Happy Birthday, Google! On September 27, 2025, the world’s most widely used search engine turns 27. Over nearly three decades, Google has become more than just a website—it’s a tool billions rely on every day. Whether we’re looking for recipes, directions, reviews, or breaking news, the universal advice remains the same: “Just Google it.”
As Google celebrates its 27th anniversary, let’s take a closer look at its fascinating journey: how it was created, the quirky story behind its name, who owns it today, and how it’s marking this milestone with a special birthday tribute.
The Beginning: Who Created Google?
Google’s story began in 1995 at Stanford University, when two young minds—Larry Page and Sergey Brin—crossed paths. Page was considering Stanford for graduate school, and Brin was assigned to give him a campus tour. Ironically, their first meeting was not smooth. Reports suggest they disagreed on nearly everything.
But fate had other plans. By the following year, Page and Brin joined forces to tackle the challenge of organizing the growing chaos of the internet.
Working out of their dorm rooms, they began building a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites. Instead of ranking results by keyword frequency alone, their project ranked pages based on the number and quality of links—a groundbreaking idea at the time.
Initially, they called their search engine “Backrub”, a quirky nod to the way it analyzed “back links.” However, they soon rebranded it to something more memorable: Google.
In August 1998, their work caught the attention of Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim, who wrote them a $100,000 check. With that, Google Inc. was born.
Although Google officially launched in 1998, its birthday has been celebrated on September 27 since the mid-2000s. This date was chosen to align with a milestone moment when Google indexed a record-breaking number of web pages.
What Does “Google” Mean?
Contrary to popular belief, “Google” is not an acronym. The name is actually a playful twist on the mathematical term “Googol”—the number 1 followed by 100 zeros.
The term “Googol” was first coined in 1920 by Milton Sirotta, the young nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner. It was a fun way to describe an unimaginably large number.
When Page and Brin were brainstorming names for their search engine, someone suggested “Googol.” Larry Page checked if the domain was available, but due to a typo, it was entered as “Google.” Page liked the misspelling, and it stuck.
So, one of the most powerful companies in history owes its name to a simple typo.
Who Owns Google Today?
Today, Google is part of Alphabet Inc., a holding company created in 2015 to manage Google’s core businesses alongside other ambitious projects like Waymo (self-driving cars) and Verily (health sciences).
While Alphabet is a publicly traded company, co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with a small group of insiders, still hold special voting shares that give them significant influence.
Page and Brin no longer run daily operations, but they remain board members. The leadership baton has been passed to Sundar Pichai, who serves as CEO of both Google and Alphabet. Under his guidance, Google has expanded into artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and hardware while maintaining its dominance in search.
How Google Is Celebrating Its 27th Birthday
Every year, Google marks its birthday with a special Google Doodle—the playful, artistic versions of its logo that appear on the homepage.
For its 27th birthday in 2025, Google has rolled out a nostalgic tribute: it brought back its very first logo from 1998. This throwback gives users a glimpse of Google’s humble beginnings, reminding the world just how far the company has come.
Beyond the Doodle, Google often celebrates by highlighting milestones in technology, showcasing innovations, and sometimes even offering exclusive deals or promotions on its platforms, including Google Play.
Google’s Journey at 27
From a dorm-room project to a tech giant with influence across industries, Google’s journey is nothing short of remarkable. What began as an effort to organize the web has grown into a vast ecosystem of products—Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Android, Chrome, and more—that billions rely on daily.
And as it celebrates its 27th birthday, Google shows no signs of slowing down. With advancements in artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and quantum computing, the company continues to shape the way we live, learn, and connect.
FAQs About Google’s 27th Birthday
Q1. When is Google’s official birthday?
Google celebrates its birthday on September 27, even though the company was incorporated on September 4, 1998.
Q2. Why is Google called Google?
The name comes from a misspelling of “Googol,” the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, symbolizing the vast amount of information the search engine could organize.
Q3. Who created Google?
Google was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1995 while studying at Stanford University.
Q4. Who owns Google today?
Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Its day-to-day operations are led by Sundar Pichai, CEO of both Google and Alphabet.
Q5. How did Google celebrate its 27th birthday?
Google marked the occasion with a special Doodle that revived its very first logo from 1998, offering a nostalgic nod to its beginnings.
