One of the most important tasks of a young entrepreneur is the choice of the company’s name. It should be clear, easy to remember, original and, at the same time, concise. Besides, it is necessary to avoid any kind of repetition or copying. How to come up with a brand name that would reflect the basic concept of your company? What mistakes must be avoided? How to give a name to your brand?

The brand name is the first thing a potential customer faces. It is the client’s first impression of the company. What should be done in the first place when it comes to the choice of a name for your brand? First of all, make sure that it is available. This is an extremely important step. For this purpose, there are special registers with a list of already existing trademarks and brands.

How to give a name to your brand?

Remember that the name of the brand is difficult to change, so this issue should be approached with all seriousness. There are entire companies whose main task is brand naming. If you are experiencing any difficulties with the choice of a brand name, contact one of these companies. You will be offered a whole list of possible options with regard to your wishes and the specifics of your business activity.

There are a number of common mistakes made by beginners during the brand naming process.

Here is the list of the top 4:

• Choosing a name which is difficult to pronounce or has a too complicated or “creative” spelling – a conscious violation of grammatical norms or the use of puns does not always work the way you intend.
• The brand name you’ve chosen is too descriptive, general or long – the buyer does not understand what exactly you offer, or cannot even remember the name.
• You were guided by emotions when choosing a name – try to evaluate all possible options as critically as possible.
• The name of the brand has not been tested properly – ask as many people as you can before choosing the final version of a name. Learn their reactions and associations and only then take a decision on the brand name.

To understand what makes a brand name successful or unsuccessful, let us look at several examples of successful and unsuccessful naming.

Examples of successful naming:

• Apple is one of the most recognizable companies in the world. The name is memorable and catchy; it has its own unique identity. At the same time, it is very simple and easy to remember;
• Google – the name which has become the result of an error in the word “googol” (a number in the decimal system representing a unit with 100 zeros) and turned out to be extremely successful;
• Twitter – the name that perfectly reflects the basic concept of this social platform. This is why it turned out to be so successful;
• TeslaMotors – the name of Nikola Tesla is associated with electricity; therefore, such brand name is an excellent choice for electric cars;
• BMW is a good example of a memorable abbreviation.

Examples of unsuccessful naming:

• Ayds – the brand of sweets that reduced appetite. Unfortunately, the word sounded exactly the same way as the word AIDS. The advertising slogan “With Ayds, I ate less” was a complete disaster (the loss of appetite is one of the AIDS symptoms).
• Barf used to be the name of the detergent powder. The word is synonymous with “vomit.” One is very unlikely to buy something like this...
• TequilaMockingbird is an example of an unsuccessful pun. Obviously, the owner of the company wanted to bring about an association with the famous American novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee but it looks way too long and cumbersome, while the pun (Tequila – To Kill a) is difficult to get;
• CrispyHexagons used to be the name for cornflakes but it proved to be a failure as well, because it sounded too general and awkward;
• I can’t believe it's not BUTTER! – a clone or a “twin” of butter. The name is long, blurry and raises doubts in the potential buyer as to what the product is made of.

In general, the choice of the brand name is one of the most important tasks at the stage of a company launch. It should reflect the concept of your enterprise, be unique, concise and creative. The name of your brand should have some “zest.” Do not be afraid to seek help. In this case, the more opinions you have, the better. Feel free to experiment but do not go too far. Good luck!

• Checked / Updated: 07.25.2022
• Published on: 04.24.2018
• Author: Elvira Savir