Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak met in the middle of 1971 when Bill Fernandez introduced them to each other. They started their partnership later in the year, where they sold blue boxes. The success of their first venture together is the reason why Apple came to be. But what made Steve Jobs choose the name Apple?
There are several reasons why the name “Apple” stuck, but Steve Jobs partially wanted to name his company that because it would appear on the phone book before his old company Atari.
How Did Apple Get Its Name?
There are a bunch of theories of why Apple is called Apple. Some of the best reasons we find on the internet may not be the fundamental idea behind the name. Here are some of the true stories behind the computer giant’s iconic name and logo. (Source: Mac World)
Steve Jobs Just Really Liked Apples
Jobs reveals in Walter Isaacson’s biography that he’d come up with the name of the company while he was on his fruitarian diet. After coming from a commune disguised as an apple orchard, he told Wozniak about how the name Apple sounded fun, spirited, and not intimidating.
I remember I was driving Steve Jobs back from the airport along Highway 85. Steve was coming back from a visit to Oregon to a place he called an “apple orchard.” It was actually some kind of commune. Steve suggested a name – Apple Computer.
Steve Wozniak
(Source: Mac World)
The Phone Book
The strategy of getting better sales back in the 70s was to be more visible on print media. In 1976, companies would pick out a name that would appear first on the phone book. The theory was, a customer looking for something would often start at the As. Jobs knew that he would be ahead of rivals like his former company Atari with a name like Apple. Jobs confirmed this theory in a presentation in 1980.
Partially because Apple is ahead of Atari in the phone book and I used to work at Atari.
Steve Jobs
(Source: Mac World)
The Beatles
It was no secret that Jobs was a big fan of the Beatles. There have been speculations that Apple Computers was inspired by The Beatles’ label named Apple Records. Jobs had a conversation with Wozniak about Apple Records at the time, but the name just stuck.
In 2006, Apple Computer and Apple Records met in court to dispute the existence of iTunes, which Apple Records suggested Apple violated their agreement went the company started. The court ruled in favor of Apple. (Source: Mac World)
Why Did They Stick with the Name?
Wozniak Explained in his biography that Apple was better than any other name that they came up with. So essentially, Apple is called Apple because the founders could not think of anything else.
We both tried to come up with technical-sounding names that were better, but we couldn’t think of any good ones.
Steve Wozniak
(Source: Mac World)
Why Does the Logo of Apple Look The Way It Is?
People have assumed that the Apple logo was inspired by Alan Turing, who died after biting into an apple laced with cyanide. But, this theory is false. However, Jobs told Stephen Fry that he wished it had been the reason since it would’ve been great to commemorate Turing’s contribution to theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.
Rob Janoff, the creator of the logo, said that the bite was intended to show people the size of the fruit so that they wouldn’t mistake it for a cherry. (Source: Mac World)