Helvetica was nearly called Neue Haas Grotesk

The rename Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann released Neue Haas Grotesk in 1957. When Stempel prepared it for the German market, the name was judged unsellable and swapped for Helvetica — the Latin for Switzerland.

Why it matters A typeface's name is part of its design. "Neue Haas Grotesk" sounds like a foundry specimen. "Helvetica" sounds like a country's worth of neutrality, which is exactly the promise the type was sold on for the next fifty years.