Naming was God's first task for Adam who named "every beast of the field and fowl of the air." Giving meaningful names to people, places, and things has always been a measure of civilization. As the ancient Chinese proverb says, "The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." Today, in an era of unceasing innovation, the world of commerce demands meaningful new names.

Naming is a process of linguistic distillation. Unlike the literary author, the trademark professional is not using thousands of words but rather reflecting brand concepts, values, and goals often with only a single word. Though sometimes a good name quickly surfaces, the majority of strong business, product, and domain names emerge after considerable effort. Strong names are more than just catchwords of commerce; they are also products of intellect, intuition, and artistry--in some cases emerging as the cultural icons of our day.

New names can create new worlds--if creative enough they will meaningfully express brand identity; if flexible enough they will adapt to changes in your business and its commercial environment; and if strong enough they will distinguish your business and help it prosper in your industry, trade, or profession.

Strong marks often have deep cultural and semantic roots.  Ponder
• NIKE (from the Greek goddess of victory);
• STARBUCKS (from Starbuck, the Moby Dick character);
• CINGULAR (merged into A T & T) (a soundalike of "singular" but also relating to "cingula," Latin for belt or girdle, and "cingulum," Latin for a terrestrial zone, each connoting the circular terrestrial nature of the telephone service);
• MIRAMAX (connoting "great vision" in Latin but also from the founders' parents, Miriam and Max); and
• VASELINE (from the German "Wasser," meaning "water," and the Greek "elaion," meaning "oil").  With a deep-rooted mark, your business will be built on solid ground rather than sand.