Alexander Graham Bell wanted the standard telephone greeting to be 'Ahoy' instead of 'Hello.'

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was adamant that 'Ahoy' was the most appropriate way to answer a call. This greeting had nautical roots and was derived from the Dutch word 'Hoi.' Bell used this greeting for the rest of his life, even as the rest of the world moved in a different direction.The shift toward 'Hello' was largely driven by Thomas Edison in 1877. At the time, early telephone users were unsure how to signal that they were ready to talk. Edison suggested 'Hello' in a letter to T.B.A. David, the president of the Central District and Printing Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh. He argued that 'Hello' was easy to hear over long distances and distinct enough to be understood through early audio interference.Edison's preference gained massive traction when the first telephone exchange was established in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878. The operating manuals for these early systems officially listed 'Hello' as the recommended greeting. By the 1880s, telephone operators were even nicknamed 'Hello Girls' because the phrase had become so ubiquitous.Before this era, the word 'hello' was rarely used as a greeting. It was more commonly used as an exclamation of surprise or to catch someone's attention, similar to 'Hey there!' Bell’s insistence on 'Ahoy' ultimately failed because the public found Edison’s choice more practical for the burgeoning technology.