How to Create a Unique Brand Name: A Comprehensive Guide

There are an estimated 300 million companies in the world today. That's 300 million brands. Some brands as big as

Apple and Coca-Cola. Others as small as a oneperson business. With so many brands in the world, it's getting harder

to create and find a unique name. So, how do you create a great brand name? How can you play and win the name game?

You start with three steps. First, select what type of name you want. There are seven different categories of names,

and pretty much every brand in the world falls within one of these seven categories. Aonomous names like Disney

and Burberry work by embodying the vision and beliefs of their founders. These names are okay if you're feeling

lazy or just have a big ego. Adidas is more unique. It's derived from Adidas, the company's founder. And Tesla wasn't

created by Nicola Tesla. He died in 1943, but the name is an homage to Tesla's electrical engineering

achievements. Descriptive names like American Airlines and the Home Depot work by telling you exactly what the

company does, but these names can be a mouthful and are much harder to own and protect. Acronyms like GE and BP are

just shorthand versions of descriptive names. Some acronyms are more strategic. Kentucky Fried Chicken switched to KFC

because fried chicken didn't sound too healthy. and the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank changed to H changed to H H H H H H

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H HSBC to help the bank expand globally. Real words like Uber and Slack

are ripped right out of a dictionary and suggest attributes or benefits. Uber literally means an

outstanding example. So it works well for a company with big broad bold ambitions beyond ride hailing. Now real

words might seem like good ideas, but in a world of 300 million companies, it's getting harder to find a name. hard hard

it's hard to find any real words left in a dictionary. Composite names like

Facebook and Rayban are created by gluing two words together. These names have a kind of one two punch and can be

really memorable. Because it's so hard to find real words, companies like Kleenex and Pinterest have invented

names by changing, adding, or removing letters for impact. Now, invented names can be highly unique, but if you're not

careful, they can start to sound like pharmaceutical drugs or worse, the name of a sofa from

IKEA. Associative names work by reflecting imagery and meaning back to their back to the brand. The Amazon in

South America is the world's largest river, therefore the Earth's biggest selection of books, clothes, content,

and so on. Sirius is the brightest star, therefore the radio channels where you can hear the brightest stars of music

and entertainment. And Red Bull associates to a drink with bull-like qualities such as power and

confidence. Some brands are derived from non-English languages like Samsung, which means three stars in Korean. Lego

means play well in Danish. Zapos comes from the Spanish word sapato for shoes. And Hulu comes I bet you didn't know

that Hulu actually comes from a Chinese proverb. A hulu is a bowl used to store precious

things. Finally, the seventh type is abstract names. names like Rolex and and Kodak. These names have no intrinsic

meaning, but instead rely on the power of phonetics to create really powerful brand

names. Okay. So, once you've decided what type of name you you you you want, you need to decide what you want the

name to say. And look, of course, it's tempting to create names that talk about who created them or what you do or where

you operate. But the best brand names don't don't describe. They stand for a big idea, ones that translates into

emotional appeal. Nike is about winning. GoPro is about heroism. Apple is about simplicity and usability. And Google

comes from the math term. That's a one with a 100 zeros after it. So that really big number helps support the

company's really big original vision to organize the world's information. So as you think about your new brand, think

carefully and ask yourself, what's your big idea? The third step is to check the

name isn't already taken. You might have to create hundreds of names, perhaps thousands before you find one that's

even available. And of course, don't forget to check the name uh means doesn't mean anything negative in other

languages or countries. The last thing you want is an embarrassing naming fail like this brand of toilet paper from

Sweden. Finally, a few words about Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and now one of the world's most valuable

companies. Much has been said and written about the the the business strategy, but I'll say a few words about

the name. Is Alphabet a great name? You bet. First of all, the name is an idea. As we all know, an alphabet is a set of

letters that forms the basis of all language and communication. Second, the name provides a playful link back to the

companies underneath. G for Google, C for Calico, N for Nest, X, and so on. Third, the name encourages Wall Street

investors. Buy this stock and you're making an alpha bet, one that will outperform others.

And and last of all, the name is a real dictionary word, which is a rare find these days. Now, there was only one

issue with Alphabet. Car company BMW owned the URL alphabet.com. But, you know, here's the thing. Owning the.com

doesn't matter as much these days now that we find stuff through Google search and we connect with brands through

social media and smartphone apps. So, Alphabet, the company, forgot about Alphabet.com and instead found a shorter

and more unique web address. abc.xyz. Thank you. Thank you, Jonathan.