杜邦

杜邦 (Dùbāng) is the standard Chinese name for DuPont - founded 1802 as a gunpowder maker by French immigrant É.I. du Pont, now a chemicals/materials giant. They invented or commercialized nylon (尼龙), Teflon (特氟龙), Kevlar (凯夫拉), and Lycra (莱卡). The two-character form is unusually neat for a Western surname - possible because French 'Du Pont' splits cleanly into 杜 (Du-) + 邦 (Pont, also chosen for its 'state/nation' meaning, which lends the brand gravitas).

杜 ('birch/halt') is the surname mapping for 'Du-/Doo-/De-' starts (杜威 Dewey, 杜鲁门 Truman). 邦 ('country/nation') is rarer in transliteration and gives the name a stately feel - a reason 杜邦 has stuck for over a century.