4 Points To Consider While Naming Your Brand

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is a famous quote by Shakespeare. That might have been true in the Victorian era, however, finding a brand name for your venture is a different ball game altogether. Finding a good brand name is tough enough. deciding on a brand name wherein the .com domain is available is extremely difficult. Thankfully, several new domains have been opened up for registry which allows for a lot more creativity such as .io, .academy, .design, .agency, and hundreds more. The possibilities of finding domains that are creative and unique yet available have increased tremendously. However, the lack of creative thinking still blocks many entrepreneurs in finding the right name for their venture.

So here are a few naming Ideas that can help you create your business’s name:

Founder’s Name

Disney: Founded by Walt Disney & Roy Disney
20th Century Fox: Founded by William Fox
Ben & Jerry’s: Founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield
Bose Corporation: Founded by Amar Bose

Describe what the business does

AKG Acoustics: derived from the company’s original name ‘Akustische und Kino-Geräte’ meaning Acoustic and Cinema Equipment.
Alpine Electronics: Clearly showcases that the company deals in electronics
AT&T: The full name of the acronym defines the organization beautifully. ‘American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation’. The name was officially changed to AT&T in the 1990s.
KFC: Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Kentucky, during the Great Depression. The first “Kentucky Fried Chicken” franchise opened in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1952.

Lexical Names that include puns, or phrases

Dunkin’ Donuts: Shortened from Dunking, the name itself signifies what the business is all about.
Band-Aid: Brand adhesive bandages have now become synonymous with tapes for small scrapes and bruises.
Super Suds Car Wash: A car wash company in the US wherein the name is a play on soaps (suds) and car wash. Indeed a very catchy name.

Names based on Acronyms

KFC: Ideally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, but is now primarily.
IBM: International Business Machines, the company now goes with the acronym.
UPS: United Parcel Service (UPS) is an American multinational package delivery and supply chain management company.
JBL: Had the founder kept the originally planned named, the world would have known the brand today as Martini Speakers. Ultimately, named after its founder, James Bullough Lansing.

Made Up Words

Sony: In its early days, the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo might have been easily understood as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering by the Japanese, but in the US, the name did not have an appeal to it. During the late 50s, the company needed a more easily pronounced name was required, and Sony was just the right name. Short and sweet and it also suggested the word ‘sonus’ – Latin for sound. A complete winner!

Combining words to make a new name

Dreamworks: The name itself sounds so beautiful referring to a factory of dreams.
FedEx: Made from two words: FEDeral EXpress
Groupon: A combination of Group and Coupon.
Scientity: A compound name created using Science & Entity.
Evernote: Another example of two words being combined into one.

These are just a few pointers of how brand names can be created, but most famous brand names would fall in one or the other category. What remains important for a new brand in the 21st century is to create a new name for the business wherein the website domain and social media is available which is an extremely crucial part of the naming process.

But what goes into the decision-making process for choosing a brand name. Let’s take a look:

Brand Ethos: The name or at least the meaning of it should align with the brand identity and personality. Your brand’s identity, vision, mission, goals, culture and possibly the future need to be reflected perfectly by the name.

Pronunciation: The brand name should be easy to pronounce across the globe, in different languages and should not mean something that might just turn out to be offensive in foreign cultures or languages. It should be relevant and meaningful for your current customers and future ones as well. That is why ‘Totsuko’ was rebranded to ‘Sony’ to ensure that the American citizen could pronounce the name correctly.

Additionally, one should cross-check the meaning of the word across languages which would help eliminate any future embarrassments as well.

Easy To Remember: Not only should the name be unique, but it should also sound good and be easy to remember. Sticking to shorter words with fewer syllables not only helps with remembering the name but also helps with SEO as well.
Intellectual Property Ownership & Legality: While the name should be easy to remember, short, sound good and look good, etc., it’s important that it follows the IPR laws and legal mandates. Ensure to hire an IPR firm to avoid any legal hassles and more importantly protect your image, reputation and ultimately your brand.

Note: With the release of new domains like .shop, .digital, .store, or even .xyz, new possibilities have opened up again for new businesses to think of creative ways to name their brands.

Ultimately, every brand has a story. Naming the brand right is an exercise that needs thinking, time, patience, and brainstorming. This is what differentiates a good brand from average ones. The right name sets the stage and conveys the message of who you are, what your business is about, and where & how you fit in their lives. Brand naming is the key element in your strategy that holds the power to define the future trajectory of your business.