Amazon was almost called Cadabra — the name was too confusing

On July 5, 1994, Jeff Bezos founded a company in Seattle. He named it Cadabra, Inc. — short for 'abracadabra.' The name was meant to suggest magic. Bezos had just left his job on Wall Street and was driving west to start an online bookstore. The company was incorporated before he had a clear product.

The name Cadabra was a problem. People who heard it had trouble understanding it. They confused it with other words. The name did not communicate what the company did. An online bookstore called 'Cadabra' meant nothing to customers. Bezos realized he needed a name that was more descriptive and memorable.

In November 1994, just four months after founding the company, Bezos changed the name. He chose 'Amazon' — the world's largest river. The name was deliberate: it started with 'A' (good for alphabetical listings), and it suggested something vast and ambitious. Bezos wanted his company to be the biggest bookstore in the world, and the name reflected that.

Amazon grew from an online bookstore into the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing company. By 2024, the company was valued at over $2 trillion. The name 'Amazon' is one of the most recognized brands globally. The original name 'Cadabra' — a name that was confusing and nearly forgotten — could have been a costly mistake.