Going deeper (for ages 14-18)

David Placek (founder of Lexicon Branding, the agency behind BlackBerry, Swiffer, Subaru Outback, and Sonos) has a rule worth memorizing: a name should have echoes, not descriptions.

"BlackBerry" echoed the small clustered keys of the device (bumps like a berry) without literally describing a phone.

"Swiffer" echoed "swift" plus the sound of sweeping. The echo does the work the description couldn't.

This is positioning theory, going back to Al Ries and Jack Trout's 1981 book by that name. The name is the first move of positioning, and positioning is the war for one specific phrase in your customer's head.

Your name should echo something true about your customer's world. Not a literal description. Not random sound. Something with a sliver of meaning.

Lexicon Branding's case studies at lexiconbranding.com are free and short. So is Paul Graham's "Change your name" essay (paulgraham.com), which is two minutes long and brutal.