Some of the world’s most recognizable brands have names with surprising origins, and Reebok is one of them. Long before it became synonymous with athletic footwear and fitness culture, the brand’s name came from an unexpected source: a graceful African antelope.
Reebok was founded in 1958 in Bolton, England, by brothers Joe Foster and Jeff Foster, grandsons of pioneering shoemaker Joseph William Foster, whose company, J.W. Foster & Sons, was renowned for making some of the earliest spiked running shoes. As the brothers set out to establish their own sports footwear company, they wanted a name that reflected speed, agility, and a spirit of adventure.
The inspiration came from an unusual place. As a boy, Joe Foster had won a South African dictionary as a prize in a running race. While searching through it years later, the brothers came across the word “rhebok”—the Afrikaans name for the grey rhebok (Pelea capreolus), a swift and sure-footed antelope native to southern Africa. Known for its speed, balance, and elegance across rugged terrain, the animal perfectly embodied the qualities the founders wanted their brand to represent.
If the dictionary spelled the animal’s name “rhebok,” why did the company become “Reebok”?
The answer lies in branding as much as language. The spelling “Reebok” was deliberately simplified to make the name easier to pronounce, spell, and remember for English-speaking consumers. The original spelling, “rhebok,” begins with the uncommon letter combination “rh,” which many people find awkward or confusing. Replacing it with the more familiar “Ree” created a name that sounded the same but looked cleaner, more distinctive, and more suitable for an international brand. The new spelling also gave the company a unique trademark while preserving the pronunciation and the connection to the African antelope.
The choice proved remarkably successful. Over the following decades, Reebok evolved from a small British footwear company into one of the world’s leading sports brands, pioneering innovations in running shoes, aerobics footwear, and fitness apparel. Yet its name continues to reflect the founders’ original vision: creating products associated with speed, athleticism, resilience, and natural grace.
Today, every time someone laces up a pair of Reebok shoes, they are unknowingly carrying forward a story that began with a dictionary, two visionary brothers, and a remarkable African antelope whose name became one of the most iconic brands in sporting history.
