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

"A genie whispered 'Rolex,'" in the founder's ear.

Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, wanted a brand name that could be said in any language, Business Insider reported.

"I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way," said Wilsdorf, according to Rolex. "This gave me some hundred names, but none of them felt quite right. One morning, while riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London, a genie whispered 'Rolex' in my ear."

Lululemon means nothing at all. And it's intentionally hard to pronounce.

Lululemon founder Chip Wilson came up with the yoga-wear brand's name because he thought Japanese people wouldn't be able to pronounce it. 

He wrote in 2009:

"It was thought that a Japanese marketing firm would not try to create a North American sounding brand with the letter 'L' because the sound does not exist in Japanese phonetics. By including an 'L' in the name it was thought the Japanese consumer would find the name innately North American and authentic."

"In essence, the name 'lululemon' has no roots and means nothing other than it has 3 'L's' in it. Nothing more and nothing less."

A representative for Lululemon told Business Insider that the brand's name was chosen from a list of 20 brand names and 20 logos by a group of 100 people. 

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