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Borders Books (for anyone who remembers it) was named after founders Tom and Louis Borders. Louis went on to found Webvan (for anyone who remembers that).

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This one had never occurred to me, being from Ann Arbor, I went to school with one of their daughters. Everyone in town knew that it was a surname.

But now that you mention it, this fact is not at all obvious from the name.

Yes, things are often named after people. That alone does not make it unexpected and notable here.

-self-appointed policeman of this thing

"this thing" is things unexpectedly named after people. "Borders" is an English word not in very popular use as a name; "Borders Books and Music" sounds more like it's of a piece with something like "Encore Books" than, as it turns out actually to be, with "Barnes & Noble Booksellers". So it's unexpectedly named after people.

The thing that made it unexpected in my case is that “borders” is an English word and was not previously known to me as a name. I was surprised and amused when I learned it was an eponym. That puts it in the same category as the other examples on this site, at least from my perspective.

Am I being detained, Mr. Policeman?

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