Naming

Every company, product, and person has a name: a term meant to identify them and only them. Human names imply genders and cultural backgrounds, while brand names can say almost anything about the company or offering they represent. And while it’s OK if there are a bunch of guys named ‘James’ or ‘Mueller’ out there, the same can’t be said for trademarks.
I’ve worked on over 150 naming projects, ranging from wild-eyed startups to exciting product launches to high-stakes corporate rebrands. Whether your endeavor is still just a gleam in your eye, or an org-wide juggernaut barreling towards launch, I can help you figure out what story to tell, how to tell it, and how to own it.
Below are my naming packages, some names I named, a beginner’s guide, and an FAQ.

NAMES I NAMED

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NAMES I NAMED ~

Here’s a sampling of names that I played an integral role in creating, and where (with one exception) they actually became something.

Featured
Alchemy
Alchemy

Realizing educator potential.

Meridian
Meridian

Navigate a sea of longitudinal data.

Noom Mood
Noom Mood

Extending a monolith into an ecosystem.

Encore
Encore

A new lease on life.

Tripadvisor Plus
Tripadvisor Plus

In the face of uncertainty, less is more.

Rectify
Rectify

For shits and giggles.

Symbia
Symbia

Helping teams work better together.

Caterpillar
Caterpillar

Finding fitness one small step at a time.

BioAdvanced
BioAdvanced

Renaming for consistency.

NAMING PACKAGES

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NAMING PACKAGES ~

Naming Fundamentals

For small to medium-size orgs who need help figuring out what to stand for, as well as coming up with an available name.

  • Kickoff briefing to learn about your endeavor and brainstorm how you want to be seen in market

  • I’ll encapsulate that aspiration in a brand positioning statement, discuss it with you, and talk naming taste and ownability criteria

  • I’ll brainstorm a bunch of names

  • I’ll screen those names for trademark, web, and other ownability criteria

  • We’ll shortlist available favorites together

  • If needed, we’ll iterate through a second naming round with a refined brief

You get:
A brand positioning statement, and 15 availability-screened names per round

1-2 weeks | $5k - $10k

Advanced Naming

For people naming within organizations that have complicated socialization steps, or layers of brand and legal approval to clear.

  • I’ll facilitate kickoff conversations with all key approval stakeholders to understand their criteria

  • We’ll have a working-team naming kickoff to talk about what we’re naming, your creative taste, and a socialization strategy

  • I’ll brainstorm a bunch of names

  • I’ll screen those names against your approvers’ stated naming criteria

  • We’ll shortlist available favorites together

  • We’ll present to stakeholders together, and iterate through this process with feedback and refinements

You get:
15 availability-screened names per round, and ongoing socialization support

4+ weeks | $10-20k

Naming + System

For organizations with a new or rapidly evolving brand architecture, looking to get a head start on future naming initiatives.

  • I’ll facilitate an Advanced Naming project for a key brand in your portfolio, like the company or a hero offering

  • We’ll use that project as the testbed for a naming system, deriving names for other key brands

  • We’ll codify the decisions made through this project to identify name types for each segment of your brand architecture

  • I’ll develop an explanatory, persuasive, high-utility naming toolkit to guide all future naming endeavors

You get:
10 name sets per round, and a naming system and toolkit

6+ weeks | $20k +

Need something named?

Looking for naming training?

Larger projects accommodated at an hourly or per-project rate. Discounts for one-person businesses.

NAMING 101

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NAMING 101 ~

Your name is the first word of your story, and the last one, too. The story it sets you up to tell needs to be the right one. Your name won’t carry every nuance of your brand, but it’ll be the anchor that holds it all together.

Find your story

Every name sets you up to tell a story. Yours should be based on the ideas that are authentic to you, relevant to your customers, and different from your audiences. They should be ones that are true today and will stay true tomorrow, and remain true across everything this name needs to encompass.

Will you focus on your origin? Are the people or places behind the creation of the offer what will be most relevant, like Disney or McKinsey?

Will you emphasize the definition of the offer itself, because, like Netflix or Sleep Country, what you’re doing is on its own unique?

Will you talk about the attributes that make the offer stand out, like Mini or Costco, to show how exactly you’re different from your competitors?

