Google alias BackRub

In 1996 Larry Page and Sergey Brin collaborated on a web search engine called “BackRub” for Stanford University. Over time, the engine became too large for the university’s servers and started taking up too much bandwidth. They then decided to change its name. They eventually came up with the name “Google,” which was based on the word “googol” - a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros! They believed this word reflected their goal of organizing the seemingly infinite amount of information stored across the World Wide Web.

Here's a timeline detailing the history of Google.