The importance of the selection of a company name cannot be underestimated. The wording with which you choose to present your idea to the public will immediately form an impression with consumers, who upon hearing or seeing it once could make a judgement on the company.

Generally, a good company name offers a strong hint as to who is behind it, what it is about and what are its values; it should also sound good to say out loud. This last bit is quite pertinent, as you’re going to be saying the company name dozens of times every day. After brainstorming suggestions and identifying your favorite, give yourself a few days to ‘test it out’ by saying it to yourself regularly and pretending to answer the phone with it. It also helps to write the proposed name in several places where you’re likely to see it regularly so it creates a further impression.

Some of the world’s most famous brand names were chosen almost by accident. The late Steve Jobs chose Apple from a commune that was surrounded by trees bearing that fruit, while Virgin was the suggestion of an employee of Richard Branson; the employee said the name was indicative of their corporate inexperience, a mindset with which Branson fully agreed.

If you don’t get the name right first time around, or if you feel that a rebranding would help, there are numerous instances of companies who changed names to great effect. Have you ever heard of the following brands: Brad’s Drink, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web. Those aren’t exactly names that roll off the tongue. OK, how about Pepsi, Sony, Yahoo? Now you’re probably nodding in recognition. Those are all respective reincarnations of the first group of company names.

This infographic from Colourfast is an excellent guide to the selection of a name for a new company, a decision that could lead to a hitherto unheard-of word becoming a ubiquitous part of the global lexicon. How else would ‘Google’ have become such a commonly understood verb?

An infographic by the team at Colour Fast