Maybelline is named after Mabel, the sister of the company's founder, Thomas Lyle Williams.
Thomas Lyle Williams founded Maybelline after observing his sister, Mabel, applying a mixture of Vaseline and coal dust to her eyelashes to enhance their appearance. Inspired by this, he created a product called "Lash-Brow-Ine" (later reformulated), and eventually named the company Maybelline in Mabel's honor, combining "Mabel" and "Vaseline". This highlighted the origin of the product and its connection to its inspiration.
