{"id":75462,"date":"2025-06-30T20:58:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T10:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elements.blog-cms.envato.net\/?p=20532"},"modified":"2025-11-30T12:24:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T01:24:02","slug":"how-to-create-a-brand-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/how-to-create-a-brand-name","title":{"rendered":"Brand naming secrets from Margaret Wolfson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Try saying that to someone figuring out how to find a brand name. A strong brand naming strategy can be the difference between Chanel (classy, lux, recognizable) and Chanel’s Super Fancy Store (what?). No disrespect to any Chanel’s Super Fancy Stores out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your brand name captures your essence, sparks curiosity, and sticks in people\u2019s minds long after they\u2019ve scrolled past. We sat down with naming powerhouse Margaret Wolfson to explore the art (and strategy) behind crafting names that truly resonate. Whether you’re naming a startup, a rebrand, or your next big idea, Margaret\u2019s insights will help you think sharper, dig deeper, and name smarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brand naming tips from Margaret Wolfson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What’s in a name? Just ask brand-naming expert Margaret Wolfson, the founder and chief creative director of the successful naming agency, River + Wolf<\/a>. Based in New York, River + Wolf creates unique, ear-catching product<\/a> and company names for its clients, delivering branding strategy<\/a>, visual assets<\/a>, and messaging<\/a>. Basically, if you were ever struggling, thinking about the fundamentals of how to name a brand, this is the person you would turn to for advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a professional \u2018namer\u2019, Margaret, who has an M.A. in Literature and Communications from New York University, has a way with words. She\u2019s developed product<\/a> names for world-renowned brands such as Yum China, Coca-Cola, Bangkok Bank, Calvin Klein, Target, Unilever, and Sephora, to name a few.\u00a0She’s combined her skills as a wordsmith with entrepreneurial know-how to make a name for herself across the globe, lecturing on the brand naming process everywhere from Harvard Club, New York University, and Columbia University to the Institut Francaise de la Mode and Cinquieme Sens in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Meet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We talked to Margaret about how she got into the brand-naming industry and asked her to share her expert advice for creating the perfect brand name (from the brand-naming strategy to the full brand-naming process and more).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Hey Margaret, how did you become a brand-naming expert?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: I first became aware of brand names when I was around eight, visiting an auto showroom with my father. He was an English professor and took great pleasure in unpacking the metaphorical meaning of various car names. He brought a poetic sensibility to the table, delighting in the sonority of Frosted Flakes, the wholesome promise of Pepperidge Farms, and the Nordic exoticism of H\u00e4agen-Dazs ice cream. I found the connection between a brand name and a tangible object a source of intrigue even then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this early fascination, my naming career came later in life. My initial career was as a performing storyteller. When you\u2019re on the road, as I often was, there\u2019s significant downtime, which prompted me to think of ways to productively fill these pockets. Naming fit the bill, and I soon had a steady flow of freelance consulting contracts. After more than a decade of working in performing arts and naming, I chose to focus exclusively on naming. In 2014, I launched  River + Wolf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How did the idea for River + Wolf come about? How did you build it into a successful brand naming agency?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: I think three things account for the success of River + Wolf: passion, persistence, and grace. Without passion, you cannot summon the energy required to produce outstanding work. Persistence allows you to keep going when the inevitable obstacles appear. Grace is the act of expressing gratitude to everyone involved in your company<\/a> \u2014 whether they are employees, consultants, or clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"River<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I believe the practice of these three things, when joined with our commitment to producing stellar names for our clients, is behind the meteoric success of River  + Wolf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What\u2019s your creative brand naming process for dreaming up names for your clients? Talk to us through how it works!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: The first thing we do is explore the client’s industry \u2014 their competitive set, primary markets, and so on. We also work hard to identify what we call the 4 Cs of a brand-naming strategy \u2014 communication, construction, continuum, and character. The character is the personality of the name: is the brand quirky? Classical? Edgy? Construction is how the name is built: a single word, merged words, a clipped word, a compound word, etc. Communication focuses on what the name should convey, and continuum is where it will fall on what is known as the Spectrum of Distinction \u2014 is it descriptive? Suggestive? Allusive? Abstract? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"River<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once we\u2019re clear on the client’s orientation, the naming begins. To keep a project on track<\/a>, we follow a well-defined brand-naming process, but the act of name development itself is less structured; the mind needs permission to freely roam.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Where do you find inspiration for brand names? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a namer, you’re always on the lookout for interesting words and expressions \u2014 you eavesdrop on nearby conversations, skim magazines, scan newspapers, and take in words whizzing by on a passing truck. You explore multiple languages, the etymology of words, and other linguistic areas, and you spend vast amounts of time studying the actual names of products<\/a> and companies<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"River<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Analyzing what makes a name tick is a crucial part of naming. We share some of these findings on our online naming gallery, N.O.D. (Names of Distinction)<\/a>, which highlights 12 striking names in various industries per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"River<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Naming also requires an appetite for deep research. For example, to name an intelligent platform designed to enhance marine safety, we took a deep dive into oceanography, sea lore, and sailing terms. But it is typical to go further afield when seeking inspiration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, we mined unrelated disciplines like neuroscience and computer science to name a new fragrance whose brand story was all about “memory”. Our research led us to the potential moniker Floating Code, a strange but intriguing name as a floating code is a computer term for codes for multi-level flash memories. The best namers are enthusiastic researchers, acute listeners, and experts at lateral thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What\u2019s your advice for integrating current trends when naming a brand?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A: In general, it’s best to avoid trends when naming a brand. Names need to have a very long shelf life, and what is trendy today can look dated tomorrow. Recently, there was a trend towards tacking a “fy” or “ly” to random words\u2014think Spotify and Grammarly. While fresh at the time, this naming style is now tired. That said, some trends can be timeless. Of late, there has been a trend toward concise, single-word names like Base, Stripe, and Chime. I doubt this branding trend<\/a> will become pass\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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