Who is credited with naming Coca-Cola?

Frank Mason Robinson is credited with naming Coca-Cola. Robinson was Dr. John Stith Pemberton’s bookkeeper and business partner in Atlanta, and he helped turn Pemberton’s medicinal-style syrup into a marketable product.

The name combined “coca,” referring to coca leaves, with “cola,” referring to kola nuts, which were used as sources of flavor and caffeine in the original formula. Robinson also favored the repeated initial sound, making the name memorable and easy to advertise.

Robinson is often confused with Asa Griggs Candler, who aggressively marketed Coca-Cola and eventually acquired control of the company. Candler helped build the brand, but he did not create its name. Robinson is also associated with designing the famous Spencerian-script Coca-Cola logo, first written in 1886.

The name was used from Coca-Cola’s earliest commercial days, while the company’s later packaging, bottling system and advertising transformed it into a global brand. The product’s name therefore predates the familiar contour bottle by nearly three decades.