TUV in German stands for Technischer Überwachungsverein (English translation: Technical Inspection Association). But the actual name of the organization has become obscure through the ages especially since the organization has developed an international reputation. The acronym of TUV only relates well to the German name. Even to complicate things more there are several TUVs, such as TUV Rheinland, TUV Nord and TUV SUD.
For instance, when we say TUV Functional Safety Engineers, most of the time, we usually refer to the Functional Safety Engineer (TUV Rheinland). In Singapore, we see a lot of Engineers working in SIS integrators, EPC and chemical plants with TUV Rheinland certificate.