Name. From 1935 to October 1, 2008, the company name was "Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd." On January 10, 2008, the company announced that it would change its name to "Panasonic Corporation", in effect on October 1, 2008, to conform with its global brand name "Panasonic".The name change was approved at a shareholders' meeting on June 26, 2008 after consultation with the Matsushita family.