g’day
naming something - a brand, a business, a baby - is scary.
it’s a one-way door, so it’s easy to overthink.
the tension is clear:
you want things to be different enough. to be unexpected and cool.
and yet fit into social expectations. today, and 30 years in the future.
i’ve thought about this a lot. too much.
over the years i’ve had to name 10+ brands, 2 babies, a few other initiatives.
names are subjective.
but this is my mental model for naming things (you may find it useful).
a name is a name.
a good name is a multiplier and a brand asset. a bad one is a handbrake. but mostly, a name won’t matter (and the substance / the product / the human is what makes the brand). so the safest level of effort to aim at with naming is to be in the top 25%. don’t overthink it. i’m probably slightly more conservative with names than i am with product decisions and marketing.zig, where others zag.
a great place to start is being unexpected, and counterposition against the space you are in. avoid imitation and you will avoid being typecast. sometimes, sounding like what you are helps (like ‘crypto tax calculator’), but often it kills the allure of your brand. for example, if you’re offering novated leasing on cars, you could go for ‘novated leasing australia’, or something user-friendly and trustworthy.gibberish names make life easy, but beware.
random words that don’t mean anything like mutinex or cotiss are great for landing domain names, but only start to sound good when you get very big and successful. can you live with that wait?working titles are good.
the best names are often working titles that have hung around (like chat-gpt). nicknames often stick. lean into instinct and you might uncover something really unique that directly relates to your product story.consider the mandatories.
on the above, things like trademarks, social handles and domain names should be considered early, as they will come back to bite you if you fall in love with a name (and can’t get it)go wide.
start with a long list, cut to short list, and then do your due diligence on your favourite names.consult only a few people.
showing too many people a name is a disaster waiting to happen, and the best way to get something boring, designed by committee. pick 1 or 2 people you trust, and shut everyone else out. tell them the name once it’s locked in.aesthetic words are good.
if you like the look of a word, because of the shape of its letterforms, or how it rolls of the tongue, that’s a great sign. this filter is underrated.
the best names feel obvious after they’ve been chosen.
which means your job isn’t to find perfection, but to find something good enough to grow into.
charlie
ps - new video this week is one i’ve been thinking about for months. why are there hardly any good aussie films and tv shows? i did some digging, and was shocked with what i learned.
