What was Amazon called before Jeff Bezos renamed it Amazon?

Amazon was initially called Cadabra before Jeff Bezos renamed the company Amazon.

Bezos incorporated the business in July 1994 as Cadabra, a shortened form of “abracadabra.” His lawyer reportedly misheard the name as “cadaver,” which encouraged Bezos to choose a clearer alternative.

The company was renamed Amazon in 1994, before its online bookstore opened in July 1995. Bezos selected the name partly because it suggested scale and because it appeared near the beginning of alphabetized lists.

Amazon began by selling books online, then expanded into music, video, electronics, cloud computing, logistics and many other categories. Relentless was another name Bezos registered during the early period, but it was not the company’s original incorporated name. The company’s legal name became Amazon.com, Inc. in 1996.