The Meaning of "Miata"

    Ever wonder why they call it a "Miata"? There are many theories about the origin of the term and how this vehicle actually got its name. Rod Bymaster, Mazda's head of product planning and marketing for the Miata project back in the early days, claims his "biggest contribution to the project was to have found the word 'Miata' in Webster's Dictionary, which is defined as 'reward in Old High German'."
    Another explanation is that the word "Miata" was computer generated. Many product branding strategies include using a computer program to come up with a list of names. So what if Mazda did the same thing and their computer belched out the word "Miata"? The next logical step would most certainly be to run a check on the selection in every possible language to make sure it didn't have a crude meaning. So naturally, the check process stumbled across the Old High German root which was then passed on to Mr. Bymaster for evaluation.     
   Still others believe the Italian "Siata Roadster" somewhat inspired the "Miata Roadster". It seems possible that the name "Miata" is a direct derivative of the old Italian Siata roadsters. Due to the roadster tradition in Italy's automotive history, the Miata name may have been derived from the Italian dialect "Calabresse". If so, "Miata" should be the feminine past tense of the phrase "On Her Way" or "Ready To Go", which is true in every sense of the car! 
    Or, if you look up the word "meed" in the Oxford English Dictionary and the Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language you will find that "miata" is another word for this term and they both can mean "reward". "Meed" is an obsolete German word. So this is verification of the meaning but not verification that this is what Mazda intended the name to mean. Maybe they simply liked the sound of it. You decide.