ExxonMobil’s Exxon was a computer-made word, chosen because it meant nothing.
Legal limits kept Standard Oil of New Jersey from its Esso name, short for S.O., in much of America, so it also sold as Humble and Enco. A search, Operation Nugget, sifted thousands of computer-chosen letter combinations, tested names in 55 languages and dropped Enco, which meant “stalled car” in Japanese. In 1972 the company chose Exxon, which, an executive said, “says nothing and it means nothing.”
ExxonMobil on Brandseum