts to lawn mowers to aerospace. They have since been acquired by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman. Where did the name TRW come from?
    Transmissions, Radios, and Wireless
    Truck and Railway Works
    Thompson Products merged with Ramo-Woolridge Corporation
    Territorial Roads and Waterways


7. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese company well known for its motorcyles. How was the name "Kawasaki" derived?
    The founder, Shozo Kawasaki
    The Japanese Kawa (valley) plus saki (spirit)
    A city in Japan
    A sacred mountain


8. The Italian automaker Fiat is famous for its spirited small cars. How was the name Fiat derived?
    From the Italian, meaning " the final word"
    It's an acronym
    From the founder, Enzo Fiat
    From the Fiat d'Planos region in northern Italy


9. Kyocera makes copiers, cell phones, semiconductors and a variety of other technical products. How was their name derived?
    From the Japanese Kyo (primary) plus cera (goods)
    From the name of a blue flower that blooms in spring
    From the founder, Hibiki Kyocera
    It's short for Kyoto Ceramics


10. IBM stands for International Business Machines. What was their name before 1924 when they changed it to IBM?
    Timekeeping Machine Corporation (T-M-C)
    Punch Card Enumerating (P-C-E)
    The James Blue Company (J-B-C)
    Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company (C-T-R)


11. One of the pioneering companies in the electronic gaming industry was founded in Silicon Valley in 1974 by Nolan Bushnell, who give it its name, Atari. From what was the name "Atari" derived?
    It's from the game of "Go" and means something like "check" in chess
    It is the Hindi word for "warrior"
    It is the Japanese word for "robot"
    It's an acronym


12. Where the "Pepsi" part of the "Pepsi-cola" name come from?
    It implied treatment of dyspepsia
    The flavorings included pepsidyne
    It suggested it would pep you up
    The company mascot was a schnauzer named "Pepsi"


13. How did the name "Coca-cola" originate?
    From the main ingredients coca leaves and kola nuts
    From Koca Kola, a town in Brazil
    From the two ingredients cocoa beans and colaria leaves
    From the ingredients cocaine and kola nuts


14. What was the previous name of the Bank of America, before it was changed in the '30's?
    Pacific Northern Bank
    American Foundation Trust
    Knott, Vurry, Lieklee
    Bank of Italy


15. What is the origin of the name of the Swedish automotive company, Volvo?
    It was named after a city in Sweden
    It means "I roll" in Latin
    It was named after the founder, Gustaf Volvo
    It was named after a Swedish breed of herding dogs


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Compiled May 25 13