What the world's top 50 brand names get right
What do the names of the planet's most valuable brands mean — and how were they built? Part one of the breakdown: the top 50.
As finding a brand name gets harder by the day, the dictionaries have been exhausted in the search for the best names. Registering meaningful words as trademarks has become nearly impossible. The names and surnames once used so often for their trustworthy feel have gone out of fashion.
To anyone asking how a name is found: today a brand name is largely designed by meeting sounds, shapes and meanings with creativity — and only this way do creative names emerge.
There are still big lessons in the names of companies that have operated for decades and become the world's biggest brands. In our view they share common traits: they are easy to pronounce, which lets a broader audience learn and pass them on; they use universal sounds, so different societies read and write them similarly; and they carry associations and meanings that serve the brand, in harmony with the other parts of brand identity. Below we examine the top 50 on a global valuation firm's 2021 list.
Apple
Uses the semantic power of a meaningful word from another category. Globally familiar and easy to make sense of, so it became an easily learned name.
Amazon
Uses the semantic advantage of a place name. Taking its name from the Amazon, it is easily learned thanks to its familiarity and associations.
Microsoft
Coined by joining two meaningful words. Very strong category association, so it builds trust easily in its field.
Google
Has no clear meaning — a coinage built from sounds and their associations. The repeating resonance makes it easy to learn and say.
Samsung
Coined from 'sam' and 'sung'; means 'three stars.' Two syllables make it easy to say; the letter sounds support a sense of durability.
Coca-Cola
Named after its raw material and gave the category its word. Two short words with similar initial letters ease pronunciation. Despite a genericization risk, marketing has overcome it.
Toyota
Means 'bountiful rice field' — a transfer name. Though two words, we perceive it as one. A method much used in naming today.
Mercedes-Benz
Born as a personal name. Its global pronounceability is a great advantage; hard letters hidden among soft ones make a long name easy to read.
McDonald's
A good example of a personal name as a brand. The global readability of its sounds is a big advantage; the name served identity creation and birthed the famous golden arches.
Walt Disney
A successful personal-name brand. Its only downside is length, which is why people often use just 'Disney' — the lazy brain takes the shortest path.
Nike
Once such names came from dictionaries. Meaning 'goddess of victory,' it's a fine transfer name; its brevity is a big advantage in use and in saying.
BMW
From the Bavaria region, shortened to today's short name. Initials are a less-preferred method now due to trademark and pronunciation difficulty.
Louis Vuitton
The founder's name, in line with fashion's assertive stance. Such names eventually break free of the person and become original — but it takes time, media and bold marketing.
Tesla
Using a pioneering scientist's name strengthened its category association. The universality of its sounds and brevity are big advantages — a creative name born of masterful category association.
Facebook
A two-word coinage; very advantageous for a category creator, but unsuitable for latecomers because it's hard to differentiate. A classifieds site today wouldn't be 'sahibinden' — the word is too generic.
Cisco
Coined from the last syllables of San Francisco — a meaningless coinage. Short, with letters that fit in both shape and sound.
Intel
Short for Integrated Electronics. A good coinage; short and easy to say. A very common method today.
IBM
Initials of International Business Machines. Such names are less preferred now due to pronunciation and trademark difficulty.
Instagram
Coined from 'instant' and 'telegram.' The flawless merge keeps the sound qualities, making it easy to read and say — a great example of creative coinage.
SAP
Short for Systems Analysis and Program Development. A common method then; hard to own such names now.
Adobe
The name of a creek behind the founder's house — a good transfer name. Brevity and sound harmony strengthen it.
Chanel
The founder's name, in fashion's tradition. Over time the meaning loaded onto it took it far beyond a founder's name.
Hermès
From mythology — Zeus's messenger. A good meaningful transfer name, short and easy to say; sadly hard to find and register such names today.
JP Morgan
Founded in the 1800s and named after its founder, in the era's common method of using founder surnames.
Honda
Japanese for 'original rice field,' joining two words. Such coinages are common in the Far East and remain a valid design method via sound and shape.
YouTube
Coined from two words meaning 'your own broadcast.' A meaningful coinage; very advantageous for a category creator.
IKEA
Inspired by the founders' initials, in the era's tradition. Unlike IBM, it works as a single meaningless word.
Pepsi
A meaningful coinage from the brand's essence — from 'dyspepsia.' By coincidence the sound evokes the product, making it feel more appealing and trustworthy.
UPS
Initials of United Parcel Service. Brevity and universality are big advantages; few such short names could be registered today.
American Express
Two meaningful, widely used and universally recognized words combined. Length and 'America' lend trustworthiness.
General Electric
Two meaningful words combined; 'electric' creates category association and gives trust.
Accenture
A good meaningless coinage. The harmony of its sounds adds dynamism.
Gucci
Another fashion surname, in the era's tradition. Universal sounds in a short form — easy to learn.
Allianz
Hard and soft sounds together; the sound harmony of 'l' and 'z' makes it easy to spot in its category.
Hyundai
Korean for 'modernity' — a meaningful name. Hard to learn for Turkish speakers because of the H+Y sequence.
Netflix
Coined from 'Net Flicks' — daily films watched online. A short, easy-to-read coinage.
Budweiser
Two syllables nodding to the product's taste. Long, but easy to say, which removes the disadvantage.
Salesforce
Two meaningful words combined; its meaning evokes the power and dynamism inherent in the work.
Visa
Short, two syllables, very easy to learn.
Nescafé
From 'Nestlé' and 'café.' Carries — and has experienced — genericization risk, which marketing strategy can mitigate.
Sony
From the Latin 'sonus' (sound). A good meaningful coinage; brevity and category association are big advantages.
PayPal
Meaningful words combined with sound repetition — like Coca-Cola's method.
H&M
Short for Hennes & Mauritz. The pre-abbreviation words were hard to read and recall; the abbreviation solved it with a very short name.
Pampers
Bulgarian for 'diaper' — a meaningful name. The feeling its sounds create goes beyond meaning and conveys trust.
Zara
Old English for 'blooming flower,' or from Spain's Zaragoza. Either way, brevity and sound harmony make it unique.
Audi
Latin for 'listen' — taken, by pure coincidence, from a Latin dictionary. Brevity and readability are advantages.
Volkswagen
Positioned as the 'people's car,' and the name itself means 'people's car.'
AXA
Such creative names act as a visual hammer and differentiate easily; very hard to register such short names today.
Adidas
From Adolf (Adi) Dassler; sound repetition creates unity. Such coined, seemingly meaningless names differentiate easily.
Mastercard
Two words combined — a great name for a category creator, as seen in many categories.
We'll cover the world's second 50 most valuable brands in the next piece. As the examples show, naming methods change with the conditions of their era. Where category-defining or name/surname-derived names were once in vogue, those strategies are hard to use in naming today.
We believe naming requires expertise. For your most valuable asset — your name — the advantage of professional naming adds a great deal to your brand and your business.