In between being called "MSN" and "Live", it was "Windows Live". The idea was that MSN was a brand more oriented toward being an ISP or a portal (back when it l

In between being called "MSN" and "Live", it was "Windows Live". The idea was that MSN was a brand more oriented toward being an ISP or a portal (back when it looked like the internet companies to beat were AOL and Yahoo), and this re-branding would distance themselves from being either of those, and also help them leverage the Windows brand. I don't know why they dropped the "Windows" part from the name though.