By Other Name, Would EToys Sell the Same?

With sales of $24 million last year, EToys has become a household name in the world of online retailing. But Toby Lenk, who founded the Santa Monica company in 1996, said “EToys” was not his first choice as a name for the venture.

“I liked Pinata.com,” Lenk told the Venice Interactive Community recently. But Frank Han, an early partner who is now EToys’ senior vice president of product development, convinced him that the name was “too ethnic” and “too hard to spell.” Lenk agreed to EToys as a compromise with Han, who preferred LittleRedWagon.com.

Lenk objected to putting “toys” in the name three years ago because he thought it was too narrow. Now EToys sells children’s books, music, educational software, video games and baby products. That expansion is causing Lenk to reconsider his initial position. “Maybe EToys isn’t such a great name in the long run,” he said.