Here’s a continuation of our review of some of the vast numbers of ways in which names can be devised. You’ll find out here that you don’t always have to flex your muscles – sometimes less is more.

Part 2. Geographical location and quirkiness

Add and subtract

Mission received some time back a fascinating visit from Ken Segall. Segall is the man behind the little i in iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc. – that little device we’re all so used to nowadays. One small letter for man, one giant brand for mankind. Not unlike what Google did when it made Gmail its version of email. Tumblr and Flickr, for their part, have each removed a letter. Sky-Peer-to-Peer became Skyper initially, before eventually shrinking the name to Skype. Such linguistic freedoms are particularly effective in a digital universe, where it’s pretty much impossible to get the .com domains you want. This is led to a range of deliberate incorrect spellings that sound the same as the original words. Quentin Tarantino was responsible for the film Inglorious Basterds. Issuu (sounds like issue) is an online publication platform. Reebok (running shoes) is a different spelling of the word rhebok, a type of African antelope.

Don't miss out on our e-book on naming. Download for free now.

Family and friends

Lots of company names tell it like it is, with not much mystery behind it. McDonalds, BOSE, Schibsted, Ringnes and Narvesen are all companies that have derived their names from the person or people who started them. These names have stood the test of time and become strong company names. A more informal variant is the name of ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry, which uses the first names of the two founders.

Geography

Hafslund is a village near Sarpsborg, Orkla is a river in Sør-Trøndelag, and Nokia is a town in Finland. All these names tell us something about the origins and history of their respective companies. Sparebanken Hedmark tells us very clearly what they do and what areas they prioritise.

1:1

Norsk Tipping tells us what they do – loud and clear. Posten at least explains what they used to do.

More than one word

Good names are often short and made up of just one word, but that’s not always the case. There’s no way you can misunderstand the message of Toys R Us. Over there, you can also get the very descriptive, easy-spread product I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, while here at home we have the hairdressing salon Sjå te å klypp de!

Familiar words in a new environment

American computer company Apple and smartphone manufacturer Blackberry, Spanish clothing chain Mango and Norwegian supermarket chain Kiwi all show how versatile fruit and berries can be. Tiger sells clothes, Caterpillar sells tractors, and Virgin sell everything from CDs to flights and rail services. Facebook used to be the name of a book that introduced all students at a university. Amazon.com borrowed its name from the Amazon river. Amazon sounded exotic and difference – and not least, it was the biggest river in the world. Founder Jeff Bezos wanted his company to be just the same.

Literary and other cultural references

The band Uriah Heep borrowed their name from Charles Dickens. Yahoo is a name taken from the book Gulliver’s Travels. Robust Samsonite suitcases took inspiration from Samson, that strong man in the Bible. Insurance company David which operated in Norway in the 1990s had also been looking at the Bible – more specifically, the tale of David versus Goliath.

Rhyming, musical and playful words

7-Eleven rhymes, but it’s also a description of the original opening hours of the chain. Hubba Bubba bubblegum got its name from a military expression meaning that everything’s okay. The health app Fitbit is more recent. Other playful names that trip off the tongue and have grown into giants are YouTube, SimCity, CandyCrush and Wikipedia. The fact that the human body consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes has led to a very special name for a biotech company that deals in personal genetic tests: 23andMe. Petrol station chain Q8 sounds like Kuwait, and that’s where the products come from.

With all these examples, it’s tempting to say that the sky’s the limit – but that really isn’t the case. Because we should set limits, at least in the process. But that said, we should try to keep our foot off the brake pedal.