What Does “Google” Stand For?

By Staff WriterLast Updated April 11, 2020

Despite the many Internet rumors that give various and often bizarre origin stories of the name, “Google,” the company name does not stand for anything at all; it is not an acronym. The name “Google” was chosen by its company’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

In 1997, Page and Brin sat down to brainstorm a new name for their search engine, which was originally called “BackRub” because it sought to index the backlinks of the Internet. Both men wanted a name that connoted a huge amount of data. The name “googolplex” was suggested, which led to “googol,” both of which are large, precise numbers. The spelling was altered to “Google,” and thus the now-famous Internet company found its name.