Thinking Of Names
Good names are not always easy to think of. In the majority of cases, the first few names you think of aren’t great and unfortunately most people run with the first thing they think of.
There are so many implications from the name you choose. This resource will provide a way to assess name ideas against the variables that matter and will most likely save (or generate) a lot of money into the future of your venture.
One common mistake I see is that people will name their business using an adjective, assuming this trait is most sought after within their industry or embodies their point of difference. Differentiation is simply an irrelevant card to play in the branding game.
The most successful and powerful identity exercises I’ve been part of involved, yes, starting with your values, but then take the next step of thinking of something different or unique that symbolises those core values or purpose of the business. It’s okay to be general or use a broad concept like excellence or innovation, because that will give us more room to play within.
On the other hand, some names don’t have any obvious meaning but they are simply different and easy to remember. These could be a word from a different language, or use uncommon letters (the ones that score highly in scrabble). If you’re trying to think of some of these, most of your ideas may be too confusing or obscure, but it is possible. You can try to find some meaning in it, but that’s not always necessary. Some brands just want to be random and it works. e.g. Jellyfish – a creative agency, with a strikingly creative name.
At Shepherd, we’ve helped name a bunch of businesses (like Poppi Planners by Meridian Learning, Abound Physio, Gibbons Fitness) using the below analysis.
Check For Availability
It’s not as simple as you think of a name and you run with it. We use the following matrix to assess brand name availability which will give us an indication of risk, cost and whether it’s a good name to choose.
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The best way to go about this naming exercise is to:
- Create a table in Google Docs (there’s a reason to use this app) with the following columns: Name, Uniqueness, Domain, Socials, Search, Trademark and Succession-able.
- List all your name ideas (one per row).
- Then, as you conduct the assessment for each column (we’ll show you how below), colour code each box based on your findings using the traffic light methodology (red for negative, yellow for neutral, green for positive).
- Google docs allows you to easily drag to reorder each row within a table. Rearrange your table to have the most green boxes at the top and the most red boxes at the bottom of the table, making it visually organised and obvious which names are better than others.
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 until you find one with enough green or yellow that works.
You’ll end up with something like the one shown in this screenshot.
Uniqueness
In the first section, we talk about this. Something uncommon, non-generic, with unique letters or from a different language. This simply allows people to be able to remember you* which is vital because most people buy at a later point in time as opposed to every time they see an advertisement. They only buy when they really need or want something and they are able to do so easily.
*it turns out there’s robust science behind this, a principle that stays relevant throughout all types of design, learning and marketing activities. If greater recall means greater sales and profitability, then this concept is gold.
Numerous studies in cognitive psychology and neuroscience establish that uniqueness enhances memory and recall, a principle supported by findings on the Von Restorff effect, distinctiveness, and emotional salience in memory formation. One of the most well-known principles in this domain is the Von Restorff effect, or isolation effect, first identified by psychologist Hedwig von Restorff in 1933. This effect demonstrates that when multiple similar items are presented, the one that differs significantly from the rest is more likely to be remembered (Von Restorff, 1933). Neuroscientific research further supports this, showing that unique or novel stimuli trigger stronger activity in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory consolidation, and in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in encoding and retrieval processes (Strange et al., 2005). Additionally, dopamine release in response to novel stimuli enhances learning and memory retention (Lisman & Grace, 2005).
Distinctive information is also more likely to be encoded deeply when it violates expectations or existing knowledge schemas. When information is surprising or does not align with prior experiences, it engages the anterior cingulate cortex, a region responsible for detecting conflicts in information and enhancing cognitive processing (Alexander & Brown, 2011). Emotional salience plays a similar role in memory recall, as events that carry emotional weight—whether positive or negative—activate the amygdala, leading to stronger and longer-lasting memories (Kensinger & Schacter, 2006). This explains why surprising, humorous, or shocking events tend to be remembered more vividly than neutral information.
These principles have broad real-world applications, particularly in advertising, education, and marketing. Advertisers use unique logos, jingles, or taglines to make brands more memorable, while educators leverage distinctive teaching methods, such as storytelling or unexpected visual elements, to improve student retention. Similarly, in marketing and persuasion, unusual product positioning or packaging can help brands stand out in crowded markets (Keller, 2003).
The reliability of these findings is well-supported by numerous experimental studies. The Von Restorff effect has been replicated across multiple research settings, reinforcing its credibility as a cognitive principle (Hunt, 1995). Additionally, fMRI studies consistently show increased activation in memory-related brain regions when individuals are presented with unique stimuli (Strange et al., 2005). While individual differences, such as prior knowledge and cognitive abilities, can influence recall, the overall principle remains robust: distinctiveness enhances memory retention and is a key factor in effective learning and marketing strategies.
References
• Alexander, W. H., & Brown, J. W. (2011). Medial prefrontal cortex as an action-outcome predictor. Nature Neuroscience, 14(10), 1338–1344. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2921
• Hunt, R. R. (1995). The subtlety of distinctiveness: What von Restorff really did. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2(1), 105-112. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214414
• Kensinger, E. A., & Schacter, D. L. (2006). Processing emotional pictures and words: Effects of valence and arousal. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 6(2), 110-126. https://doi.org/10.3758/CABN.6.2.110
• Keller, K. L. (2003). Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall.
• Lisman, J. E., & Grace, A. A. (2005). The hippocampal-VTA loop: Controlling the entry of information into long-term memory. Neuron, 46(5), 703-713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2005.05.002
• Strange, B. A., Hurlemann, R., & Dolan, R. J. (2005). An emotion-induced retrograde amnesia in humans is amygdala- and β-adrenergic-dependent. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(39), 13646-13650. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0508579102
• Von Restorff, H. (1933). Über die Wirkung von Bereichsbildungen im Spurenfeld. Psychologische Forschung, 18(1), 299–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02409636
Make your own (now) educated assessment as to whether the name you are considering is either unique, somewhat unique or too generic, and colour code it accordingly.
Domain
This one’s easy. Go to GoDaddy or any other popular domain name registry and do a search for the name you’re checking.
Don’t just stop there, look around and experiment (if you really like the name). What you are looking for is something that’s affordable (a few dollars if you’re lucky). If you need to remove the syllables like we did, that is a neat trick to try.
Now, a .com is the most commonly known domain type, so they would be the most expensive and sought after. Otherwise there’s no reason why you can’t use something simple and generic. e.g. rogers.health. These generic domains are ideal if there’s ever a possibility you business could sell something overseas, in which case other languages or tailored content of the website could be provided to specific countries e.g. apple.com/au, apple.com/uk.
Location specific domains are only ideal if you are 100% certain that the your brand will never expand overseas. e.g. rogershealth.au.
Choose the colour code, based on both availability and affordability. Write which domain was available into the applicable box in the table so you don’t forget it later and so you can easily weigh up your options.
To be continued.
