Choosing product names

There was a time when cars were called things like Zectrum, Vontra, Shoo, Koop, and so on. Made up names upon which the manufacturers could hang a personality without any baggage from an existing meaning.

Renault has, however, taken an interesting turn and called a car the 'Zoe' which is obviously an existing name. I know a Zoe or two. Not sure how they'd feel about having a car name. One such real life Zoe Renault is certainly not pleased and has asked the manufacturer Renault to withdraw the name or face being sued. BBC article here.

Zoe Renault says, "I could not bear to hear: 'Zoe's broken down' or 'We need to get Zoe overhauled'." Amazingly her lawyer, David Koubbi, specialises in the protection of first names!

Maybe he should be called a personal branding lawyer. In France the name you choose for your child has to be vetted and a famous case over the last ten or so years came to light when some parents wanted to call their child Peripherique Nord because the mother's waters broke there. Trouble is this means Northern Ringroad and cause a bit of a stir in France.

Reuters reported of a couple who wanted to name their child Friday (the day the boy was born) but a court ruled against this (despite it having been baptised) and ordered it to be called Gregory. Read about it here.

"I am livid about this, a court should not waste its time with things like this when there is so much more to worry about."

"My son was born Friday, baptized Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory."

What's in a name?

A lot is in a name really. Ask Iona Knipl, winner of the New York Times Worst Bad Name contest. Read here how she used to hate her name at school, but now finds it "neat".

I also had a bad time at school because I had the longest name in letters in my primary class. I remember being given a long thin piece of coloured card with my name neatly spelled out by the teacher and told to copy it, letter by letter. I was the last in the class to achieve it!

Throughout senior school it was a real drag of a name too, but I have come to love my unusual name, even though you'd blanch at some of the spellings I've had! Once people understand my name, it's unforgettable, or at least instantly recognisable. Yes, I like my name. It doesn't define me as names did when they were first given hundreds of years ago. I'm not that small and not too pretty! But in some ways I am now defined by my name and how I had to deal with it growing up.

In this light I can see how Sir Terence Conran is miffed that some other company is going global with a chain of companies in his name. When I was considering a name for my venture a good friend and colleague who happens to be a specialist in company acquisitions warned me of using my name as a trading name, the argument goes thus: you get known, build up your company to the point where it's not just you on your own anymore, but a board responsible to shareholders. It's at this point that you are no longer in sole charge of your named company. Nor, in that context, your name. You could be ousted by from the board, retire, resign. But your name goes on in the guise of the company. Just like Sir Conran.