Javascript was created at Netscape Communications by Brendan Eich in 1995. Initially, it was known as LiveScript. But later Netscape renamed it to javascript so that they could position it as a companion for the Java language, which was the product of their partner, Sun Microsystems. When javascript was first introduced by Netscape, Microsoft and several other browser vendors implemented their own versions of javascript with different names and syntax in their respective browsers. This created a huge problem for developers, as code that worked fine on one browser was a total waste on another

So as a result, Netscape submitted JavaScript to the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) for standardization to ensure proper maintenance and support of the language. Since JavaScript was standardized by ECMA, it was officially named ECMAScript. Originally, the name ECMAScript was just the formalization of JavaScript, but now languages like JScript and ActionScript are also based on the ECMAScript standard.