Will you focus on a singular audience you serve, like Salesforce or Peloton, because you alone understand them well enough to serve their unique needs?

Or will you talk about the amazing benefits your offering can provide, like Marvel or Excel, because that end state is what brings all your offerings together?

Craft your story

With a great story in mind, you’ve got to find the right vehicle. These names vary in directness, from the clear and blunt to the vague but extremely flexible.

Some stories are really simple, and can be told straightforwardly using existing language, what I call intuitive names. The Container Store doesn’t contain a hidden backstory, it’s just a store where you can buy containers. Disney says exactly what it means to: that was the name of the guy! This might be right for you if you like real words like Bank of America, lightly modified ones like Citi, or smooshed-together ones like BuzzFeed.

Some stories have multiple parts, or ones not well-served by existing language, or that would be gauche to simply claim outright. These are best served by oblique references and metaphors, what I call evocative names. Tesla doesn’t literally say mad scientist of electricity, but it implies it. Pantone says ‘all colors,’ just not with an existing word. This might be more your speed if you’re into metaphors like Oracle, identifiable neologisms like Pantone, or ten-dollar words like Peloton.

And some stories are really complicated, or contradictory, or changeable, and you need a vehicle flexible enough to complement all those stories, even if it doesn’t tell any explicitly—a cryptic name. Apple works just as well for computers and phones as it does for bank cards, exactly because of its mystery. Palantir has a story to tell about evildoers’ intelligence-gathering tools, but they don’t have to tell that story if they don’t want to. This might be your territory if you’re into totally invented words like Spotify or Noom, obscure stories like Apple as a reference to Isaac Newton’s brilliance and ethos, or non-local words like Kijiji or Hulu. Also… you’re gonna need a lot of money to get whatever your story is into people’s heads.

Want to find the start of your story?

FAQ

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FAQ ~

  • Your name is, in many ways, literally synonymous with your brand in your audience’s minds. It’s impossible to think of, let alone refer to, a company or product without using its name. It’s also nearly impossible to change—companies only resort to name changes when they’re going through big restructurings or PR nightmares.

    If every single time a customer thinks of you, they’re thinking of a relevant differentiator, that’s a huge advantage. If they’re not, you’ll be paying that opportunity cost for the rest of your brand’s lifetime.

  • Naming, like any other technical endeavor, is crammed full of pitfalls and mistakes that pros have learned to navigate around, as well as hidden shortcuts we use to save time and effort. I’ve come up with something like 60,000 names in my day, and I guarantee I’ve already tried to crack your idea at least a dozen times. Taking advantage of my experience will save you time, money, and heartache.

    Don’t worry — I can’t do it alone, and I’ll be asking for your help along the way.

  • Maybe you should! I did.

    Up through the 1940s, almost half of companies were named after their founders. That number has steadily dropped throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, hitting under 10% of new big-company names in the 2010s, though it remains popular for law firms, ad agencies, and small ‘local’ businesses.

    If you want to sound like a stoic heritage behemoth, or a plucky local underdog, using your own name might be the right call. If you want to sound like something else, a different approach will meet your needs better.

  • A big agency will take five times as long, and charge you five times as much. They’ll use a team of experts, yes, but who are burnt out and pulled in many different directions.

    I was forged in that crucible, and have escaped it.

  • I’m happy to slot into an agency team, whether you want to pick up one of these packages on behalf of your client, or plug me in on an hourly basis.

    You might also want to know that I do brand positioning, brand architecture, and naming systems work, as well as namer training. Contact me to learn more.

  • Forgetting their CEO for a moment, I really love Tesla as a name. It does such a good job of conveying core attributes like electricity, intelligence, and being an underdog—universally recognizable without being cliche.

  • There’s a bank called Fifth Third, named when Fifth Bank and Third Bank merged. Their naming choice implies there are four other Third Banks. Myself, I woulda called it Fifteenth Bank.

    I’m also still laughing about home goods startup BRANDLESS™, whose prolific and aggressive use of the TM symbol completely undermines their name’s story. “We have no brand, and we’ll sue you if you try to copy us” us is some heady stuff.

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