merged to form ABN AMRO. Accenture – from "Accent on the future". The name Accenture was proposed by a company employee in Norway as part of an internal name finding process (BrandStorming). Before 1 January 2001, the company was called Andersen Consulting. Acer – born as Multitech International in 1976, the company changed its name to Acer in 1987; the Latin word for "sharp, acute, able and facile" Acorn Computers – The name "Acorn" was chosen because the company's first microcomputer system Acorn System 75 was to be expandable and growth-oriented. It also had the attraction of appearing before "Apple Computer" in a telephone directory. Adecco – named from the merger of Swiss staffing company Adia with French staffing company Ecco Adidas – from the name of the founder Adolf "Adi" Dassler. Adolf and his brother Rudolf Dassler split the original company, Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory), with Rudolf founding Puma. Adobe Systems – from the Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of co-founder John Warnock Adyen – from the Sranan Tongo word adyen meaning 'start again', this is a reference to this being the second project of the founders, after Bibit Aflac – initialism for the company's previous name of American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (which remains the legal name of Aflac's underwriting subsidiary). Ahlstrom – named after founder Antti Ahlström Ahold – holding company of Albert Heijn and other supermarkets. For its 100th anniversary in 1987, Ahold was granted the title of Koninklijke ("Royal" in Dutch) by the Monarchy of the Netherlands, changing its name to Koninklijke Ahold (Royal Ahold). Akai – named for its founder, Masukichi Akai Akamai – from the Hawaiian word akamai meaning smart or clever; the company defines it as "intelligent, clever and cool" AKG Acoustics – from the company's original name, Akustische und Kino-Geräte (Acoustic and Cinema Equipment) AKZO – named from the 1969 merger of Algemene Kunstzijde Unie (AKU) and Koninklijke Zout Organon (KZO) Alcatel-Lucent – Alcatel was named from Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Télécommunications et d'Électronique. It took over Lucent Technologies (below) in 2006. Alcoa – Aluminum Company of America Aldi – portmanteau of Albrecht (name of the founders) and discount Alepa – from Alennushalli Pajunen (Pajunen's Discount Hall), named after the founder. The Pajunen family sold the chain to HOK-Elanto in 1987. Alfa Romeo – company was originally known as ALFA, an acronym for