Just like the name of a person, every business has a word or a group of words associated with it called the ‘brand name’. As there are many businesses around us, so are brand names.
As we’ve seen in ‘The Ultimate Guide to the World of Branding’, the brand name is a part of Brand Persona, which is, in turn, a part of Brand Strategy. And, similar to the business’s brand identity elements, a brand name is also the very first aspect of the business that people would come across.
Like the different types of logos present in the industry, brand names could also be categorized into various distinct types. In my opinion, most brand names can be segregated into 9 different categories.
In this article, let’s dive a little deeper into understanding what are the 9 different types of brand names that a branding enthusiast, as well as, a business owner should know about.
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1. Descriptive names
Descriptive names are names that clearly convey what the business is about. For example, the brand Toys “R” Us clearly conveys that it’s a toy company just through its name.
Though descriptive names are great for clearly communicating the nature of the company, it becomes very limiting when the business grows and diversifies its product/service offerings in the future. Moreover, in the internet world, a descriptive name doesn’t really stand out in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as there would be many other businesses with the descriptive part of the name common.
Some more examples of descriptive names are Petco, Evernote, General Motors, Electronic Arts, American Airlines, and Match.com.
2. Founders’ names
Founders’ names are those that consist of the names of the business’s founders. For example, Ben & Jerry’s is a popular American ice cream brand founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.
While these kinds of names might be easier to trademark and protect, they might sometimes be disadvantageous in future acquisition as these are directly tied to a real human being.
Some more examples of such names are McDonald’s, Ford, Adidas (Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler), Jack Daniel’s, Mars, and Papa John's.
3. Acronym names
Acronym names are acronym versions of the original names of the businesses. For example, IBM is an acronym for International Business Machines and HP is actually named after Hewlett and Packard, the two founders of the company.
These might sometimes be difficult to trademark but generally, they are easy to remember. But these companies usually need to invest a lot in advertising to make people familiar with the names.
Some more examples of acronym names are BBC, MoMA, GE, BP, HSBC, and NBA.
4. Metaphorical names
Metaphorical names are names that are derived from real words like geographical locations, mythological figures, historical personalities, fictional characters, animals, things, etc. For example, Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory.
These names are generally used to convey a certain feeling about the company or to represent the core purpose or meaning behind the business.
Some more examples of metaphorical names are Jaguar (animal), Apple (fruit), Amazon (river), Tesla (a historical personality), Starbucks (a fictional character from Moby Dick), and Nokia (a town in Finland).
Related article: Why Does Everyone Love Starbucks? | Starbucks Branding Case Study
5. Mash-up names
Mash-up names are names that are formed by combining two words that have a real meaning associated with them. These words are combined to form a word that sometimes has a completely new meaning to it. For example, Facebook is a combination of ‘face’ and ‘book’, representing the company to be a network of people.
Some more examples of such names are YouTube, BuzzFeed, PayPal, Intel (Integrated Electronics), FedEx (Federal Express), and Snapchat.
6. Made-up names
Made-up names are names that have no prior existence and are completely made up. Though completely new, such words usually tend to give an appropriate feel and vibe about the brand. For example, the name Spotify is a fabricated name but despite that, gives a feeling of familiarity and develops an interest for the listener.
The made-up names are easier to trademark but, need large amounts of investments in advertising to turn into a name that people remember.
Some more examples of such names are VAIO, Skype, Pinterest, Twitter, Kodak, and WhatsApp.
7. Misspelt names
Misspelt names are names that usually have a word or a mix of words but have different spellings as compared to the original spellings that we already know. For example, the brand name Flickr is a misspelt version of the word Flicker.
This seems to be an interesting combination of familiar words which is also easier to trademark as compared to descriptive names.
Some more examples of such names are Netflix (Net flicks), Lyft (lift), Happn (Happen), Google (Googol), Etsy (Italian phrase, “eh, si” meaning “Oh, yes”), and Vodafone (Voice, Data, Phone).
8. Combination names
Combination names are a combination of two or more of the previously mentioned 7 types of brand names. These are considered to be a good mix of the advantages that each different category of names comes with.
For example, the name Airbnb actually represents the ‘BnB’ which is short for “Bed and Breakfast”, that’s available wherever you travel across the world.
Some more examples of combination names are Taco Bell, Under Armour, Trader Joe’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Froot Loops, and Pixar Animation Studios.
9. Naming Systems
The naming systems are a set of naming rules developed to represent each of the products or services that are offered by a brand. For example, BMW has different variations of car models released with the names 2 series, 3 series, 6 series, etc.
Similarly, Apple’s devices are named iPad, iPhone, iMac, and iOS.
In contrast, the operating system versions released by Android are named after a dessert, in alphabetical order like Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice cream sandwich, and Jellybean.
Conclusion
In conclusion, no matter what type of brand name you choose for your business, you need to remember that the goal of any business is to attract people and hold them as your customers for as long as possible. The right brand names definitely contribute to making people remember the brand.
While there’s a wide variety of naming types to choose from for your brand, the appropriate category choice should be based on various different factors like your personal preference, the audience psychographics, the brand architecture of your business, and the intended emotion, to name a few.
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