Bluetooth has been around since 1994 but some users are only just stopping to wonder what it’s unusual name actually means – and it’s all down to a 10th century king
Bluetooth is a daily essential for many. Yet, despite its ubiquity, few know the story behind its peculiar name.
Invented by Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson in 1994, the wireless technology enables devices to connect and exchange data over short distances.
It is often used to pair phones with watches or speakers. However, it’s only recently that some users have started questioning the origins of its unique moniker. A curious Reddit user posed the question: “What is Bluetooth and why it is called Bluetooth?”
According to the official Bluetooth brand, the name harks back over a thousand years to King Harald ‘Bluetooth’ Gormsson, famed for uniting Denmark and Norway in 958. His nickname, ‘Bluetooth’, came from his notably dark blue tooth.
A statement from the brand explains: “In 1996, three industry leaders, Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia, met to plan the standardization of this short-range radio technology to support connectivity and collaboration between different products and industries. During this meeting, Jim Kardach from Intel suggested Bluetooth as a temporary code name.”
Kardach later explained, “Kardach was later quoted as saying, ‘King Harald Bluetooth…was famous for uniting Scandinavia just as we intended to unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link’. Bluetooth was only intended as a placeholder until marketing could come up with something really cool.”
Interestingly, ‘Bluetooth’ was initially meant to be a placeholder until a more suitable name could be found. “Later, when it came time to select a serious name, Bluetooth was to be replaced with either RadioWire or PAN (Personal Area Networking). PAN was the front runner, but an exhaustive search discovered it already had tens of thousands of hits throughout the internet.
“A full trademark search on RadioWire couldn’t be completed in time for launch, making Bluetooth the only choice. The name caught on fast and before it could be changed, it spread throughout the industry, becoming synonymous with short-range wireless technology.”
But King Harald’s influence doesn’t stop at the name; his initials also feature in the logo. The statement elaborates: “The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes (Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.”
Reacting to this revelation, a Reddit user commented: “I love that it’s named after a guy. That’s so stupid and bad sci-fiesque that it’s charming.” Another user chimed in: “It was originally intended to be a placeholder name while the project was in development, but it stuck. It’s named after the 10th century Danish King Harald Bluetooth.”