Chrome? Sounds Like a New Fragrance for Men

Kevin Maney wonders: So who in Google came up with the name "Chrome" anyway? I mean, it sounds like a men's fragrance from Calvin Klein.

There was once a video game called Chrome, and an old rock band called Chrome. At Chrome.com, you'll find "The Automotive Information Professionals" -- which makes software for auto businesses. Chrome.org is the Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorites in Engineering. (Gotta love it when an entity goes into contortions to give itself a name to fit an achronym.) You got a Chrome station on XM (disco!) and Chrome messenger bags.

If you look at Google's page showing its existing products, you'll see plain descriptive names like Google Desktop, Checkout, Docs, Gmail, Talk, Maps. So why isn't this just "Google Browser?" Then again, maybe the company is taking a whole new branding turn, considering the name Android. This could be like when Intel shifted from naming its chips with numbers and started using Pentium and Centrino...

UPDATE: Google notes that "chrome" can refer to the bells and whistles around the rim of a browser. The goal of the team was to minimize chrome to clean up the browser -- so the name Chrome is actually highly ironic.