309 Names Screened, 30 Shown: How a Brand Name Shortlist Gets Made

On a naming project this autumn, we generated 309 candidate names for one client. We killed 110 of them on evidence. We showed the client 30.

The engagement promised 6 to 10 finalists. We showed 30 on purpose, and the reasons say a lot about how a brand name shortlist should be built.

The common advice runs the other way. Show the client 3 names, maybe 5, so they are not overwhelmed. I have named 250+ brands since 1998, and in my experience a very short list makes the agency’s job easier and the client’s decision harder.

Where 309 names came from

We did not brainstorm 309 names in one afternoon. We generated them in 3 waves of 167, 82 and 60, and each wave was aimed at named territories.

A territory is a direction a name can come from. On this project the territories included coined words, words from Romance languages, English compounds, abstractions of places and words that describe a feeling.

Every territory answered the same brief: the positioning, and the one word the brand wanted to own. That brief comes out of the strategy phase, which we run on BRANDEM OS, our 7-pillar strategy method.

Waves matter because the first wave teaches you something. After 167 names you can see which territories are crowded and which ones are thin. The second and third waves go where the first one was weak.

Where 110 names died

Every candidate went through the same screen before anyone judged it on taste:

• A USPTO search in the trademark classes that matter for the product
• A web and market search to see who already uses the word
• A check of social media handles
• A live domain check across .com, .co and .shop

All of this is preliminary screening. It is not a legal clearance and it is not legal advice. A trademark attorney runs the full search before anyone files.

What a preliminary screen does well is remove names with no realistic chance, before a client becomes attached to one. On this project it removed 110 names. 2 of them show the pattern.

Levity was a strong word for the brief. Our preliminary search showed Levity as a live mark held by DSW, the footwear retailer, so we cut it.

No Plans was another name we liked. It turned out to be the name of an existing brand in the same category, so we cut that one too.

Both names fit the brief well, and both were already in use. In my experience that is the most common way a good name dies, which is why no name reaches a client before it has been screened.

We also keep the kills visible. The client sees how many names died and the reason for each one. A list of 30 carries more weight when you know it came from 309. If you want to run the first checks yourself, our guide on how to check if a brand name is trademarked walks through them.

From 199 survivors to 30

That left 199 names. We scored them and cut to a working shortlist of 60. From the 60 we chose 30 and presented them in 3 tiers of 10:

• Recommended: the 10 we would choose ourselves
• Strong alternates: 10 that meet the brief and could win
• Worth a look: 10 that take a risk the client should see

A client choosing between 3 names is choosing between my opinions. A client looking at 30 names in tiers can see the range of the work and the reasoning behind each tier.

It also gives better feedback. When a client points at a tier or a territory, we learn more than we would from a yes or a no on a single name.

Before anything goes to a client, I want an honest critique of the list. Typical notes are too many two-word compounds, a coined territory that is still thin, or a screen that took out the strongest names. If the critique is right, the list changes before the client sees it.

The presentation itself was a deck, a PDF with one name card per page, and a video walkthrough I recorded. Our rule is to buy the domains for the top recommendations before the PDF goes out, so that a name card saying the domain is secured is accurate.

What the client said, and what the client meant

After a first presentation it is normal for a client to turn down most of the list and feel that no single name is the one. That reaction is useful if you read it properly.

On this project the client turned down names that felt tied to one setting, names that felt too plain, and a name that pointed to a culture the brand did not want to borrow.

The names the client warmed to had something in common. They were words that describe a feeling, and none of them were objects or jokes.

So we read what the client responded to, as well as what the client said. A follow-up note from the client described the feeling the brand should leave a customer with, and that note became the new brief.

The next wave is smaller, 15 to 20 screened names. Each one will be shown in context, on a label, on a tag and above a line of copy, because a name is easier to judge when it already looks like part of a brand.

What this means if you are naming a company

Some practical points, whether you work with us or not:

1. Generate in waves, and aim each wave at a territory. Volume without direction gives you 300 versions of the same idea.
2. Screen before you judge. Run preliminary trademark, domain and market checks before a name reaches the people making the decision.
3. Keep a record of the names you cut and why. It stops a dead name from coming back in week 3.
4. Ask to see depth. A shortlist of 3 asks you to trust the agency, and a shortlist of 30 in tiers lets you check the thinking.
5. Look for the pattern in what you like. It tells your naming team more than your vote on any single name.
6. See the finalists in context before you decide.

When you are down to the last few names, our guide to choosing between your final brand name candidates covers the decision itself. Expect the right name to feel a little strange at first, because the best brand names usually do.

Naming a company or a product?

This is the process inside every Brand Naming engagement we run: strategy first, names in waves, preliminary trademark screening on every candidate, and a presentation that shows the work behind the shortlist.

If you are naming a company or a product, or you have to rename one, book a call with me. I will tell you how I would approach your name before we talk about anything else.