When considering eBay, the logical thought is that the “e” stands for “electronic” – after all, eBay was one of the first popular websites of the Internet revolution, a time when adding “e” in front of a word gave it an innovative connotation.
But the meaning of eBay’s name is actually derived from something decidedly un-digital. The website started out as “AuctionWeb,” a part of the personal website of former Apple software engineer Pierre Omidyar. The website took off, and Mr. Omidyar decided to spin it off into its own entity and name it after his consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group. When the domain name echobay.com was taken, he switched it to ebay.com.
