Nike

Nike is the Greek goddess of victory. Her Roman name is “Victoria,” which is, obviously, where the word victory comes from. The winged goddess is usually depicted presenting laurel wreaths to heroes and athletes, sitting next to Zeus, or sacrificing victory bulls. Hesiod, an ancient Greek poet, described Nike as “‘beautiful-ankled”. Nike is also one of the most popular and most recognizable brands for sports apparel. When Nike was first established, they designed their logo first and could not decide on a name. Some of the options were Dimension Six, Peregrine, or Bengal. They were trying to find a name that “had no more than two syllables and at least one exotic letter or sound in them with a Z, X or K,” because that is what Runner’s World told them would raise the probability of their company becoming a popular brand. Johnson, one of Nike’s first employees, came up with the name Nike since it would associate the company for winners in sports with the Greek goddess of winning. Knight, the head of the company, did not like the name at first but liked it better than the other ones, so he thought he could just change it later. I think this is a good name because if somebody knows their Greek mythology, they would think Nike is the brand for winners (A good marketing tactic). While thinking of the name, Johnson may not have considered Hesiod’s description of the goddess, but given they design cool shoes and Nike is complimented on her ankles, it is mythologically accurate. Also, Nike was an important figure in the Greek sporting world, and Nike, the brand, is important in the modern sporting world. I appreciate it when a modern company incorporates an ancient myth into their brand correctly. However, their logo and slogan have no apparent connection to the Greek goddess; in my opinion, they should add Nike Greek mythology both to their slogan and logo so it connects to the name.

Charlotte Eades
https://www.ancient.eu/nike/
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nike-got-its-name-2016-1