𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘭-𝘥𝘦-𝘴𝘢𝘤 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥.
– Sir Barnett Cocks (1907–1989)
In my years of developing names, it’s not a lack of creativity that causes a project to stagnate; our nature to ‘fit in’, often at the last minute, causes the most problems.
Otherwise, enthusiastic entrepreneurs and seasoned executives tend to become conservative when faced with various names from which to choose.
They do this because they feel their choice will reflect on them. Couple this with a natural fear of the unknown, and we can understand where this conservatism comes from.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲; 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗴𝗼. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.
We all want successful businesses, and typically, being successful is serious. The immediate logic, even if only subconscious, is that you need a ‘serious’ name if you want people to take you seriously.
When choosing a name, it’s essential to understand your vantage point throughout the entire process.
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In my experience, the most challenging aspect of naming is not the development and creation of a master list of candidates; this is a creative challenge for the most part.
The most challenging part of the process is choosing a name from the hundreds or thousands of possible names created. You would think that the sheer volume of names would present the biggest challenge, where having too much choice is the primary cause of anxiety.
However, that’s rarely the case in my experience.
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.
Committees are beneficial only if they’ve helped to write the creative brief. Comments from anyone outside of this group will create too much self-doubt.
Your commercial imperative is to select a name that doesn’t get in the way of building your brand. The best advice is not to let yourself or others get in the way. Let the brief be your guide.
𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 — 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿, 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
If you’ve done the strategic groundwork — defined your brief, understood your audience, checked availability, and sanity-tested the name in context — the only thing left is to back yourself.
Be bold. Go with your gut. Back the name. And remember: people rarely scrutinise brand names — they recall the ones worth remembering.