David Airey

Brand naming resources

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David Airey
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It’s easy to think anyone can come up with a good name, but it’s more complicated than that.

“An idea can come from anywhere, but getting buy in and seeing it through is tough. In fact, naming can be one of the hardest parts of a branding project.”

From a naming handbook by Wolff Olins. Via @gradiate.

A naming handbook

These naming specialists are listed at the end.

With a few relevant books.

Another that seems worth picking up.

Some online pieces.

And when you have your shortlist, check availability.

Comments

14 responses to “Brand naming resources”

  1. Shelly Neill Avatar
    Shelly Neill

    David – I love this blog post and the resource listing. I recently wrote a blog that touched on the aspect of naming in the branding process. (http://wahtah.com/thetide/2014/1/27/whats-in-a-name-and-then-what) Would love it if you’d drop by, take a look and leave a comment or pearl of wisdom 🙂 Best to you!

    Reply
  2. David Airey Avatar
    David Airey

    Happy to help, Shelly.

    Reply
  3. Rene Avatar
    Rene

    Thanks for all the links, David. You read my mind. Naming seems like it would be so simple but it’s truly the most difficult for me. I appreciate all these resources in one place.

    Reply
  4. Josten Dooley Avatar
    Josten Dooley

    Thanks for the links David. Coming up with a name during branding can sometimes be pretty difficult nothing better than to make the process easier.

    Reply
  5. Arianna Decosta Avatar
    Arianna Decosta

    Naming is one of hardest things. It seems so simple but not in reality. I took at least 2 to 3 months for this so I can understand how tough a task it is.

    Reply
  6. sanjay Avatar
    sanjay

    Naming is really hard, still can’t decide what to name my studio till now. Thanks for the resources!

    Reply
  7. Ross Avatar
    Ross

    Hi David, another incredible resource (very in-depth, and they give it away for free!) is the pdf download from this naming company I stumbled on a few years back.
    http://www.igorinternational.com/process/naming-guide-product-company-names.php
    Definitely worth the read.

    Reply
  8. Jeff K Avatar
    Jeff K

    Tell me about it. After researching names two years ago when I was starting my own business, I felt confident in the name I chose. Three months ago, I received a cease and desist from a much larger firm in CA. After speaking with two trademark attorneys, I’ve learned a lot. Now it’s taken over a month to figure out a new name. We seven started picking random words. Most were taken. It is very difficult to find a unique and compelling name for our “creative” business. Thx for the resources.

    Reply
  9. David Airey Avatar
    David Airey

    No luck, Jeff. All the best with the new one.

    Reply
  10. Daria Avatar
    Daria

    I’m stuck in the naming land at the moment, and while I’m definitely not into ‘New Dawn Graphics’ type of names, I’m really struggling with the simple alternative of just using my name because my last name is a nightmare to spell. Do I add something to my name? Or do I just use the first name? Would a first name only be weird? Or narcissistic somehow?

    Reply
    1. David Airey Avatar
      David Airey

      A domain might be tricky, Daria, but it’s not weird at all. A big plus with your personal name — you know it won’t grate on you after a while. With your last name, you could always go for the phonetic approach and spell it as it sounds.

      Reply
  11. Daria Avatar
    Daria

    Thanks David. Phonetic approach would still sound too tricky, I think I’ll stick with my first name so. I already have a .com domain with my full name, so I figured this one would be on an .ie domain and one can point to the other.

    Reply
    1. David Airey Avatar
      David Airey

      No worries. Another idea is to use the .com you have, while still branding yourself as Daria. I suppose that’ll depend on how many people you think will be typing your URL into an address bar, rather than clicking a link in an email, for example.

      Reply
  12. Kimberly Cruickshanks Avatar
    Kimberly Cruickshanks

    Great post! Naming can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to lock down a unique name that is available. We created an easy worksheet to help with the process: Check out our free naming brainstorm worksheet here: http://www.fuzebranding.com/brainstorm-worksheet-tips-for-naming-your-business/

    Reply

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