Even nonsense can have an explanation

Airbnb's name doesn't mean what most people think it does. Can you guess?

Image: Markus Winkler

If you’ve ever wondered why so many tech companies have names that seem unrelated to their products or services, you’re not alone. Big brands like Google, eBay, Adobe, and Apple, to name a few, have quirky names that seem to be more about the sound or the catchiness of the word rather than the actual meaning of it. But even if the meaning isn’t immediately obvious, it does exist. Did you know the origins of these 12 names?

Image: Emily Bernal

Many of the go-to software programs for graphic designers, like Photoshop and Illustrator, are made by Adobe. The company’s name comes from Adobe Creek in Los Altos, California—a stream that ran behind the founder’s home—named after the type of clay found there.

Image: Mitchell Luo

Perhaps the most famous name origin story on this list, Google comes from a misspelling of _googol_—a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The name was chosen by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the company founders, to reflect their goal of building a large-scale search engine.

Image: Maxim Hopman

According to founder Steve Jobs, the company's name was inspired by his visit to an apple farm while he was on a fruitarian diet. However, he also mentioned that it was partially chosen because "Apple" comes before "Atari" alphabetically—one of his competitors at the time.

Image: appshunter.io

Originally called AuctionWeb, eBay got its name from the company’s founder, Pierre Omidyar, who owned a consulting firm called Echo Bay Technology Group. When he couldn’t register echobay.com, he shortened it to eBay.

Image: Brian McGowan

Early in the animation company’s history, one of its founders suggested the name "Pixer" because it sounded like a made-up Spanish verb for "to make pictures." However, another founder, Loren Carpenter, preferred "Radar" for its futuristic feel. So, they combined the two into a single word: Pixar.

Image: Heidi Fin

Although Spotify originated in Sweden, the word itself has no meaning in Swedish. According to the story, founders Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon were brainstorming names when one of the suggestions was misheard as "Spotify," and it just stuck. The rest is history.

Image: Luke Chesser

Originally launched as Nupedia, a free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia took the first part of its name from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick" or "fast." The idea was to create a fast, collaborative encyclopedia that anyone could edit.

Image: Tech Daily

The word "Hulu" has no English definition, but there is an ancient Chinese proverb that describes hulu as "the holder of precious things"—seems quite fitting for a content platform, right?

Image: Eyestetix Studio

If you’ve ever wondered what Skype means, it’s actually a straightforward combination of "sky" and "peer-to-peer." It was originally shortened to "Skyper," but when the founders discovered that name was already in use, they further trimmed it to "Skype."

Image: Filios Sazeides

While some assume that Airbnb stands for an "online bed & breakfast" concept, the true meaning of the name is much simpler. The founders, who were the first hosts, bought air mattresses for their guests and created a website called "Air Bed & Breakfast," which they later shortened to Airbnb.

Image: Brett Jordan

The forum platform for all, Reddit, has a straightforward name derived from the phrase "I read it online." However, as some have pointed out, there is also a Latin parallel to the site’s name—_reddere_—which translates to "render" and can mean "to submit for consideration or approval"—exactly what users do on the site.

Image: Oberon Copeland @veryinformed.com

If you’re building a brand from scratch, don’t name it after a word that already exists—create your own instead. That’s exactly what Etsy’s founder, Rob Kalin, did. In an interview, he explained that the name was inspired by an Italian expression that sounded like the now-famous brand name and meant "oh, yes."

NATURE’S GREATEST COMEBACKS

10 Animals That Recovered From The Brink Of Extinction

Image: Sid Balachandran

Life always seems to find a way, even against what looks like insurmountable odds. And in a world where the specter of extinction looms large for many species, these tales of resilience and recovery are truly heartwarming.

Join us to meet 10 animals that have defied the odds, bouncing back from the brink of extinction to thrive once again.

Image: Jon Sailer

The American Bison, once teetering on the edge of extinction with only a few hundred individuals remaining, has made a remarkable recovery. Through concerted conservation efforts, populations have rebounded to over 500,000 today. Bison now roam freely again across national parks and private reserves, symbolizing a fortunate success story of collaborative conservation initiatives.

Image: Kacie Long

Declared officially extinct in the wild in 1987 - with only 22 individuals left - due to a mix of habitat loss and lead poisoning from ammunition, the California Condor faced imminent extinction. Though the conditions for their long-term survival are still to be addressed, captive breeding programs and rigorous conservation measures helped raise their numbers to over 500 birds.

Image: Thomas Kelley

In the mid-twentieth century, humpback whales were hunted to the brink of extinction for their blubber, then used to make a valuable type of oil. Fearing that the species would soon disappear if the practice continued unregulated, a number of international bans on commercial whaling were imposed, and this led to a remarkable recovery. From just a few thousand individuals in the 1960s, their population has rebounded to over 135,000 today. Conservation efforts continue to focus on mitigating threats such as entanglement in fishing gear and habitat degradation.

Image: Elena Loshina

The iconic giant panda, synonymous with conservation efforts worldwide, has also experienced a dramatic recovery from the brink of extinction. Thanks to extensive captive breeding programs and habitat conservation measures, in 2016, the species was reclassified from "endangered" to "vulnerable." Despite this improvement, the species' survival continues to be threatened by habitat loss and climate change.

Image: Colorado Front Range National Wildlife Refuge Complex, CC BY 4.0

Once hunted for its fur, the black-footed ferret was thought to be almost extinct in the late 70s, with some surviving populations discovered in later years. A 30-year-long recovery program through captive breeding and reintroduction into its native range has helped re-establish populations across the western United States. But the cute mustelid species is not yet out of danger, and it is still considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Image: Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 4.0

The fastest animal alive, reaching speeds over 200 mph, the majestic peregrine falcon was almost annihilated by widespread usage of the pesticide DDT during the 60s, becoming an endangered species over much of its native range. Since the ban on the toxic insecticide, the species has staged an impressive recovery. Their population has rebounded across North America, with successful reintroduction efforts in urban areas as well.

Image: Geraldine Dukes

The southern white rhinoceros was almost driven to extinction during the 19th century, mainly due to sport hunting and land clearing for crops and cattle. Reduced to a population of 20 to 50 animals, the species has miraculously recovered in recent years. Official conservation efforts, including anti-poaching measures and community-based conservation initiatives, have helped their population rebound to over 18,000 individuals in the wild.

Image: Josie Weiss

A species believed to have been naturally rare, the whooping crane was pushed to the cusp of extinction due to overhunting. Their estimated pre-European contact population of around 10,000 birds was reduced to just 15 individuals by the 1940s. Fortunately, intensive conservation efforts have managed to restore their population to over 800 cranes today.

Image: Josh Noseworthy, CC BY 2.0

The Mauritius kestrel, a species endemic to the forests of the island country of Mauritius, was once the world's rarest bird, with only a handful of individuals remaining. Indiscriminate use of pesticides and the introduction of invasive species like cats and mongooses pushed the Mauritius Kestrel to the very edge, reaching an incredible all-time low of only 4 individuals in 1974. Against all odds, conservation efforts managed to save the dying species, raising its population to several hundred individuals today.

Image: Alexas_Fotos

Not even the mighty Bald Eagle - an American symbol of strength and resilience - is safe from environmental damage, and during the first half of the 20th century, its population was severely reduced by a variety of factors like illegal shooting, pesticides, and habitat loss. Luckily, a number of protection efforts allowed the eagles to successfully rebound and repopulate their native ranges across the country.