The polymer that became known as nylon was invented by the Du Pont company research scientist Wallace Carrothers in 1937.

There have been several claims to the explanation on how the trade mark name “Nylon” came into being; none of which is completely agreed. The most common myth is that it is the combination of New York and London – which is not true.

The more favored explanation being that the suggestion of calling it “norun” because of improved durability of the stockings made from it evolved during brainstorming to “nuron”, then “nulon”, then “nilon” and finally agreed as NYLON.

Because the trademark name was not sufficiently well protected it became the generic name for this type of man made fiber and its trademark status lost.

Nylon is a thermoplastic, silky material, first used commercially in a nylon-bristled tooth brush (1938), followed more famously by women's stockings ("nylons"; 1940) after being introduced as a fabricat the 1939 New York World's Fair.