A Guide to Product Naming

Go Beyond What You Do

Imagine if Steve Jobs had coined the iPod as what it is – the Apple portable music player. Instead, that little lowercase 'i' launched a world of brandplay potential that still resonates with Apple's line of consumer devices to this day. When naming your product, look beyond what your product is. What shape is it? How does it fit into someone's life? What will they feel when they're using it? A great name may be just around the corner using this strategy.

Make a Point to Stand Apart

You wouldn't have invented a product unless it was better or different than what's already out there. Shouldn't your product brand name follow suit? Disrupt your product category by choosing a name that's abstractly unique, or counterintuitive. Have a soap company? Call it Filth. Selling a mattress? How about a name that inspires peace, like Zendilla? Your brand story will help sell your unique product name for you.

What About Brand Extensions?

If you've ever heard the expression ‘that's not a brand, it's a product', then you'll know the importance of having a game plan for what's next from your company. When naming your first product in particular, think about how it can tie into other future product lines down the road. You'll also want to consider whether your company name should be separate from your product name. Keep in mind two separate names can cause brand confusion - nobody wants to be known as 'The makers of' when they're launching their next hit product.

Make Your Product Easy to Find

So, someone's heard about your amazing product. But can they find you? An amazing product name will stand out from the competition and be easy to spell and say. That way someone can punch in a search term or guess at your domain and find it no problem. Our curated collection of over 100,000 abstract and real word brand names are memorable, distinctive, and easy to track down – everything you need when kickstarting a new product brand.