September 13, 2017
The wheels of time turn and turn. We grow older. Our phones keep telling us we need to upgrade or update our operating systems. Such is the way of life. For those who have neither a sweet tooth nor bluetooth, let me catch you up: Android uses alphabetically sequenced candy names for their major operating […]
July 20, 2017
True story: when Alex was 5, his parents paid him 2 cents for every dandelion he pulled up from the yard. He probably exacerbated the problem by blowing the seeds off the top of every one he pulled up. But we tell this story not only because it was the first line on his resume, but was a […]
January 21, 2016
Here at Catchword, our naming experts know that coming up with a creative, memorable, and strategic brand name is only the first step in the company or product naming process. We’ve heard of countless poor souls who thought they could skip hiring a naming firm and do the naming themselves. Many of these intrepid entrepreneurs […]
December 10, 2015
‘Tis the season for Google names. Only a few months ago, Google announced that it would be reorganizing under its new holding company, Alphabet. This week, Google Life Sciences, the tech behemoth’s new foray into the biomedical field, announced that it would be changing its name to Verily. Although it hasn’t generated as much buzz […]
August 13, 2015
It isn’t every day that a kid gets to name their parent, but this week Google announced a major restructuring whereupon Alphabet became the parent company of Google, Calico, Nest, Sidewalk, and Google’s investment companies. After the announcement, Slate el-em-en-oh-peed all over the name in their post affectionately titled “The Worst Name That Google Could […]
June 4, 2009
**This post was graciously contributed by Stephen Baird, Winthrop & Weinstine law firm.** Microsoft is flashing its latest version of bling with its launch of the much anticipated “decision engine” it has dubbed Bing. I agree the new brand name has a nice ring (according to Microsoft, the “sound of found”), with great brevity, rhythm […]
August 8, 2008
When a professional namer stumbles across a gem of a new name like Diaroogle — a search engine “for the discerning, on-the-go defecator who is brave enough to use a public bathroom” — there is simply no alternative to obsessively creating alternative name candidates. So, working on the assumption that the name must graphically convey […]
July 30, 2008
So putting aside the atrociousness of the name (seriously, this could be the worst company name ever launched), this new “Google-Killer” is not ready for prime time. I had to check it out, what with all the publicity it has received. Alas, the folks at Google can still rest easy. The folks at Cuil aren’t […]
June 25, 2008
Occasionally we encounter start-up technology clients who tell us they want their name to be so popular it gets turned into a verb. Like, Google or Xerox. Oh ho ho, no you don’t! These big-name companies spend a lot of money fighting the genericization of their famous brand names. They all want to protect themselves […]
April 11, 2008
Saw this fun little piece on naming today. It mostly talks about “Googlegängers” (folks who share the same name finding out about each other through Google). But the reference to people subliminally liking names that are similar to their own is fascinating. I’ve experienced a slightly different, but likely related tendency in my years as […]