what does subaru mean

“Subaru” is a Japanese word that means a few closely related things, all tied to stars and togetherness.

Core meanings

• It is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster (also known as the “Seven Sisters”) in the constellation Taurus.

• It also carries the sense “to unite,” “to gather together,” or “to govern,” referring to things being brought into order or collected as one.

Why the car company uses it

• In 1953, five Japanese companies merged to form Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), Subaru’s original parent company.

• The name “Subaru” was chosen to symbolize those companies uniting, like the stars in the Pleiades cluster.

• The logo with one large star and five smaller ones represents FHI (the big star) and the five merged companies (the smaller stars).

Quick forum-style takeaway

In Japanese, “Subaru” basically means the Pleiades star cluster and, by extension, the idea of things being united or gathered together. That’s why the brand uses a cluster of stars in its logo and ties the name to the merger of its founding companies.

TL;DR: Subaru = the Pleiades star cluster + the idea of “uniting/gathering together,” which the car brand uses to symbolize several companies joining into one.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.