The name that sounded like a spell
Jeff Bezos first planned to call his online bookstore Cadabra, a shortened form of “abracadabra.” The name suited the sense of magic he wanted the new business to evoke: customers could find and order books from a computer, rather than searching store shelves.
But the word had a practical problem. Bezos’s lawyer reportedly heard “cadaver” when Bezos said “Cadabra”—an unfortunate association for a company hoping to earn customers’ trust.
Why Amazon replaced it
Bezos switched to Amazon, the name of the vast South American river. It suggested scale, fitting his ambition to build a bookstore with an enormous selection. The change also gave the company a name that was easier to understand when spoken aloud.
The contrast captures an early branding tradeoff: a clever name might express the wonder of online shopping, but if people mishear it, the impression can turn unsettling.
