Lisa Merriam

Brand Name Styles — Types of Company and Product Names

Before diving into your Latin dictionary when you consider naming your company, product or service, consider the wide array of brand name styles and product name options in use today.

Abbreviation Raychem, Microsoft, Amtrak
Acronym AARP, BP, AFLAC, IBM, KFC, TCBY,TIAA-CREF, UPS, USAA
Alliteration Dunkin’ Donuts, Roto Rooter, Planters Peanuts,
Piggly Wiggly, Brooks Brothers
Appropriation Java (for software), Bloody Mary’s (for a restaurant), Blackberry, Caterpillar
Classical Roots Pentium, Quattro, Avis
Composition PowerBook, PageMaker, Comcast, Nutrasweet, Accuvue, Bisquick
Descriptive Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bath & Body Works, Airbus, Volkswagen, Toys R Us, E*Trade, General Motors,
Evocative London Fog, KitchenAid, Frigidaire, In-n-Out Burgers
Fabricated Exxon, Kodak, Xerox, Häagen Dazs, Verizon
Foreign Words Volare, Montero, Samurai
Founders Hewlett Packard, Hilton, Disney, Ford, Dell
Geography Winnebago, Silicon Valley Bank, Budweiser, Mutual of Omaha
History Ticonderoga, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, ebay, Cisco
Humor Cracker Jack, Yahoo!, Bullfrog, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants
Ideophonemes 7-UP, 7-Eleven, Union 76, V-8, WD-40, 3COM, Cambio 16
Merged Packard-Bell, Rolls-Royce, ExxonMobil
Mimetics (alternative spelling) Krispy Kreme, Krazy Glue, Kwik Kopy, Kleenex
Mythological Oracle, Midas Mufflers, Mercury, Nike
Onomatopoeia ZapMail, Sizzler Steakhouse, Kookooroo, Kisses
Oxymoron True Lies, Steel Magnolias, Intimate Strangers

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More naming resources:

Naming How-To:

Naming Mistakes
Six Factors for a Memorable and Motivating Name
History of Best Known Brands
Styles and Types of Brands
Choosing a Name
Try a Recycled Name
Web 2.0 Naming Considerations
What is Brand Architecture
Approaches to Brand Architecture
Brand Architecture and Business Strategy

Companies and Products:

MSNBC vs. msnbc.com and The Bigger Naming Problem
Macy’s Blunder with Marshall Field’s Name Change
Banks and the Name Game from Bank Marketing Magazine
AIG Name Change to AIU
Breaking Up the Motorola Brand
Google’s Speedbook Disaster
Renaming a Small Business
Proxios CEO Talks About Renaming Process
Naming a Green Sportswear Company
Unintentionally Funny Names-BARF
Unintentionally Funny Names-Putzmeister
Unintentionally Funny Names-Bimbo
Renaming a $2 Billion IPG Agency
Renaming Iraqi Freedom
Selected Naming Portfolio