King Harald was always known for his ability to bring together leaders to non-violent negotiations. To discuss, share information, and, crucially, commuicate across boundaries particularly in the expansion and unification of Norway and Denmark in this era.

Fast-forward a little over 1,000 years to 1996, and short-range radio technology was in its very early stages, Intel, Swedish telecom company Ericsson, and Nokia were all working on different radio technologies. The three powerhouses quickly realized that the best way to drive the technology forward within the industry and avoid fragmentation would be to create a single wireless standard.

In December of that year, representatives from the three companies met at the Ericsson plant in Lund, Sweden to plan their industry-standard technology. Before they could get started, however, they decided that they needed a codename for the project while it was in development.

Intel representative Jim Kardash suggested that the temporary name be “Bluetooth,” and his reasoning was simple: “King Harald Bluetooth … was famous for uniting Scandinavia just as we intended to unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link.” The name stuck since then.