When John S. Pemberton created the formula for his new drink in 1886, his partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name "Coca-Cola®," thinking that "the two Cs would look well in advertising."
Mr. Robinson wanted his name for the new product to have an effective and dramatic style of its own. He experimented in writing out an adaptation of the elaborate Spencerian script, a form of penmanship characteristic of that day. He wrote out the name Coca-Cola and, after consultation, the others working at Pemberton’s company adopted the script by unanimous consent.
The trademark Coca-Cola, drawn in flowing handwriting, became through the years just what Mr. Robinson wanted it to be -- a distinctive and unique trademark for the drink first sold at an Atlanta pharmacy. The famous script has seen slight changes in more than a century, and some of those adaptations appear below.