It turns out a lot of people are only just now discovering what the name Durex actually stands for—and it’s probably not what you guessed.The iconic condom brand has been a household name around the world for what feels like forever. But despite its popularity, many people never stopped to wonder what the name really means.
To be exact, the company has been around for over 100 years. It originally began as the London Rubber Company back in 1915, and later adopted the name Durex in 1929. By the 1950s, it shifted focus and started making waves as a global condom brand.
According to Durex’s extensive company history, the brand has introduced a number of groundbreaking innovations over the decades that have changed the industry for good.It was the first to introduce electronic testing for condoms, created the very first anatomically shaped rubber, and by the 1970s had gone global, becoming the first condom brand to advertise across multiple countries.
By the end of the 1990s, Durex had made its quality seal a global standard and expanded its product range with colorful designs, flavored options, and latex-free versions. The 2000s brought even more variety, like ribbed and dotted condoms and new kinds of lubricants.
There’s a lot to choose from these daysIgor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
But what still surprises a lot of people is the real meaning behind the brand’s name. Many had assumed it was something cheeky like ‘During Sex,’ but that’s not it at all.As reported by the BBC, Durex is actually an acronym that reflects the company’s values. It stands for DUrability, REliability, and EXcellence.
This fun fact has taken the internet by storm. Countless people admitted they had no idea and never even thought to question the name in the first place.
As noted by British Heritage, the name actually came from the creative thinking of Lucian Landau, a Polish student studying rubber technology. But it wasn’t until 1932 that Durex officially began producing condoms under its own name.On the company’s website, Durex proudly states: “We’ve been making condoms with the finest raw materials since 1929, so we know a thing or two about performance. And we don’t just mean in the bedroom (or wherever you’re doing it).”
“Our condoms are electronically tested for holes, dermatologically tested for comfort, and they perform better than standard in global quality tests, so everyone everywhere is free to enjoy sex that feels good with anyone, anywhere.”
