Written by verbal identity and branding specialists, Phil Ramsell and Simon Andrew, joint founders of Sticky Name Design and both native English copywriters & creative directors based in Germany
Brand names can be classified into five broad categories: Descriptive, Associative, Portmanteau, Coined, and Abstract Names. Each type has its own strengths so the one best suited to your particular naming challenge will depend on any number of factors from the nature of your brand and the people you want to engage with it to the market where it competes and the aspirations you have for it. Knowing the various types of brand names out there opens you up to the science of various naming possibilities – but how useful is it as a strategy for developing “sticky“ names?
Here’s a short introduction to each of the five types of brand names.
1 – Descriptive brand names
These names directly and iterally reference the company founder, company location, a core benefit or key feature. They can also include acronyms like IKEA (Founder’s initials plus first letter of name of farm on which he grew up and first initial of parish in which he resides) or GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company), or initialisms like BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) or DHL (last letters of the three founder’s surnames). Further examples of these tell-it-like-it-is names include: FaceTime; DriveNow; Outlook; Ben & Jerry’s; Louis Vuitton; Allianz; Bosch; and Walt Disney. While these names can be useful in explaining (albeit sometimes with an idiosyncratic back story) what a brand does or who created it, they can be low on flair and emotion.
2 – Associative brand names
Also known as metaphorical names, these tend to create stronger emotional connections than descriptive names and can inspire powerful associations with the desirable qualities of a brand. Examples include: Apple (the fruit of creation); Tinder (it kindles new relationships); Mustang (a wild and powerful ride); Amazon (the biggest and strongest); Flowerbomb (an explosion of beautiful scent); Juicy Lucy (sensuous, fresh and delicious); Shazam (works like magic).
3 – Portmanteaus
This popular approach involves combining existing terms, syllables or word fragments to create a ’brand’ new word: Examples include: Accenture, FedEx, Intel, Electrolux, MicroSoft, Groupon, Pinterest, WhatsApp, Snapchat. Even though made up, these names have a clearly descriptive quality and, when done right, can be both smart and cool.
4 – Coined brand names
This type of name is created from existing names and terms that are turned or changed in some way to make them uniquely ownable. Examples include, Ideo, thjnk, Durex, Wii, Sharpie and Google. These names tend to be simple, memorable and often help position the brand they represent as innovative and cutting edge.
5 – Abstract brand names
Completely made up names with no immediate associations are often regarded as a missed opportunity, however they also offer unique advantages: They are a blank slate to which consumers can attach their own meaning; they are not language dependant and can work across international markets; and they are great for medical products because they help avoid regulatory problems. Well-known examples include: Aspirin, Viagra, Frisbee, Xerox, Camry, Yaris and Zalando.
When it comes to creative naming, these five types are just a springboard however, because they can also be combined in any number of ways. For example, Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream flavour, Karamel Sutra®, is a portmanteau, associative and coined name, while Industrial Light & Magic is both descriptive and associative; Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is ... well, in the end, it’s whatever works.
So what type of brand name could work best for you? We hope this short article has given you some useful food for thought and inspiration. That said, we would never recommend simply choosing just one of the brand name types outlined above as a basis for your name development as this would be too limiting an approach. “Namespotting“ can be a fascinating linguistic science when applied in hindsight, but name design itself is all about foresight. And that’s where our sticky approach to naming really can help make all the difference. To discuss the way forward for your particular naming challenge, simply get in touch
