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Company Names Trivia Quiz

Many household names are taken for granted, but do we really know what they all mean?

A multiple-choice quiz by satguru. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
satguru

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
160,765

Updated
Dec 10 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Very Difficult

Avg Score
3 / 10

Plays
1305

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What is the national airline of Denmark? Hint

Scandinavian Air Services (SAS)

Maersk Air

Dan Air

It doesn't have one

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. What does the 'H' stand for in the name of the British jewellers H. Samuel? Hint

Harold

Harriet

Heinrich

Harvey

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Philips, the electrical goods manufacturers, are based in the Netherlands, but where does the name of the US electrical company Philco originate? Hint

Philadelphia

Philip (first name)

Another Philips

The same Philips' US arm

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Rentokil, the UK pest control and hygiene company, means: Hint

Rent us to kill vermin

R and N to kill vermin

Renton and Kilcline

Insect killers

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Birdseye, Mars, Hoseasons, Stussy, Lemon Hart and Dr Pepper are all the names of the company founders.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. The name of the British kitchen equipment company Kenwood is based on what? Hint

Kendall and Woodman

Kenwood House in London

Kenneth Wood

The place where they are made

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Which letter(s) was/were removed to leave the name Ronson, the cigarette lighter company? Hint

sigt

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Warfarin, the rat poison and blood thinner, is named after what? Hint

Warfare against rats

The inventors' names

Warfare against heart disease

Wisconsin University and a chemical

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. The publishers Thames and Hudson are named after Hint

The owners

Characters in a film

The owner's two dogs

The two rivers of those names

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The soluble aspirin, Aspro, is named after what? Hint

Its owner

PROtection from heAdacheS

Aspirin

Nothing - it is meaningless

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is the national airline of Denmark?

Answer: It doesn't have one

As SAS covers Norway, Sweden and Denmark together, technically none of these countries has its own national airline. Maersk Air is the largest private airline in Denmark, and Dan Air was from England, meaning 'Davies and Newman'.

2. What does the 'H' stand for in the name of the British jewellers H. Samuel?

Answer: Harriet

Every British shopper probably sees this name every week, but few would know its origin. H. Samuel was founded in Liverpool by Moses and Lewis Samuel in 1821. The Harriet concerned was the widow of Moses Samuel's son, being his last surviving relative after her son's death.

3. Philips, the electrical goods manufacturers, are based in the Netherlands, but where does the name of the US electrical company Philco originate?

Answer: Philadelphia

There are only so many names in the world, so similar ones, even for those businesses in the same field (also Kenwood, unrelated UK and Japanese electrical goods manufacturers), are bound to occur at times. They often result in long legal battles if challenged by the original company.

4. Rentokil, the UK pest control and hygiene company, means:

Answer: Insect killers

'Ento-kill' means 'to kill insects', from the Greek 'entoma' ('insects'). A company already had a similar name, so they decided to add the letter 'R'.

5. Birdseye, Mars, Hoseasons, Stussy, Lemon Hart and Dr Pepper are all the names of the company founders.

Answer: True

Though Hoseasons is a holiday company, its founder was Mr Hoseason from Scotland. Mr Lemon Hart created the rum in Cornwall. Forrest Mars founded Mars, the confectionery company, Dr Pepper invented the drink, Mr Stussy owns the clothes company, and Clarence Birdseye founded the frozen food company.

6. The name of the British kitchen equipment company Kenwood is based on what?

Answer: Kenneth Wood

This was a simple abbreviation: the owner was known as Ken Wood and used that as one word.

7. Which letter(s) was/were removed to leave the name Ronson, the cigarette lighter company?

Answer: aa

The founder's real name was Aaronson, not Bronson, Robinson or Rossington.

8. Warfarin, the rat poison and blood thinner, is named after what?

Answer: Wisconsin University and a chemical

Warfarin came out as a very misleading name which was simply based on the initials of the University it was invented, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and the last two letters of CoumarIN, its main ingredient. Any connection with warfare is only coincidental.

9. The publishers Thames and Hudson are named after

Answer: The two rivers of those names

As the two main offices were in London and New York, their rivers were used to illustrate the transatlantic nature of the company.

10. The soluble aspirin, Aspro, is named after what?

Answer: Its owner

Another Warfarin-type answer, where the sound of the name is confused with the actual product. The Aspro here is taken from Mr Nicholas, who ran the last two letters of his name into the first two of product (nicholAS PROduct) to form 'Aspro'. The odd reason for choosing a different name from aspirin is that in 1917, when the Australian Mr Nicholas changed the name to Aspro, Aspirin was a German product, which he believed might put off customers during the ongoing war with Germany. So instead of selling a German product, he sold a Nicholas product. No doubt the actual letters he chose were conveniently associated with aspirin as well.

Source: Author satguru

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Matve before going online.
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