
The Nikkor brand was introduced in 1932, a Westernised rendering of an earlier version Nikkō (日光), an abbreviation of the company’s original full name Nippon Kōgaku (“Japan Optics”; 日本光学工業株式会社). Nikkō means “sunlight”. In 1933, Nikon marketed its first camera lens under the Nikkor brand name, the “Aero-NIKKOR” for aerial photography.