The name doesn’t matter (that much)

Busy people in important organizations waste a lot of time naming things.

It could be that once a name is good enough, you’re done. That’s certainly true for the logo.

Nike is hard to pronounce. Starbucks is named after an obscure character in a mostly unreadable book. Apple is named after a fruit, Google is spelled wrong.

These are good names, not perfect ones.

It’s worth noting that when asked to name a great logo or a great brand name, almost everyone picks a brand they like and trust. The name is simply a symptom of that, not a cause.

I know why you’re so focused on the name. It’s your brand’s personality. It’s under your control. It is something everyone on the committee is an expert on, because no one is.

Once it does the job, you’re done.

Pick a good one and get back to work.

[My take is that ChatGPT is a terrible name. It has too many syllables, it has needless requirements for capitalization, and most of all, it’s not an empty vessel ready to contain our story about the brand. Claude is better. Not perfect, but good.]

March 27, 2025