Here’s what 24 of the most popular brand names really mean

Under Armour decided to use the British spelling because it made a better phone number.

The name Under Armour came about somewhat accidentally, according to The Washington Post's interview with CEO Kevin Plank. Plank said he had landed on the name Body Armor, but couldn't get the name trademarked. He told The Post:

"I was a bit dejected, but I had lunch plans that afternoon with my oldest brother, Bill. So, I show up to pick him up, knock on the door, and he looks down at me the way only an older brother can look at a younger brother, and he asks, "How’s that company you're working on, uhh ... Under Armor?"

So how did Under Armour end up with that weird spelling?

"The reason we added the 'U' in 'Armour' is that I was skeptical at the time about whether this whole internet thing would stick," Plank told The Post. "So I thought the phone number 888-4ARMOUR was much more compelling than 888-44ARMOR. I wish there was a little more science or an entire marketing study behind it, but it was that simple."

Amazon was named after the world's biggest river.

When Amazon first launched in 1995, founder Jeff Bezos had a different idea for his brand name.

Bezos wanted to call his online bookstore Cadabra, according to Brad Stone's book about the company. But Amazon's first lawyer, Todd Tarbert, managed to convince him that the name sounded too similar to "Cadaver."

Bezos is also said to have favored the name Relentless, and if you visit Relentless.com today, you'll be redirected to Amazon's website, Business Insider reported. 

Bezos finally settled on Amazon, named after the largest river in the world, and incorporated an image of the river in the company's first logo.

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