Andrew Kortina, founder of the digital-payments app, writes on Quora:
"When we were brainstorming names, one of the roots we were exploring for inspiration was the Latin, vendo/vendere, 'to sell.' As soon as we said venmo, we liked it because it was short and made for a good verb: 'Just Venmo me for dinner.'"
Under Armour decided to use the British spelling because it made a better phone number.
The name Under Armour came about somewhat accidentally, according to The Washington Post's interview with CEO Kevin Plank. Plank said he had landed on the name Body Armor, but couldn't get the name trademarked. He told The Post:
"I was a bit dejected, but I had lunch plans that afternoon with my oldest brother, Bill. So, I show up to pick him up, knock on the door, and he looks down at me the way only an older brother can look at a younger brother, and he asks, “How’s that company you’re working on, uhh ... Under Armor?”
So how did Under Armour end up with that weird spelling?
"The reason we added the 'U' in 'Armour' is that I was skeptical at the time about whether this whole internet thing would stick," Plank told The Post. "So I thought the phone number 888-4ARMOUR was much more compelling than 888-44ARMOR. I wish there was a little more science or an entire marketing study behind it, but it was that simple."
