It means "summit, zenith, peak, pinnacle" and has a history of being used as a business name that doesn't convey much more than "the best". It has the advantage

It means "summit, zenith, peak, pinnacle" and has a history of being used as a business name that doesn't convey much more than "the best". It has the advantage of showing up early in alphabetical listings (like phone books) but seeming more sophisticated than, say, "A Plus" or "AAA". So in mid 20th century America, "Acme" would be an obvious choice for a generic company name. According to Chuck Jones, that's why it was used in Looney Tunes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acme_Corporation#Warner_Brothers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acme_Corporation#Warner_Brothe... Most recent uses of "Acme" are probably influenced by Looney Tunes. ETA: In case it's not clear, it's not an acronym/initialism, although it's sometimes confused with one or given meaning as a bacronym.