Hello! I'm a lexicographer, and I'm fascinated by the stories behind words, especially the origins of brand names. Companies put a lot of thought into choosing the right name, and those names often have surprising and interesting backgrounds. The story of how Google got its name is a great example!

**The Story of a Name: From Backrub to Google**

The name "Google" actually originated from a misspelling of the word "googol." A googol, a mathematical term, represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeros (10^100). Now, let's delve into why this massive number appealed to the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Larry and Sergey, while Ph.D. students at Stanford University in the mid-1990s, were developing a revolutionary search engine. Their goal? To organize the vast and seemingly infinite amount of information available on the burgeoning World Wide Web.

They called their initial project "BackRub," a name reflecting the engine's novel approach to ranking websites based on backlinks. However, they quickly realized they needed a name that better captured the essence of their ambitious project – a system designed to handle and index a seemingly limitless amount of data.

The story goes that the name "googol" came up during a brainstorming session. The name was a perfect fit. It symbolized the sheer scale of information they were trying to organize and make accessible, reflecting their mission to make the world's information universally accessible and useful.

However, as fate would have it, when registering the domain name, they made a small but significant error. Instead of "googol.com," they accidentally typed in "google.com." And thus, from a simple misspelling, one of the most recognizable brand names in history was born.

The Impact of a Name

The misspelling turned out to be a stroke of luck. "Google" is much catchier, more memorable, and rolls off the tongue easier than "googol." The name also lent itself well to playful branding and verbification – "to google" quickly became synonymous with searching for information online.

The name "Google" reflects the company's core mission and values. It embodies their ambition, innovation, and even a touch of playfulness. This seemingly simple misspelling turned out to be a pivotal moment in the company's history, shaping its identity and contributing to its global recognition.

The story of Google's name serves as a powerful reminder that even in the world of technology and innovation, human error and serendipity can play a significant role. And sometimes, a simple misspelling can lead to the birth of something extraordinary.
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Eventually, they changed the name to Google; the name of the search engine originated from a misspelling of the word "googol", the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, which was picked to signify that the search engine was intended to provide large quantities of information.read more >>