This book gives the stories behind, or origins of, more than 3,500 commercial names. Many of them are American or British but some are French, German, Italian or Japanese.

From A & C Black (publishers) to Zyklon (insecticide), entries cover two types of subjects: company names and the names of products and services. The companies have names derived from their founders or benefactors, such as Dell computers and Lamborghini automobiles; or from placenames, such as Land O'Lakes dairy products and Halex table tennis balls; or from a "story," such as Ratrac snow tractors or Hang Ten surfwear.

The entries for product names explain the origin of brand names, like Dannon yogurt and Laservision video system; trademarks, such as Harp beer and Holeproof hosiery; patented products like Demerol; and hard-to-categorize commercial names like the Dancercize program.