Brand Naming: How to Choose a Memorable Name You Can Register

Brand naming is the process of finding a name for a company, product or service that people remember, that stands apart from competitors and that can be protected in law. A sound process has three stages: generate a large pool of candidates, screen them for language, meaning and pronunciation, then check the survivors for trademark and domain availability. The most common mistake is putting a favorite name on the logo, the shop sign and the website before anyone has run a trademark search.

What makes a good brand name?

There is no single formula for the best name, but most strong names pass these tests:

• Distinctiveness: It introduces the brand rather than describing the sector. "Quality Furniture" is a description, not a brand.
• Pronunciation and spelling: Someone who hears the name can write it correctly, and someone who sees it can say it correctly.
• Brevity: A short name works better on signage, an app icon and a social media handle. Being short is not enough on its own, though.
• Associations: The name should not carry a meaning that contradicts the brand's promise, and that needs checking in the languages of every target market.
• Room to grow: A brand that sells one product today may widen its range tomorrow. A name like "Istanbul Boiler Service" makes it awkward to start selling air conditioners.
• Protectability: You can register it, and the matching domain and social media accounts are available.

Types of brand names: from descriptive to invented

It helps to place names on a spectrum according to how directly they describe the product.

• Descriptive names say exactly what the product is. They are easy to understand but hard to register, and they do not set you apart.
• Suggestive names hint at the product without naming it. They carry meaning and can still be distinctive, which is why many successful brands sit here.
• Compound names join two words or word fragments. The result can be original, but how people read it must be tested.
• Invented names are new words with no prior meaning. They are the strongest option for registration; filling them with meaning through brand communication takes time and budget.
• Founder names and abbreviations are common in family businesses. Abbreviations are often forgettable, because a string of letters carries no meaning by itself.

The reason descriptive names struggle is written into the law. In Turkey, Article 5 of Industrial Property Law No. 6769 lists among the absolute grounds for refusal signs that lack distinctive character, and signs consisting exclusively or essentially of indications of the kind, type, quality, quantity or other characteristics of the goods. The law makes an exception for signs that acquired distinctiveness through use before the application, but a newly founded brand cannot realistically rely on that.

The brand naming process, step by step

1. Write a brief. What does the brand promise, who is it speaking to, which markets will it sell in, and which goods and services will carry the name? This is also where you set the tone: serious, friendly or technical.
2. Build a candidate pool. Do not filter yet. Use word lists, synonyms, metaphors, roots from other languages and combinations to produce dozens of candidates.
3. First cut. Remove names that are hard to pronounce, carry negative associations or sit too close to a competitor. Usually five to ten candidates remain.
4. Preliminary trademark search. Search the remaining names in the trademark register, in the relevant Nice classes. Look for similar names as well as identical ones.
5. Digital check. Are the domains you need (for example .com and your local country domain) and the usernames on your chosen social platforms available?
6. Language and culture check. If you will sell abroad, does the name carry a slang or negative meaning in those languages?
7. Pronunciation and recall test. Say the name over the phone and ask the other person to write it down. A day later, check whether they remember it.
8. Decide and file. Choose from the last two or three candidates and file the trademark application before, or at the same time as, the logo work.

How do you check whether a brand name can be registered?

In Turkey, trademark applications are made to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT). A trademark is a sign that distinguishes one business's goods and services from those of others, and it can consist of elements such as words, figures, colors, letters, numbers and sounds. If you also plan to sell in other countries, run the same kind of search in each target market's register and take local advice.

The application states which goods and services the mark will protect, using the Nice Classification. To find which class a product falls into, TÜRKPATENT points applicants to TMclass, a tool from the European Union Intellectual Property Office that works in many languages, including Turkish. A software company should think beyond the software class alone and include the classes for the consulting and training services it also provides.

Three rules from the Turkish law are worth knowing after you file:

• Under Article 6, an application that is identical or similar to an earlier registered or filed mark, covering identical or similar goods and services, is refused on opposition where there is a likelihood of confusion.
• Once the application is published in the TÜRKPATENT bulletin, interested parties have two months to file an opposition (Article 18).
• A registered mark is protected for ten years from the filing date and is renewed in ten-year periods (Article 23).

Judging similarity in a preliminary search requires legal interpretation. Where a case looks risky, an opinion from a trademark attorney costs far less than renaming the brand later.

How will people read the name? The pronunciation trap

Turkish is largely read as it is written, but that rule breaks down with names of foreign origin. An English-looking name will be read the English way by some customers and the Turkish way by others. The same happens in any market where a name crosses languages. The result is a brand that has to be spelled out twice on the phone and gets misspelled in search.

A simple test reveals the problem. Show the written name to five people and ask them to read it aloud; then say it to five other people and ask them to write it down. If most people in each group do not reach the same result, the name will struggle in word-of-mouth recommendations and voice search. Spellings with "ph", "w", "x", double consonants or silent letters are the ones that trip up most often in this test.

Common brand naming mistakes

• Running the trademark search after the logo and signage are already made.
• Searching only for the identical name and skipping similar spellings and pronunciations.
• Filing in a single Nice class and leaving out the service that actually brings in revenue.
• Securing the domain but neglecting the social media handles.
• Getting approval only from the founding team instead of testing with the target audience.

Checklist before you decide

• Does the name distinguish the brand rather than describe the sector?
• Does the trademark search show no identical or similar marks in the relevant classes?
• Are the domain and social media handles available?
• Do people who hear it write it correctly, and do people who see it say it correctly?
• Is it free of negative meanings in the languages of your target markets?

Once the name is settled, it needs to work as one system with the logo, colors and typefaces. We handle naming together with that work in our corporate identity projects, usually after the groundwork described in our brand strategy guide. If you would like to talk about your own brand, get in touch.