People are only just realising what Volkswagen car names actually mean

Volkswagen is one of the most popular manufacturers in the world and some of its cars have weird and wonderful names.

Choosing the right name for a car is hugely important, and can sometimes be the difference between success and failure.

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But how did some of VW’s most successful cars end up with their famous monikers?

We’ve covered some of the best here.

Beetle

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Shortly after it first appeared on German roads, the Volkswagen Type 1 was dubbed the Käfer – or Beetle. 

It survived the translation into English, and by the late 1940s was officially known by that name. 

Other nicknames form around the world include “The Bubble” in Denmark, “Coccinelle,” or ladybug, in France, and “Turtle Car” in Thailand)

Golf

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While some VW models take their names from different types of winds,  the iconic Golf is actually taken from the German word for the Gulf Stream ocean current. 

It also happened to be the name of a VW boss’s horse, which could be the real reason.

GTI

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Again, an iconic badge from VW, the GTI label was originally inspired by the Italian designation for high-performance luxury cars with fuel injected engines: “Gran Turismo Iniezione.”

Passat

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Launched in 1973, the Passat was the first modern-era Volkswagen, and took its name from the German word “passatwinde,” or trade winds.

Scirocco

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The VW sports coupe took its name from the “sirocco,” a hot, powerful wind from the Sahara that blows northeast across the Mediterranean Sea.

Tiguan

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Ahead of its launch in 2009, Volkswagen teamed up with a German automotive magazine to poll readers about what the new compact SUV should be called. 

The choices included Namib, Rockton, Samun, Nanuk and Tiguan – a combination of the German words for tiger and iguana. 

up!

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up!” happens to be the middle two letters in “Lupo,” one of the city car’s equally small predecessors, while “Lupo” is Latin for wolf, while “Amarok” (VW’s pick-up truck) means a similar animal in Inuit – both nods to VW’s hometown of Wolfsburg, Germany.