How did Mercedes-Benz get its name?

Mercedes-Benz is named after the two men who played key roles in the development of the company and its early success: Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler was a German engineer who is generally considered to be one of the fathers of the internal combustion engine. He designed the first high-speed internal combustion engine in 1885. In the same year, Karl Benz, another German engineer, invented his patent motorwagen, considered to be the world’s first automobile, in Mannheim. The company would later be called Benz & Cie.

While both Daimler and Benz would develop various automobiles of their own, in 1902, businessman Emil Jellinek ordered a custom-built car from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG). Jellinek was an Austrian automobile enthusiast and businessman who sold Daimler cars in France and Austria-Hungary. He named the car Mercedes after his daughter Mercedes Jellinek, who was just 11 at the time.

In 1926, Benz & Cie. and DMG merged to form the Daimler-Benz AG company, which would become the parent company of the Mercedes-Benz brand. The Mercedes name was chosen for the new company because of its established reputation and recognition. The name Mercedes-Benz was first used in 1926, following the merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and Benz & Cie. The name commemorated both Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, who are widely regarded as the pioneers of the automobile industry.