At Monika, we’re in the business of delivering world-class brand names in a way that’s not just better than alternatives, but obviously so. And after generating tens of thousands of names and stress-testing our generator into the ground, we can say with confidence that our outputs are indistinguishable from the world’s most reputable brand namers and agencies.
Even so, it’s worthwhile to caution that selecting a name for your brand or product is never going to be easy.
Odds are, you will not “know it when you see it.” You can expect every name you review to come with an asterisk; a concern, a question, a flaw. And if you’re part of a large team, the final decision will not be unanimous. Like, definitely not.
For the optimistic reader who assumes that a brand name will provide existential alignment, we suggest sitting down for this next bit.
The belief that a perfect brand name is out there just waiting to be discovered is a dangerous hope. It’s one that we’ve seen drive companies to spend a disproportionate amount of time and money chasing, just to end up with some mediocre name that no one really loves.
Yes, there are exceptions. When Google (read that again: Google) introduced the name of its new parent brand, Alphabet, heads exploded. What a perfect name to represent a search engine business that’s widely identified by a letter (G), and to symbolize its expansion into new categories. The domain name abc.xyz is borderline genius. But hey, this is Google. Bags-of-money-hundreds-of-lawyers-global-dominance-Google.
For the vast majority of brands with a name that’s widely considered to be “good,” the praise usually doesn’t come from something inherent within the name – it’s been earned over time. For instance, if Apple were a new hardware startup that made poorly designed devices that ran on Windows, a lot of people would hold the opinion that they have a bad name. Kitsch, even. The same goes for Gentle Monster if their sunglasses were basic and radically overpriced, or if Chick-fil-a hawked a tasteless chicken sammy.
It’s not the most inspiring advice, but we always recommend approaching the brand naming process with a cool head and measured expectations. Not because there aren’t creatively interesting and commercially powerful names to be discovered, but because it might take some time for it to grow on you, and for your company to grow into it.
Picking a name that your customers will love deserves your close consideration. But what really deserves your energy is how you’ll earn it.
