Did a Hindu guru inspire Steve Jobs to come up with Apple? The many theories behind tech giant’s name

Today (April 1) is April Fools’ Day. It’s also the 50th birthday of Apple, a garage start-up that has now transformed into a more than $3.5-trillion powerhouse with 2.5 billion active devices. It was on this day in 1976 that two college dropouts — Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak — co-founded Apple with Ron Wayne from Jobs’ family garage.

Since then, Apple has grown, opening a sprawling ring-shaped headquarters in Cupertino, California, and employing roughly 166,000 workers. Its market value has surpassed $3.5 trillion, making it the second-largest company in the world after Nvidia. But Apple isn’t just a tech company today; it’s a cultural icon, attracting a loyal fan base across the globe.

But have you wondered why the two Steves, along with Ron, decided to name their company Apple? Through its 50-year journey, many stories have emerged about how the company got its name.

More from Explainers

Apple turns 50: A look at the tech giant's journey (it almost went bankrupt!) Apple at 50: The company that it was before the iPhone boom

The history of Apple

Before there was an iPod, an iPhone, an iPad, or an Apple Watch — before there was a Macintosh or Apple II or even an Apple-1 — there were a couple of kids who came of age in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Fascinated by electronics, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak came together with one goal in mind: to make personal computers smaller and more user-friendly. Working out of Jobs’ garage, they started out by building the Apple I and sold them without a monitor, keyboard, or casing.

On April 1, 1976, they formed Apple, and since then never looked back. As David Pogue, a journalist and author of Apple: The First 50 Years, notes, “Apple’s story is an epic tale of frenetic all-nighters and creative rebellion. Of titanic successes (iPods, iPhones, iPads) and instructive failures (Lisa, Apple III, MobileMe). Of funny, idealistic, scary-smart workaholics — coming up on three generations of them — who want to make things better by making things better. It’s about management, marketing, and strategy — and also about creativity, drive, and obsession.”

Today, Apple is a brand, a tech giant, and a celebration of technology.

When Apple was named Apple

There are many theories why Jobs and Wozniak decided to name their company Apple. In an interview in the 1980s, Steve Wozniak and the late Steve Jobs recalled the seminal moment in Silicon Valley history — how they named their upstart computer company.

“I remember driving down Highway 85,” Wozniak said. “We’re on the freeway, and Steve mentions, ‘I’ve got a name: Apple Computer.’ We kept thinking of other alternatives to that name, and we couldn’t think of anything better.”

Editor’s Picks

1

Apple turns 50: A look at the tech giant's journey (it almost went bankrupt!) 2

How India has become the world's smartphone making powerhouse

Notably, they were driving down after Jobs had travelled to a counterculture commune called All One Farm in McMinnville, Oregon. Jobs’ high school girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan, also lived on the farm and in 1978 gave birth there to Jobs’ first daughter, Lisa Nicole Brennan-Jobs.

According to the late founder’s biography written by Walter Isaacson, it was a stroll in the apple orchard of this 388-acre property that inspired the name for his company. “I was on one of my fruitarian diets. I had just come back from the apple farm. It sounded fun, spirited, and not intimidating,” Jobs told Isaacson. “Apple took the edge off the word ‘computer’.

The Atari connection

Many believe that the name Apple has a connection to the phone book. Back when Apple was founded, companies often chose names that would appear at the start of the phone book. The theory being that if a customer was looking for a product, they would start with the As. With a name like Apple, the new computer company would appear above rivals Atari (for whom Jobs had worked).

And it seems that there is some truth in this. In a 1980 presentation, Jobs said that they gave Apple the name partly because he liked apples, and “partially because Apple is ahead of Atari in the phone book and I used to work at Atari.”

Apple, Steve Jobs, and a Hindu holy man

However, there’s an alternative explanation for the reason why Jobs decided on Apple, and it points to an ashram in India and a pilgrimage to a guru whose favourite fruit was the apple.

In 1974, before Jobs founded the company we know as Apple, he travelled to India, looking for guidance and found himself in the presence of the renowned Hindu holy man Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj-ji.

At the time of his visit to Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram in Kainchi, Uttarakhand, Jobs was working at the games start-up Atari in Los Angeles. Although Neem Karoli Baba had passed away in 1973, Jobs spent time at the ashram absorbing its tranquil atmosphere and interacting with the disciples there.

The experience was a turning point for Jobs, offering him inspiration that influenced the development of Apple’s design philosophy.

Inspired by Isaac Newton

Another theory is that Apple represents Isaac Newton, who discovered gravity after an apple fell on his head. Notably, the original Apple logo featured a picture of Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree, and was designed by Steve Jobs. However, this logo was quickly replaced by the Apple logo with a bite taken out of it.

What makes the Newton link even stronger is that the old logo included a quote from a poem by Wordsworth, indicating that he felt a connection with the scientist. “Newton… a mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought alone”.

A tribute to the Beatles

Another possible explanation for the name Apple is that Steve Jobs was a big fan of The Beatles, the popular pop band. Their label was also named Apple Corps.

However, this seems unlikely as this decision resulted in multiple legal disputes with the Beatles’ record label. The legal activity culminated in 2006 when Apple Computer and Apple Records met at the High Court of Justice in a dispute over the existence of the iTunes Music Store, which the Beatles label suggested meant that Apple was in violation of a previous agreement. The court ruled in favour of Apple Computer.

Regardless of its origin, the name Apple has become synonymous with the company.

The question is: How do you like them apples?

With inputs from agencies