Where did the brand name Crayola originate?

The wife of the founder of our company, Alice (Stead) Binney, coined the name CRAYOLA Crayons. The name comes from "craie", the French word for chalk, and "ola" from oleaginous. This has been our trademark name since 1903 when our company was founded and remains one of the most important pieces of our heritage. The first box of Crayola Crayons was produced in 1903 as an 8 count box. It sold for a nickel and contained the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown and black.