It’s one of the bestselling cars of all time. The Toyota Camry has been a mainstay in driveways, on highways, and in “What should I buy?” group chats for decades. But ever wonder where the name “Camry” comes from?

Spoiler: it’s not a town in Japan or the name of someone’s cousin. It’s actually a linguistic twist with some unexpectedly classy roots.

A name born from the Crown

“Camry” isn’t some made-up word that Toyota plucked from a bingo cage. It’s derived from the Japanese word kanmuri (冠), which means “crown.”

Yep—Camry means crown. And that’s not just poetic fluff. It’s part of a naming tradition Toyota started way back with their first big sedan, the Crown, launched in 1955.

Since then, Toyota’s kept the royal lineage alive with a family of regal names:

Crown (obviously)
Corona – Latin for “crown”
Corolla – Latin for “small crown”
Camry – Anglicized phonetic of kanmuri

It’s like the entire Toyota sedan lineup got knighted.

So… why “Camry”?

Toyota wanted a global name that was easy to say, hard to forget, and carried a subtle nod to the company’s heritage. “Camry” is basically the English-ified version of kanmuri, keeping that crown symbolism intact while playing nice with Western tongues.

Debuting in 1982, the Camry was meant to replace the Corona as Toyota’s midsize go-to in the U.S. sedan market. So the name passed the torch—and the crown, metaphorically—from one sedan to the next.

Royalty for the masses

Here’s the irony: for a car with such regal etymology, the Camry is about as down-to-earth as it gets. It’s dependable, inoffensive, and more likely to be seen hauling groceries than attending a red carpet.

And that’s kind of the point. Toyota didn’t want the Camry to sound flashy or intimidating. They wanted familiar, friendly, and just exotic enough to stand out. “Camry” sits in that sweet spot—unique, but not trying too hard.

Why the name works

The name “Camry” does what all great car names should do:

• It’s easy to pronounce in most languages.
• It doesn’t carry weird or unintended meanings in other countries.
• It sounds neutral-to-positive. (Unlike, say, the Chevy Nova in Spanish-speaking markets. “No va” = “It doesn’t go.” Oops.)

And thanks to nearly 40 years of solid performance and reliability, “Camry” now means something—whether you know about its royal roots or not. It’s become synonymous with dependability, resale value, and “I don’t want to think about my car. I just want it to work.”

Long live the Camry

At first glance, “Camry” might seem like just another automaker coin-toss of a name. But behind those six letters is a direct line back to Toyota’s roots—and a subtle nod to the car’s place atop the brand’s sedan hierarchy. It’s not just a midsize car. It’s a crown in disguise.