Using the word "coon" as part of a company name

I'd like you to ask if it's ok to use the word "coon" as part of a company name? The website isn't related to racoons at all, but has a racoon head in the logo. Will it offend visitors? As a foreigner I don't get all the finer points of the English language.

Probably the most sensible thing to do in this situation if you want a racoon-themed corporate identity would be to keep the "ra" in "racoon".

The word "coon" is in fact highly offensive to black folks in the USA, and there are frankly a lot of people here who have never seen a real-live racoon and never heard the word "coon" used in any way other than an insult to black folks.

There are indeed other (non-black) folks, particularly those who enjoy hunting, who will say "coon" to refer to the animal and mean nothing racial by it at all. However, for general public consumption, it should really be avoided.

Despite the election of an African-American President, race continues to be a very sensitive issue in the US. History of slavery and ongoing discrimination against African-Americans and many other groups make the use of any term that is considered ethnically offensive or insensitive a source of concern.

There has even been a movement to sanitize Mark Twain's work to remove the use of the term we euphemistically call the N-word. Many in the literary community have resisted the change to an important historical work and point to both the usage at the time and Mr. Twain's overall thoughtful approach to racial issues.

There is even a current controversy concerning the long standing name of a professional football team, the Redskins. There are arguments on both sides, but clearly some people are offended and upset.

Even though the word coon has a somewhat common non-offensive meaning, some people (and not a negligible number) will take offense to a new, non-historic coinage.

If you do not want to offend, do not use it.

Growing up, I always heard the animal referred to as a "raccoon." I believe "coon" was used almost exclusively as a racial slur. But then, my childhood was pretty suburban. I can imagine I might use the word "coon" if I ever have occasion to discuss the hunting of raccoons ("That's one heck of a coon dog.") or if I were asked to perform a condescending impression of a country bumpkin ("Mama's cookin' coon for supper!"), but otherwise I don't think I'd normally use coon in place of raccoon. That said, combining "coon" as a suffix with another term, as you are proposing, may remove the negative connotation. At least I've never heard the racial slur used that way. To me, GadgetCoon sounds like a subspecies of raccoon.