Brand Naming Cheatsheet: Creating A Name For Your Brand
Naming a brand is one of the most important areas of creating or repositioning a brand.
A great brand name will not only help your customers understand what you do, but also who you are, what you stand for, and even where you’re headed in the future.
If you’re looking for some interesting ways to name your brand, our list below has got you covered. Let's take a look…
💡 Tip 1: Blending, Essence + Activity
For Example: Airocle, Knovata
A clever way to come up with a creative business name idea when rebranding is to refer to the core pillars of the brand, and look to blend the key ones together to create a new term or phrase. Establishing what you really stand for and the values you wish to portray can in turn allow you to come up with some creative, unique and authentic business name ideas that will help your business stand out from the crowd.
A great example of the blending of words that reflect the values and processes of a business are Airocle and Knovata - names that we at Founded By Design are proud to have created.
For IVR Group’s Airocle, a natural ventilation company, we fused the terms ‘air’ and ‘pinnacle’, to create the name. Airocle reflects the company’s activities as well as freshness that is associated with their products along with referencing their leading position in the industry.
Another example of a blended name is Knovata, a data system company. By taking the terms ‘knowledge’ (reflective of the essence of the business) and ‘data’ (reflective of the activities of the business), allowed us to successfully create the business name, Knovata.
💡 Tip 2: Thinking Bigger
For example: adding ‘and Co’ or ‘Studios’ to the tail of your business name
When it comes to rebranding your business, in some cases adding on to your existing business name can be beneficial in re-positioning your brand.
Add-ons like ‘and Co’ can help establish a greater sense of size, which can be especially beneficial if you’ve started out as a one-person-show or work alongside a small handful of great team members.
Allowing your brand to appear larger than what it currently is can be beneficial for the purpose of creating greater opportunity for the business name to grow with your business as it scales, and providing a greater sense of authority within the market.
Extensions like ‘Studios’ can add a heightened sense of creative authority to your business name, allow your business name to target your ideal customer more easily by providing a deeper sense of context to the services or products you offer.
💡 Tip 3: 1+1=1, Combining Complimenting Terms
For example: Co-symmetry, ThinkClear
There are plenty of creative business names out there, and it can often feel complicated when trying to create and choose the right one. It may seem simple, but a highly effective method to consider when rebranding your business is creating a new name based off of two complimenting terms.
By choosing terms that reflect your business, the possibilities of name combinations are almost endless.
Some examples of this from our own branding and rebranding work at Founded By Design are Co-Symmetry (formerly The Loom) and ThinkClear. Both of these creative business names draw upon values, activities and the overarching concepts around each brand, allowing both to position themselves as targeted, strong and established businesses.
💡 Tip 4: Evoke Feeling
For example: Two Monsoons
Whether you’re rebranding or establishing your business from scratch, a great tip when it comes to creative business names is to play on the emotions you want your customer to feel about your business.
Feelings are imperative when it comes to establishing and retaining a customer base - you want your customer to feel excited and passionate about your brand. Creating a name that is memorable, unique and reflective of the business is a great way to re-launch, or kick-off, on the right foot.
An example of conveying emotion through a rebranded business name is in the work we did for Two Monsoons. Formerly, the business was called In The Mood For Thai - a fun and clear business name, no doubt - but we knew we could take it one step further to further engage customers with the business.
The term ‘Two Monsoons’ brings up the feeling of a steamy, humid Summer day in Thailand, with storms brewing in the background. From this image, it's not hard to imagine ducking into a local eatery before the storm hits for some authentic, high quality, and fresh Thai cuisine.
As the name ‘Two Monsoons’ so accurately and authentically reflected how we wanted our customer to feel, it was clear to us that this was a great decision in the rebranding process for the business moving forward.
💡 Tip 5: Get Back To Basics
For example: The Natural Confectionery Company, Post-it
An effective, simple way to create an engaging name is by overtly addressing what you do, or how you do it. Take ‘The Natural Confectionery Company’ for example, by overtly stating the ‘what’ creates instant cut-through for customers looking for good quality treats for their kids (or themselves!).
Another famous example would be ‘Post-it’, literally letting you know ‘how’ to use it. Get literal about what you do and who you are, and turn it into a great business name.
🤔 In summary
Coming up with a unique and ownable brand name can initially seem like a challenge. There are so many different avenues to take when it comes to establishing a name for your business. It is, however, within this variety of options that some of the strongest creative business names can be created.
At the core of it all, the most influential factor in choosing a great business name should be the activities, personality and essence of the business itself. By choosing a name based on these factors, you can ensure you’re allowing for a creative, authentic and brilliant outcome.
Chris Thomas is an independent design and branding specialist with over 20 years experience working with iconic brands across a wide range of sectors spanning the UK, EU, US, Middle East, Asia and here in Australia. He is the owner and Creative Director at Founded by Design, and has been awarded both nationally and internationally for his work.
