#Brand name

Choose a brand name that is approachable

In a time when computers were intimidating to use, Steve Jobs wanted his computer company to embody friendliness and approachability. After visiting a commune in Oregon, which he would refer to as an apple orchard, Steve Jobs suggested to his partner, Steve Wozniak, that they name their new company Apple. They both figured, what could be friendlier and more approachable than an apple? In fact, the bite taken out of the logo was added to further humanize the brand.

Choose a brand name that reflects quality

For Truett Cathy, the choice to name his company Chick-Fil-A was simple. They specialized in chicken sandwiches, the best cut of beef is a fillet, and the capitalized A reinforces top quality.

Name your brand by combining two obvious words

By combining the words, internet and flicks, it's almost as if they knew streaming was coming from the very beginning. And it's also much better than it's placeholder name: Kibble.

Choose a brand name that embodies your adventurous spirit

Founder Yvon Chouinard fell in love with Patagonia in Argentina and wanted to make clothing for those types of conditions: Super high winds with crazy cold temperatures. He also wanted to inspire “romantic visions of glaciers tumbling into fjords, jagged windswept peaks, gauchos, and condors.”

Choose a brand name that sounds powerful

Believing that 'st' words sounded powerful, Starbucks founders were inspired by the character Starbuck in Moby Dick. The name fit as it "evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders." Now all they needed to do was an 's' at the end to make it sound more "conversational."

Pick a theme and use it to name your brand

With a plan to appeal to the well-traveled, founder Joe Coulombe attributes Trader Joe's name and Polynesian style to a mixture of past experiences and late 1960s trends, like:

• The Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland
• The popularity of Mai Tais, Polynesian bars, and Trader Vic's restaurant
• Movies from his childhood like Red Dust, White Shadows in the South Seas, and Trader Horn

Derive your brand name from another language

Originally named ShoeSite, founder Nick Swinmurn wisely changed the company name to Zapos—a derivative of zapatos, the spanish word for shoes. Co-founder Tony Hsieh recommended adding the extra 'p' to avoid accidentally mispronouncing it ZAY-pos.