Google's origins lie in a research project called BackRub, started in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were PhD students at Stanford University.
Here's a breakdown of how the name evolved:
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BackRub: This was the initial name of the search engine project. It reflected the system's capability to analyze the "backlinks" pointing to a given website, which was crucial for determining its importance and relevance.
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Google: The name "Google" is a play on the word "googol," which is the number 1 followed by 100 zeros (10100). This name was chosen to signify the vast amount of information the search engine was intended to organize.
Therefore, while "BackRub" was the project's first name, Google is the company's real and official name. It has been the name since its incorporation and public launch.
