Naming: how to find a suitable name for a strong brand

The name of the company greatly influences the first impression. Ideally, it should be short, easy to remember and appealing to the audience. How a name determines the fate of a brand, what naming specialists charge money for, and why not everyone can call themselves an apple—we discuss this and much more in our material. 

What is naming and why does a brand need it?

In short, it is the process of developing a brand, product or company name that is embedded in strategy, digital environment and legally protected. Here it is important to choose a name that will sound good in Russian and other languages ​​(if you plan to enter international markets) and that itself tells about the brand. The latter is not necessary, but it is advisable to at least maintain the associative sequence: you should not call the vegan cafe “Steaks and Cutlets”. 

Modern agencies treat naming as part of the brand system: it is the first touch that sets the tone for all communication. Ideally, the right name can highlight positioning (Tesla is about technology on the verge of science fiction, Slack is about making work easier), support the brand architecture (when you have dozens of products and services) and simplify the work of marketers: the name itself carries the desired message.

Requirements for a good name

1. Memorability and simplicity. The person saw the ad on a billboard, read the title and was able to Google it at home. LLC "GLTSHBKLGMSHPSZTVKIMP" with "NARROWED WAIST IN A CORSET AND SEA SAND" (that's not us, that's a transcript) can even break a neural network. 

2. Uniqueness. The next Digital Solutions will be lost among the same ones, and it doesn’t matter what comes after it, Inc or ™. Think about what values your brand conveys, what mood you want to convey, how the name will sound in conversation:

— Who advises you on business?

- “Honest people.” 

1. Scalability. Danish beer Gavnø, for example, would be received ambiguously here (although we think there would be no problems with sales: if not for yourself, then as a gift). 

2. Digital accessibility. In the 21st century, brands probably don’t exist without a website. It’s good if the site address looks like name+ru, for example, like ours. At the same time, immediately check your nicknames on social networks. 

3. Legal compliance. The basic requirements for a business name are listed in Art. 1473 Civil Code of the Russian Federation, one of them: you cannot use any words and expressions that contradict public morality (the Yobidoyobi network was nevertheless forced to change the name of the legal entity). 

Types of naming

Naming development done in different ways. Some simply take the name of the founder (Artemy Lebedev Studio, Tinkoff, Chanel), others “glue together” two or three words that reflect the company’s activities (Sberbank, Airbnb), others follow associations or come up with a neologism. For example, this is what the founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, did: the search engine was initially called Backrub, but it quickly became clear that this word would be difficult to scale. And the verb “google” would not exist then. Let us briefly list the main types.

1. Nominal - after the name of the founder. 

2. The abbreviation is BMW, IBM and the sea sand example above.

3. Non-existent words - Google, Kodak, Xerox, VkusVill. 

4. Associative - cleaning "Cinderella", children's clinic "Aibolit". 

5. Composite - the name is assembled from parts of words, for example, Microsoft came from “microcomputer” and “software”. 

6. Metaphorical - the word means something to the founders of the brand, but is not necessarily related to the goods/services. For example, Apple appeared, according to one version, because Steve Jobs loved apples and wanted to be higher in the directory than its closest competitor Atari. 

7. Borrowed - the names of famous places and gods are used. For example, the Colosseum shopping center. 

8. Rhymed - the words in the name rhyme, so it’s easier to remember them (Seven-Eleven, “Top-top”, “Yolki-palki”). 

9. Personalized - the brand turns into a character. This is Grandma Agafya, Stella Artois. 

10. Colloquial - the name is selected so that it easily fits into a person’s speech. Clothing brand “Yours”, household services “Husband for an hour” and so on. 

Naming stages

Define the brand image

To do this, you can use the interview or archetype method. Task: understand your values, how you differ from competitors, what you want to broadcast, what tone of voice. This is how naming is done from scratch or during rebranding. 

Collect data

We study the target audience and competitors to find names that will inspire trust and at the same time do not overlap with other companies on the market. At the same time, we check euphony, semantic fields, possible negative meanings, including in other languages. 

Make a longlist 

At this stage, we advise you to simply take paper, pen and write whatever comes to mind. Organize a collective brainstorm, attract a neural network, quantity is important here. For example, for one of our clients there were more than 600 titles on the longlist. We group them by type: metaphorical, nominal, and so on, to make it easier to work further.

Prepare a shortlist

We discuss options, check them for uniqueness, availability of domains and trademarks, and narrow the list to 20 names from which you can choose the best one. 

Give feedback

If you simply give a list of names, it will be difficult for the client to understand why they were chosen. We always tell you how we came to each word, what meaning it carries, what it looks like in Latin and in advertising, and we offer examples of slogans. 

Register

When the name is chosen, lawyers get involved in the work: they submit an application to Rospatent, register a trademark and transfer the rights to the customer. This is a mandatory step, otherwise your carefully crafted strategy may fall apart if a competitor registers your name first. 

Legal and technical review

In order for a name to be registered, it must be checked for uniqueness. Legal review is carried out according to FIPS search engine, on Rospatent platform, where you can see not only registered, but also just submitted applications. In addition, you need to choose the right class MKTU (International Classification of Goods and Services), it is indicated when submitting an application for trademark registration to Rospatent. This is important because if goods and services belong to different classes, different owners can register the same names: there will be no conflict of interest. 

As part of the technical review, we look to see if the domain name and social media account for the brand name are available. Domains can be checked on Reg.ru, godaddy.com, in coordination center for .ru/.рф domains, social networks, marketplaces and other resources are looked at manually. 

Our lawyers do a full check on free and paid databases, so registration will be successful the first time. This will allow you to differentiate yourself from your competitors, as well as avoid legal proceedings for illegal use of someone else’s trademark: from 01/04/2026, the maximum amount of compensation has been increased up to $100,000. 

How to choose one name from several

We offer a three-stage rating system:

1. Criteria matrix. Make a table: horizontally there will be name options, vertically enter the criteria. For example, these:

• compliance with strategy and positioning;

• differences from competitors;

• simplicity and memorability;

• legal risks;

• display as a domain and in social networks;

• subjective wow factor.

Each criterion should have its own weight, for example, even if the client really likes the name, but is too similar to the name of a competitor, the legal risks should outweigh. 

1. Checking the reaction of the target audience. The best thing to do is to put variations of the name on a business card or home page layout and ask, what do you think this company does? What associations does each name evoke? Which one is better remembered? For B2C, you can use quick A/B tests of creatives and surveys. For B2B: in-depth interviews and verification in the context of a commercial proposal.

2. Final choice. There will always be a compromise between ambition, marketing and legal purity. If you can't decide between two options, go back to your positioning strategy and imagine where your business will be in 3-5 years? What name would suit him better then? 

Errors in naming

The most common linguistic errors are: the name is too long, difficult to pronounce or remember, has negative associations - these may appear later due to global conflicts and crises. Another unsuccessful option: it is tied to a location, it will be difficult for Moscow Windows to promote in Syktyvkar, it may be necessary creation of a new brand. 

Legal errors are primarily associated with copying someone else's trademarks. Even if your name is only similar to someone else’s, the court may take the competitor’s side, and you will have to pay, including for rebranding. 

Among marketing mistakes, similarity with competitors also comes first. You can pass a legal check, but “Pelmeni from Masha” and “Pelmeni from Glasha”, also located on the same street, will inevitably confuse people, and even your regular customers may go to a neighbor. 

In general, if you want something normal right away, go to a pro. The Veonix team makes perfect naming with a guarantee, if you are not satisfied with the result, we will return your money.