What was the original name of the cosmetics company now known as Avon when it was founded in 1886?

Avon was founded in 1886 as the California Perfume Company.

David H. McConnell established the business in New York after beginning as a traveling book salesman. He discovered that customers were attracted to the small perfume samples he offered, so he developed a fragrance business and recruited women as sales representatives.

The company adopted the Avon name in 1939. McConnell chose it after visiting the area around Stratford-upon-Avon in England, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The new name gradually replaced California Perfume Company in the public marketplace.

A frequent misunderstanding is that Avon began as a traditional department-store cosmetics label. Its defining early model was direct selling through independent representatives, many of them women working from their homes. That sales approach became central to the brand's identity and expansion.