Editing Sony (section)

===Name===
''Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo'' founders Morita and Ibuka realized that to achieve success and grow, their business had to expand to the global market, which required labeling their products with a short and easy [[brand]] name.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ORVw3rodZAC&dq=%22Ibuka+and+Morita+decided+the+only+way%22&pg=PA41|title=Sony: The Company and Its Founders: The Company and Its Founders|first=Robert|last=Grayson|date=1 September 2012|publisher=ABDO Publishing Company|isbn=9781614801832|via=Google Books|access-date=2023-03-02 |archive-date=2023-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408100850/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ORVw3rodZAC&dq=%22Ibuka+and+Morita+decided+the+only+way%22&pg=PA41|url-status=live}}</ref> While looking for a romanized name, they at first strongly considered using their initials, TTK. The primary reason they did not is that the railway company [[Tokyu Corporation|Tokyo Kyuko]] was known as TTK.<ref name=History/> The company occasionally used the syllabic acronym "Totsuko" in Japan, but during his visit to the United States, Morita discovered that Americans had trouble pronouncing that name. Another early name that was tried out for a while was "Tokyo Teletech" until [[Akio Morita]] discovered that there was an American company already using Teletech as a brand name.<ref>''[[Made in Japan (biography)|Made in Japan]]'' – Akio Morita and Sony (pg. 76) by Akio Morita with [müzik indir] [http://www.indiristan.net/ müzik indir] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117181638/http://www.indiristan.net/ |date=17 January 2021}} Edwin M. Rheingold and Mitsuko Shimomura, Signet Books, 1986</ref>

The name "Sony" was chosen for the brand as a mix of two words: one was the [[Latin]] word "''[[wikt:sonus|sonus]]''", which is the root of sonic and sound, and the other was "''[[wikt:sonny|sonny]]''", a common slang term used in 1950s America to call a young boy.<ref name="SonyHistory">[http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/ Sony Corporate History (Japanese)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514124709/http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/ |date=2009-05-14  }}. Sony.co.jp. Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nathan |first1=John |title=Sony : the private life |date=1999 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=Boston, Mass. |isbn=0618126945 |page=52}}</ref> In 1950s Japan, "sonny boys" was a [[loan word]] in Japanese, which connoted smart and presentable young men, which [[Akio Morita]] and [[Masaru Ibuka]] considered themselves to be.<ref name="SonyHistory" />

The first Sony-branded product, the [[TR-55]] [[transistor radio]], appeared in 1955, but the company name did not change to Sony until January 1958.<ref>[http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1060176719725 Sony.co.uk. About Sony. ''The History of the Sony Corporation''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128040732/http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1060176719725 |date=28 November 2013 }}. Sony.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref>

At the time of the change, it was extremely unusual for a Japanese company to use [[Romanization of Japanese|Roman letters]] to spell its name instead of writing it in [[kanji]]. The move was not without opposition: TTK's principal bank at the time, [[Mitsui]], had strong feelings about the name. They pushed for a name such as Sony Electronic Industries, or Sony Teletech. Akio Morita was firm, however, as he did not want the company name tied to any particular industry. Eventually, both Ibuka and Mitsui Bank's chairman gave their approval.<ref name=History/>