Never thought about that after having been using Aero for a few years since Vista was released. I always thought “Aero” just a word Microsoft picked from the dictionary. But hell no, just like they picked the beta fish as the default desktop wallpaper in the beta version, Aero has its own meaning.

It stands for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. Simple and gets to the point. And according to Wikipedia:

Read more at http://www.windows7hacker.com/index.php/2009/11/any-idea-what-aero-stands-for/