Rocket Cos. to fully drop Quicken Loans name for mortgage business

Rocket Cos. is dropping the Quicken Loans name and instead will be called Rocket Mortgage effective July 31.

The move was inevitable following the 2016 introduction of the Rocket Mortgage name with a Super Bowl 50 ad.

The rebranding aligns the mortgage business' moniker with other Rocket Cos. entities, namely Rocket Homes, Rocket Auto and Rocket Loans. Rock Holdings created the Rocket Cos. name in order to bring the company public on Aug. 6, 2020.

"Rocket Mortgage has grown to be the industry leader and the measuring stick for all other lenders," said CEO Jay Farner in a press release. "With this official name change, we will have a consistent brand that is synonymous with innovation and excellence."

The company's original name was Rock Financial, and it operated under that moniker until Dan Gilbert sold the company for $370 million in 1999 to Intuit, which then merged it with its own business QuickenMortgage. At that time, the combination became Quicken Loans.

But in 2002, Intuit resold Quicken Loans back to Gilbert for $23.3 million. A licensing agreement allowed the mortgage company to continue using the Quicken branding.

The shift in name recognition began on Feb. 7, 2016, when the Rocket Mortgage app was unveiled to the public during the Super Bowl. While the launch generated some concerns about loose underwriting, by 2018, 98% of Quicken's applications were coming through the app.

Since then, advertisements have used the branding “Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans.”

Last September, Quicken Loans Mortgage Services, the company’s third-party originations channel, was renamed Rocket Pro TPO, to closer align its branding with Rocket Mortgage.

Quicken Loans has a legal "doing business as" and consumers may see the company referenced by either name until July 31. QuickenLoans.com will remain operational after the name change. For now, it will direct clients to apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage. After July 31, it will transition to accomplish "other important objectives" for Rocket Cos., the press release said.