Poor Homer. Sure, the ancient poet is back in the spotlight, thanks to Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey. But let’s face it – when you hear “Homer”, odds are you think of the doughnut-loving dad from The Simpsons, not Greek literature.
The culture of the day can shift word associations, and it happens with product and company names too. Plenty of labels stem from folklore, slang, geography or everyday vocabulary. The original meanings haven’t disappeared, but branding has largely overridden them, if not swallowed their definitions whole.
Here are 10 examples, starting with one that goes back to, well, Homer.
1. From hero to household cleanser
Figures named Ajax the Great and Ajax the Lesser appeared in The Iliad and The Odyssey. Homer portrayed these mythological heroes as powerful warriors. When Colgate-Palmolive introduced a powdered cleanser in 1947, it named the brand Ajax. “Stronger than dirt” became the slogan for Ajax laundry detergent.
2. The soul – and sole – of victory
Let’s stick with Greek mythology. This athletic footwear and apparel company started as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. When it came time to rebrand in 1971, the company went with the name of the Greek goddess of victory: Nike.
3. An acronym with a golden touch
In 1956, Nate Sherman created a chain of franchised repair shops under the banner of Muffler Installation Dealers Association. It became better known by the acronym Midas, which happens to be the name of another mythological character. The company adopted King Midas – known for turning everything he touched into gold – as its symbol. “Trust the Midas touch” became a famous advertising tagline.
4. Making its mark
This next word has had multiple identities. Starting from the 19th century, it described a long, flat-bottomed sailboat. Informally, it has also been used at various times to characterize someone who was alert, slick, stylish or dishonest. Today, most people link it to a line of permanent markers, introduced by the Sanford Ink Company in 1964: the Sharpie.
5. A hole in one
Life Savers candies and mints debuted in 1912, named for their resemblance to a ring-shaped flotation/rescue device, nicknamed the lifesaver. Lifebuoy soap is a parallel namesake, with a nod to the same sort of safety equipment. We still use the term, but usually in a different context, like when someone does you a favour – “Hey, you’re a real lifesaver.”
6. The heat is on
Plenty of brands take their names from places. Think Philadelphia Cream Cheese, London Fog, Omaha Steaks and Fiji Water. But when you hear “Philadelphia” or “London”, you picture a place, not a dairy product or a trench coat. That may not be the case with Tabasco, a hot sauce created by Edward McIlhenny in 1868 in Louisiana. In several online dictionaries I checked, the first definition is the sauce, not the Mexican state of the same name.
7. Spread the word
In France, a traditional type of pot-bellied crockery was called a marmite. When a British company invented a spread based on a yeast extract, it took its name from the crockery, which was used to ship it. That was in 1902. Marmite subsequently gave the latter part of its name to Vegemite, the Australian spread that was developed after World War I disrupted Marmite imports down under.
8. Mystery machine
This brand name has a disputed origin. It came about after the U.S. Army needed a light reconnaissance vehicle in World War II. Some say the name came from the pronunciation of the letters “GP” (say it fast), the military abbreviation for general purpose. Others claim the vehicle was named after a character from the Popeye comics that possessed magical abilities: Eugene the Jeep. Whatever the source, the Jeep eventually went from military use to widespread civilian use.
9. That’s the spirit
Quick, what’s a Sprite? Today, most people would say a lemon-lime soft drink. But long before Coca-Cola introduced the brand in 1961 as a competitor to 7 Up, the word described a fairy-like or ethereal being. It traces its roots to the Latin spiritus and the French esprit. Coca-Cola had already used an elfin character called Sprite Boy in its advertising during the 1940s and 1950s before reviving the name for the new drink.
10. Dew it again
In 1882, a folk song came out celebrating Irish moonshine, using the slang for the brew. It was called “The Rare Old Mountain Dew”. (Quick aside: that tune is referenced at the beginning of The Pogues’ great song “Fairytale of New York”.) The same slang was used in the title of a 1930s Appalachian folk song about homemade whiskey, “Good Old Mountain Dew”. The next decade, two Tennessee brothers created a lemon-lime soda mixer for bourbon and playfully called it Mountain Dew. PepsiCo acquired the soft drink brand in 1964. In 2022, they partnered with a beer company to produce a line of alcohol-infused Mountain Dew. Right back to its moonshine roots. Sometimes, words really do come full circle.
Stuart Foxman is a Toronto-based freelance writer, who helps clients’ products, services, ideas and organizations to come alive. Connect with me here on LinkedIn, or check me out at foxmancommunications.com where I share these posts too. More coming regularly about communications and culture, language and learning, motivation and messaging, branding and creativity, media and marketing, audiences and attention, etc.
August 26, 2026