Full Forms OF 25 Famous Brands You Probably Didn't Know!

Ever wondered what are the full forms of these iconic brands? 🤔

1.     BMW: Bayerische Motoren Werke

It’s a German multinational company founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

The pronunciation is also tricky since the sound of “W” in German is like the sound of “V” in English. Hence, it is pronounced as “B-M-V”.

2.      AMUL: Anand Milk Union Limited.

Anand Milk Union started Amul in the Anand district of Gujarat in 1946 and became India’s first commercial butter brand.

3.      H&M: Hennes and Mauritz

It is a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company founded by Erling Persson.

In Swedish, Hennes means Hers. As Persson purchased the fashion store Mauritz in 1968, the company also included menswear in its collection! Hence the brand name, Hennes & Mauritz.

4.      AND: Anita Dongre

Anita Dongre, who is the company's visionary founder and designer, represents the apparel brand. She studied Fashion design at SNDT college, Mumbai. House of Anita Dongre currently shelters AND, Global Desi and her signature label ANITA DONGRE.

5.      DALDA: Had the Lever Brothers of England not insisted on adding the letter 'L' into the name, then maybe the very beloved vanaspati ghee of India would have been called Dada.

The famous Ghee was imported by a Dutch Company named “Dada and Company” and to reflect its ownership Hindustan Unilever added the “L” in the middle of Dada.

6.      DABUR: The name Dabur is derived from Daktar Burman.

 It produces Ayurvedic medicines and consumer goods of natural origin.

7.      AMD: Advanced Micro Devices

AMD is a Santa Clara, California-based American multinational semiconductor company which develops computer processors and graphic cards. It was founded in 1969.

Their primary competitors are Intel and Nvidia

8.      HDFC: Housing Development Finance Corporation

Established in Mumbai, Maharashtra, HDFC Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services firm.

9.      FIAT: Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino

Meaning “Italian automobile factory of Turin”. Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy, founded over 121 years ago in 1899. (Wow!)

The company houses automotive brands like Abarth, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram Trucks.

10.  TVS: Thirukkurungudi Vengaram Sundram

Thirukkurungudi Vengaram Sundram Iyengar was the founder of the TVS group. So, the name TVS comes from his initials. The company was founded in 1978 and headquartered in Chennai.

11.  ICICI Bank: Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India

ICICI Bank Limited is an Indian multinational banking and financial services company.

It is one of the Big Four banks of India and was founded in 1994.

Sandeep Bakshi is the current CEO and MD. 

12.  BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation

It is one of the largest broadcasting networks headquartered at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London.

13.  CIPLA: The Chemical, Industrial & Pharmaceutical Laboratories

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Cipla Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical firm founded in 1935 by Khwaja Abdul Hamied. 

14.  WIPRO: Western India Palm Refined Oil Limited.

The firm was founded in Amalner, Maharashtra on 29 December 1945, by Mohamed Premji. Azim Premji took over Wipro as its chairman after the death of Mohamed Premji.

15.  CEAT: Formerly “Cavi Elettrici e Affini Torino”

It is a company producing tyres belonging to the RPG Group. It was founded in Turin, Italy, in 1924.

CEAT is one of India's largest producers of tyres to date and has a presence worldwide.

16.  JBL: James Bullough Lansing

JBL is founded by James Bullough Lansing in 1946 and is headquartered in California, US. The company is a leading manufacturer of audio equipment like headphones and amplifiers. The company was first called Lansing Sound, Incorporated which then changed its name to James B. Lansing Sound.

17.  LEGO: Leg Godt

The meaning is “Play well”.  

The Lego Group, based in Denmark, is a privately owned company.

There was a time when investing in Lego sets was more valuable than investing in gold.

18.  EBAY: Electronic Bay

Formerly “Auction Web”, eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. It’s an American multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California.

19.  INFOSYS: Information Systems

Infosys is the second-largest Indian IT company after Tata Consultancy Services and is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by N.R. Narayan Murthy in 1981.

Infosys did not have a computer till 1983, since Murthy could not afford the set that he liked!

20.  IBM: International Business Machine

It was founded in 1911, about 109 years ago!

Headquartered in New York, IBM specializes in cognitive solutions, cloud platforms and computer hardware and software.

21.  KTM: Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen

It translates into "motor Vehicle". KTM is an Austrian motorcycle company founded in 1934 in Mattighofen, Austria, by Hans Trunkenpolz.

Bajaj Auto of India has a share of 49.79% of the company’s stakes.

22.  ADIDAS: Adolf “Adi” Dassler

It was founded by Adolf Dassler in 1924 and is headquartered in Germany. After World War I, the Dassler family started manufacturing shoes. After the split, Rudolf Dassler formed a new company named “Ruda” which was later renamed as “Puma”.

23.  MRF: Madras Rubber Factory

MRF is an Indian Multinational tyre manufacturing company founded by K. M, Mammen Mappillai in 1946. MRF reportedly exports tyres to more than 65 nations, including the United States, Europe and the Middle East.         

24.  ORACLE: Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine

The ORACLE, an experimental machine designed by the National Laboratory of Oak Ridge, was based on the IAS architecture of John von Neumann's.         

25.  VW: Volkswagen

Volkswagen (VW) is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen was founded in 1937, as 'Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH', which translates to 'Limited Liability Company for the preparation of the German People's Car', abbreviated to Gezuvor.