# Brand names that changed in everyday usage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123 "2024-02-26T22:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/21 "2024-02-27T00:56:07Z")
Federal Express becomes Fedex? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/22 "2024-02-27T01:04:07Z")
In Australia McDonalds is known to everyone as Maccas, and probably has been since 15 minutes after the first store was opened. In the recent past the company has taken it on as well in their [corporate identity](https://mcdonalds.com.au/about-maccas/maccas-story), advertising, their twitter gag @maccas, and so on. I don’t know if they’ve made comparable changes in other markets to reflect the local usage. I’m sure that in part it was giving in to the inevitable, and making sure they kept control over the brand before someone else did. It is also part of MCdonalds Australia’s long-term strategy of differentiating themselves from the global brand, and its over-riding cheap, crappy fast-foodiness vibe. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/23 "2024-02-27T01:14:08Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Federal Express becomes Fedex? I worked for Federal Express in the late 70s. By that time, people were starting to refer to it as FedEx. The founder, Fred Smith, absolutely positively hated that. It was a big deal and no one was ever supposed to call the company by that name. In the 80s, FedEx started to also be used as a verb (i.e. did you FedEx that package?). The purple and orange FedEx logo was unveiled in 1994 but Fred held out until 2000 when the name of the company was formally changed. This one doesn’t really fit the OP, though, since Fred finally gave in to popular opinion. [Our History | FedEx](https://www.fedex.com/en-us/about/history.html) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/24 "2024-02-27T01:14:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Are people misunderstanding the actual question? On the SDMB? That’s unpossible! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/25 "2024-02-27T01:30:25Z")
Because more customers get coffee, which is better than their donuts. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/26 "2024-02-27T01:31:12Z")
Wally World? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/27 "2024-02-27T01:45:14Z")
I have some old Enco highway maps somewhere. I was surprised as a kid to learn that Esso/Enco were regional variations. But then I discovered Standard and American were also such variations. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/28 "2024-02-27T01:56:29Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Because more customers get coffee, which is better than their donuts. The Spanish took this to its logical conclusion and changed the name to **Dunkin’ Coffee**. ---
**Author:** ![Deanna\_D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@Deanna\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deanna_D)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/29 "2024-02-27T02:06:49Z")
I want to say that makes sense, and that it’s great marketing, but I’d be lying. I always thought that the original name played off of the fact that some people dunk their donuts IN their coffee, so I thought the original name was clever. Dunkin’ seems incomplete to me, and Dunkin’ coffee seems weird. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/30 "2024-02-27T02:20:08Z")
New Zealand has the Maggot Pack—pretty sure that is not an official brand name 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/31 "2024-02-27T02:22:30Z")
Tangentially related… Here in Ontario there used to be only two stores where you could buy beer, the province controlled LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) which sold beer, wine and spirits, and the brewer owned “Brewer’s Retail.” Because we Canadians are such amazingly eloquent folks, some time in the late 80’s or early 90’s they changed their name to the much more popular public moniker… …The Beer Store. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/32 "2024-02-27T02:35:59Z")
Does Scotch tape count? It’s really Scotch brand magic tape. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/33 "2024-02-27T02:38:55Z")
In a sort of reverse twist on this phenomenon, people on this message board and in general keep referring to Monsanto. Monsanto no longer exists, having been bought by Bayer in 2018, and Bayer retiring the name. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I was surprised as a kid to learn that Esso/Enco were regional variations. But then I discovered Standard and American were also such variations. Officially they weren’t variations, they were entirely separate companies, all formed (along with Mobil, Chevron and others) from the breakup of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/34 "2024-02-27T02:53:46Z")
You’ll just as likely hear “Kroger’s” as the correct “Kroger,” but people here who use the former would never apply it to the specific store known as the [Murder Kroger](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_Kroger) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/35 "2024-02-27T02:55:37Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Officially they weren’t variations, they were entirely separate companies, all formed (along with Mobil, Chevron and others) from the breakup of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Yes, but IIRC those separate companies stuck to certain regions. I’d have to go to other states to see Esso or American stations. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/37 "2024-02-27T03:01:56Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > This is a marginal case, because the “popular” name is so similar to the real name. In the UK and Ireland, it is common for the public to add the letter “S” to shop names: “Marks and Spencer” =\> “Marks and Spencers”, “Eason” =\> “Easons”, “WH Smiths”, etc. > [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > JC Penney, for a time (late 60s? 70s) called their stores “Penney’s.” > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Across the pond, you might hear “I’m going to Wal-Mart’s.” I’m waiting for Aldi to capitulate and change their name to Aldi’s already. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/39 "2024-02-27T03:08:25Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’d have to go to other states to see Esso or American stations. And in case it wasn’t obvious to everyone, Esso stood for ‘S’ ‘O’, or Standard Oil. Various court orders didn’t allow Standard Oil of NJ to use Esso everywhere. They also had the Enco brand, which also faced some restrictions so they changed to Exxon to get a single brand they could use nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/40 "2024-02-27T05:30:28Z")
The one in Anderson, Indiana had a sign that read “Penneys” (no apostrophe). According to this, [The Complete History Of The JCPenney Logo  - Hatchwise](https://www.hatchwise.com/resources/the-complete-history-of-the-jcpenney-logo), this version was in use from '63 to '71. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/41 "2024-02-27T06:50:09Z")
Milwaukee’s Best beer has been called “Beast” or, “The Beast” for at least the past 20 years. As far as I know, it has never been labeled or marketed as “Beast”. If it has, I’m sure the nickname came first. The other cheap beer, "Natural Light(Lite?), is referred to as “Natty Light”. I think they did embrace the nickname and print “Natty” on the cans at some point. It’s been a while since I’ve had to buy a beer that cheap, and memories from that era are foggy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123/42 "2024-02-27T08:22:19Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > You’re not looking for colloquialisms like “Mickey D’s” for McDonalds or “Tar-zhay” for Target, are you? Australians call McDonald’s “Maccas” and for a while there were a couple of stores that changed their signs to match. This is the one in Swanston St in Melbourne, I think. [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGxFjnz87n8FNSj_ssg27IBrDGEmET9OjHztraXsrW5EdXYu4DXilr5SjGnHMhDGJoIZVnICnSKyANxOQOyn2u20ijxJnFcdVW9xAHPLBOPN_0GXz9nGkQBhSp1K1uYUBYIapDsbJYnQR/s1600/maccas-sign.jpg) ](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGxFjnz87n8FNSj_ssg27IBrDGEmET9OjHztraXsrW5EdXYu4DXilr5SjGnHMhDGJoIZVnICnSKyANxOQOyn2u20ijxJnFcdVW9xAHPLBOPN_0GXz9nGkQBhSp1K1uYUBYIapDsbJYnQR/s1600/maccas-sign.jpg) https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211ss7jQ6k-OGq4N5szcd71XFg%212m2%211d-37.8172006%212d144.9673065%213f278.23%214f8.673%215f0.75 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-changed-in-everyday-usage/998123.md?page=3)