Why is Amazon Called Amazon in 2024? The Story Behind This Retail Giant‘s Name
Chances are that anyone reading this article has ordered something from Amazon at some point. As one of the most ubiquitous online retailers in daily life, I‘m sure many readers are members of Amazon Prime. But despite its popularity, some people may be wondering — why is this company called Amazon?
As an ecommerce analyst, I‘ve done extensive research into Amazon‘s origins. And I have found the story behind its name to be an interesting one. Amazon was named after the world‘s largest river to reflect founder Jeff Bezos‘ big ambitions. But there‘s more to the story than that. Read on for some intriguing facts about the ancient history and rapid growth of this retail giant.
Most Shoppers Are Curious About Amazon‘s Origins
In my experience studying online shopping behavior, I‘ve found Amazon customers tend to feel a sense of curiosity about this massive company they interact with on a regular basis. As Amazon continues its quest for total retail domination in 2024, many questions come up for shoppers like:
- How did Amazon get started back in 1994?
- Was Amazon always called Amazon from their founding?
- And why name it after a South American river of all things?
I set out to uncover the answers to these FAQs. What I found is an origin story of boundless ambition that lives up to the Amazon name.
Jeff Bezos Wanted a Name That Started With "A"
According to Brad Stone‘s book The Everything Store, Bezos came up with the company‘s name himself back in 1994. At the time, website listings were often alphabetized. So Bezos wanted to name his online bookstore something that started with "A" to get top billing.
Flipping through the dictionary, the word Amazon jumped out at him. He loved the association customers would make with Earth‘s largest river. And according to Stone‘s account, Bezos said:
"This is not only the largest river in the world, it‘s many times larger than the next biggest river. It blows all other rivers away."
Right from the start, Bezos clearly had massive aspirations for Amazon, just like the mighty South American waterway after which he named his company. He envisioned Amazon expanding to carry every book imaginable, cementing it as the world‘s biggest bookstore.
Amazon Was Once Called "Cadabra", Referencing Magic
Amazon is the only name most people have ever known. But it wasn‘t Bezos‘ first choice for the company‘s name. Originally, the online bookstore started out in 1995 as Cadabra Inc.
| Original Name | Considered Meaning | Why It Was Changed |
|---|---|---|
| Cadabra | Reference to "abracadabra", implying magic | The name sounded too similar to "cadaver" after the lawyer misheard it |
As the table above shows, Bezos picked Cadabra because of its link to the classic magic word, implying the website worked liked magic. However, the name was short-lived after Bezos‘ lawyer unfortunately misheard it as "cadaver" over the phone. Rightfully so, Bezos decided the similarity to "corpse" wasn‘t very appealing and made the switch to Amazon.
Amazon Originally Only Sold Books When It Launched
It‘s hard imagining Amazon as just an online bookstore today considering its ubiquitous presence across all retail categories. But books were the only products Amazon sold when it first launched in 1995. According to Amazon‘s company timeline, it didn‘t sell music until 1998, toys until 1999, and electronics until 2000.
Focusing solely on books in the early days allowed Amazon to firmly cement itself as the top online bookseller before expanding its inventory. And this focus clearly paid off — just a year after launch Amazon already had over 1 million customer accounts. Revenues exploded from $15.7 million to $610 million between 1996 and 1998.
Books were likely an appealing initial product because:
- Low price points meant less financial risk
- Anyone can enjoy reading a book, so the target audience was endless
- The huge variety of books ensured a large catalog from day one
Bezos‘ Work Ethic Powered Rapid Growth
From 1995 to 1997, Amazon‘s early progress was staggering. Having begun operating out of Jeff Bezos‘ Seattle garage, Amazon quickly outgrew its headquarters as customers flocked to the website seeking books.
Many industry experts attribute this breakneck early growth to the incredibly strong work ethic and leadership style demonstrated by Jeff Bezos in Amazon‘s formative years. According to early employees, typical workweeks lasted at least 60 hours, with Bezos paying little attention to work-life separation. He expected everyone to match his relentless passion for seeing Amazon grow at meteoric rates.
While controversial today, this ruthless leadership did allow Amazon to firmly control the online book market in just a few short years after launch. Bezos has pointed to McDonald‘s founder Ray Kroc as inspiration for his own management style and brand vision. And 25 years later, it‘s clear Bezos wants Amazon to be the McDonald‘s of online retail, expanding across all consumer markets.
Amazon Has Grown Into a Retail Behemoth Through Acquisitions
Since its early book-selling days operating out of a garage, Amazon has of course expanded wildly beyond books to become the most dominant name is ecommerce. Today it sells just about any consumer good imaginable, leveraging its over 200 million Prime subscribers.
According to Amazon‘s latest earnings results, 2022 net sales came in at $513 billion — up a staggering 22% over 2021. And the company doesn‘t seem to be slowing down its quest for total retail domination anytime soon.
A key part of this continuous expansion involves major strategic acquisitions to control key consumer sectors:
- Purchased Whole Foods and its 500+ grocery locations for $13.7 billion back in 2017
- Acquired legendary Hollywood studio MGM for $8.5 billion in 2021
- Took over leading shoe e-tailer Zappos for $1.2 billion in 2009
- Now rumored to be launching a nationwide pharmacy chain after acquiring PillPack for $753 million in 2018
As these examples demonstrate, Amazon wants to completely control every aspect of the retail ecosystem through strategic M&A deals. And its name symbolizing the world‘s largest river echoes this ambition perfectly.
Conclusion: Amazon Lives Up to Its Boundless Name
In closing, I think Amazon‘s name accurately reflects the immense ambitions CEO Jeff Bezos had from day one for his online bookstore. The Amazon river flows larger and more powerfully than any other — so too does Amazon the company aim to be the world‘s most dominant retailer.
It‘s incredible reflecting on those early days back in 1995, when Amazon was nothing more than a tiny bookseller called "Cadabra" operating out of a suburban garage.
Fast forward 25+ years later, and Amazon has clearly achieved its goals of becoming Earth‘s largest retail outlet, just like the South American waterway it‘s named after. Between the genius leadership of Jeff Bezos and endless strategic acquisitions, Amazon doesn‘t appear to be slowing its momentum anytime soon.
So in 2024 and beyond, expect to see Amazon continuing to expand into more consumer verticals, aiming to control every aspect of the shopping experience.
I hope this origin story gave some interesting insight into why Amazon is called Amazon! Let me know in the comments if you have any other lingering questions about the rise of this fascinating company.
