Earlier this month, the world waited to catch a glimpse of the U.K.’s new royal baby. Once the baby “princess” made her debut on May 2, speculation and even bets ensued on what royal names would be chosen.
Two days later, the official name was released, Her Royal Highness Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge. The connections seemed rather obvious to Queen Elizabeth and the late Princess Diana, but it was also revealed that the Middleton family shared several connections with the names as well.
We were reminded of all the pomp and circumstance that can go into a name, and it made us wonder … what’s in a name when it comes to some of our most beloved companies and brands?
Historically, many companies have taken names from founders or their children, with companies like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Kellogg’s, Bausch & Lomb, Ben & Jerry’s quickly coming to mind.
But how do start-ups determine their names, and what are some of the secrets or hidden meanings behind some of our favorite brands today?
According to one-third of Twitter’s founder team, Jack Dorsey, “Naming something and getting the branding right is really important.”
Twitter was originally named Status, then Twitch, in an attempt to focus on the SMS and mobile features and to characterize the “physical sensation that you’re buzzing your friend’s pocket” with status updates. Twitch didn’t evoke the right imagery, but a Thesaurus lead them to Twitter, which clicked because of its bird “chirping” and chatter connotations.
When Starbucks was founded by two teachers and a writer in 1971, they decided to name their Seattle-based coffee bean business (the company originally only sold beans) after Moby-Dick’s first mate, Starbuck.
Google was originally Googol, the mathematical term for the number one followed by one hundred zeros. The idea was to indicate a more powerful search engine, capable of fielding vast quantities of search results. Strangely, Google was originally nicknamed “BackRub” because the system checked backlinks to test the validity of a site.
According to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs came up with “Apple Computer” while working at an apple farm and driving between Palo Alto and Los Altos. “Maybe he worked in apple trees. I didn’t even ask,” said Wozniak. He suspected that there may have been a tie to Apple Records, since Jobs was a music aficionado but never asked specifically what his inspiration had been.
Etsy means “and if” in Latin, but “oh, yes!” in Italian. Founder Robert Kalin says he watched foreign movies for inspiration, and wrote down “etsi” while watching Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2, which later became Etsy.
Since the proliferation of the Internet, finding a domain name that is available — or even affordable — can trump creativity or practical spellings of words.
As an example, GoDaddy was originally Jomax Technologies but became “Big Daddy,” then GoDaddy once they realized BigDaddy.com was already taken.
On a related note, keep in mind that a bad name, or one that doesn’t directly match your domain name, could result in lost web traffic, poor sales, and general inefficiency with incorrect email addresses and more.
There are company name generators like http://www.shopify.com/tools/business-name-generator and http://www.naminum.com, most of which also check domain name availability, with tons of other resources online.
In case you’re wondering how Shift Key came to be, our CEO Jan Risher was in search of a company name that was “accessible, somewhat familiar, but still clever.” On a road trip with her husband, he suddenly said, “Shift Key! — making communication capital.”
Risher said, “I thought the play on words and potential imagery were wonderful! My husband happens to be one of the most clever fellows I know. I love the name as much now as I did then.”
At Shift Key, we make communication capital. We are journalists who know how to create original content, the foundational layer of digital marketing. We understand audience and the information your audience wants – whether you are an agency, brand, company or non-profit. Content is the bedrock of digital marketing. Shift Key creates unique and informative content that feeds marketing activities across a mounting number of channels, generating buzz for brands and leads for products and services.