Originally Posted by
Jhieminga
In 1938 Willy Messerschmidt acquired a controlling share in Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, where he worked as chief designer. Anything in production at that time retained the 'Bf' designation, anything entering service after that date became 'Me'. So basically, he took over the business and put his name on it.
If you want the long version, see here:
So which is it? Bf or Me 109?
It’s very similar to what happened at Miles Aircraft, FG Miles was a minority share holder/Chief Designer at Phillips and Powis Aircraft ltd but everything that was produced was universally called Miles. It was only after Rolls Royce sold its share that FG was able to take a controlling stake and the company name brought into line with the brand name.
Aeroplane companies are mostly named after their founder/s, or chief designer or founding city or region or country. A minority tried more inspiring names such as Supermarine or Airspeed.