What we’ve learned from naming brands across industries — and why clever doesn’t always cut it.
Coming up with a brand name is one of those things that looks deceptively easy. Like naming a band. Or a baby. Everyone has ideas. Most of them are already taken. The rest? Not quite right.
At Crux, naming is part of the job we love, but also take incredibly seriously. It’s not just about sounding good. It’s about being strategically right, ownable, memorable and built to scale.
Take AquaSonic™ for example, a new US-based carwash brand that asked us to name and create the brand from the ground up. We explored everything from high-tech, space-age naming routes to playful, retro American diners. There were a lot of Post-it notes. A lot of thesaurus-deep dives. And a few wildcard ideas we’ll keep to ourselves for now.
But AquaSonic rose to the top. Why?
- Evocative (you can feel it in your mouth when you say it)
- Relevant (water, speed, movement, sound — all built into the word)
- Confident (it sounds like it’s already a thing)
- Trademarkable (which isn’t always easy — especially in the US)
We’ve named brands in everything from real estate to wellness, B2B to D2C. And while every brief is different, here are a few things we’ve learned along the way:
3 Things That Make a Great Name
- It means something — even if it’s abstract. The best names carry an emotional or cultural charge. Not everything needs to be literal, but it needs to feel right in the world it’s going to live in.
- It’s easy to say, spell, and search. If you have to explain it every time, it’s probably not the one. The best names slide off the tongue, work well in conversation, and clear the URL test.
- It can grow with the brand. You’re not just naming the startup, you’re naming the future. Think beyond product names and categories. Think stretch.
Naming is never about finding the one perfect word. It’s about finding a word that can carry the weight of the brand to come. And that’s something we don’t take lightly.
