Have you ever wondered how some of the top luxury brands in the world got their names?  Take a look at the list below – you’ll be surprised at how some of them came to be.

Audi – Based on the surname of company founder August Horch, which means “hear” in German. “Audi” is the singular imperative form of the Latin word “audire” (“to listen”).

Bulgari – Derived from the last name of the company’s founder, Sotirio Voulgaris, the brand trademark is actually written as “BVLGARI”. This is because “V” is equivalent to “U” in the classical Latin alphabet.

Dom Perignon – The namesake of this venerable Moët & Chandon brand was a Benedictine monk and cellar master who lived from 1638–1715. He is credited with improving the quality of wines by blending the grapes prior to sending them to press.

Lancôme Paris – An assistant to founder Armand Petitjean actually came up with the name for this French cosmetics giant. The original, “Lancosme”, comes from Le Château de Lancosme , a chateau located in the Indre region of France.

Mercedes – The Mercedes brand name is named after the daughter of Emil Jellinek, an Austrian diplomat and racing enthusiast. Jellinek sat on the board of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and specified that the engine for the first ‘modern’ car be named after his daughter, Mercedes. The car was a success and the name took off from there.

Rolex – “Rolex” is actually thought to be an entirely made up name with no real meaning or derivation. It is believed that company founder Hans Wilsdorf simply wanted a name that was easily pronounced in any language.