Amazon Echo
Amazon's Echo device, which has Alexa built in.
Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images
  • Jeff Bezos pitched multiple names when the team was trying to come up with Alexa's "wake word."
  • The list included Finch, Friday, Samantha, and Amazon.
  • Amazon ultimately decided on Alexa, which was also Bezos' idea.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

These days, it's hard to remember a time before Alexa, Amazon's all-knowing voice assistant.

But "Alexa" wasn't the first name Jeff Bezos and his team at Amazon came up with back in the early 2010s, according to Brad Stone's new book, "Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire."

According to Stone, Bezos was passionate about building a smart computer that users could control with their voice, which is what led to the creation of the first Amazon Echo device. Early on, the team realized they needed a "wake word" that would make the device start listening. The word would need to have three syllables, a "distinct combination of phonemes" so as not to unnecessarily rouse the device, and an easily marketable name, like Apple's Siri.

Read more: Amazon's most senior execs are leaving in droves, citing stalling growth, higher pay elsewhere, and a tough culture – setting the stage for Andy Jassy's first major challenge as CEO

In order to figure out a name, the team wrote ideas down on flash cards that were spread across a conference room table for Bezos to peruse, according to Stone.

Bezos had his own suggestions, including:

  • Finch, the name of a fantasy book by author Jeff VenderMeer
  • Friday, the name of the personal assistant in "Robinson Crusoe"
  • Samantha, the main character from "Bewitched," a show about a witch who marries a mortal and uses her powers to complete household tasks
  • Amazon, which Bezos believed could help fuel feelings of goodwill toward the company

Bezos was also reportedly disappointed that his mother's name, Jacklyn, wasn't more "mellifluous" and was therefore "too harsh" to be considered.

Ultimately, Amazon decided on Alexa, which was also Bezos' idea: It's an homage to the library of Alexandria, Egypt, which was one of the largest centers for knowledge and learning in ancient times.

These days, Alexa has been installed in devices ranging from the Echo Show, Amazon's first device with a video screen, the miniature sized Echo Dot, and Amazon's Echo Buds, wireless earbuds with Alexa built in. Nearly 70% of smart-speaker owners in the US own an Echo device versus one of Amazon's competitors, like Google. Amazon doesn't break out sales figures for its Echo devices, but the company said in early 2019 that it has sold 100 million Alexa-enabled devices.

Read the original article on Business Insider