Where Did They Get That Name?

My latest article for Visual Thesaurus, "Where Did They Get That Name?", is now online. In it I divulge the secret stories behind eight brand names. I hope Santa gave you a VT subscription, or you gave one to yourself, because that's the only way you'll get access to the whole thing. Alternatively, you could dig into the Fritinancy archives to read many of the stories, including those for Kindle, Slinky, and Acne Jeans.

Here's one name story I haven't written about previously:

J.P. Tod's. This Italian luxury leather-goods company was named after its founding family until the 1970s, when scion Diego Della Valle decided to rebrand it. He flipped through the Boston telephone directory and landed on J.P. Tod, which had the right Anglo sound and a slightly quirky spelling that made it distinctive.

One more plug: Visual Thesaurus is a terrific resource for writers, teachers, and marketing professionals. An individual online subscription is just $19.95 a year, with a 14-day free trial; additional subscribers on your account are just $10 a year. Go! Subscribe! Read!