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What other names were considered for Amazon’s Alexa?

Answer: Samantha and Finch, among others.

Closeup of an Alexa Echo device with it's ring illuminated blue.
“Samantha, turn on the light,” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

In his new book, Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire, Brad Stone revealed some of the other names that were considered for Amazon’s smart assistant. According to Stone, the team knew that they needed a wake word/name that was three syllables, had a “distinct combination of phonemes” so that it wouldn’t easily be mistaken for other words and was easily marketable.

They reportedly came up with a list of names that were printed on index cards and laid out on a conference table for then-CEO Jeff Bezos to examine. Some that he added himself included Samantha, the main character from the show Bewitched; Finch, a fantasy novel by Jeff VanderMeer; Friday, the personal assistant in Robinson Crusoe; and Amazon, because, well, Amazon.

It seems the ultimate winner, Alexa, was also one of Bezos’ ideas. It reportedly pays homage to the library of Alexandria, Egypt, which in ancient times was one of the largest centers for knowledge.