Definition names
Definition names primarily convey what a company or offering fundamentally is.
Just as origin names are descended from human names, definition names have storied linguistic roots. Every sentence has a subject, and most of them have objects, too: in the stories brands tell, they need names to consistently say what their offerings actually are. Sometimes they do this in a way that captures a unique perspective on their offerings, but very often these are just anchors for other words to enhance.
Famous examples
The most common place you’ll encounter definition names is as the anchors of other names. This is especially common for product names: Almost everything in Apple’s mobile electronics and software portfolios are simple definitions, from the slightly-distinctive iPhone to the totally generic Watch and TV. Same with Microsoft Word, Scotch Tape, or Peloton Bike. These can range from the obvious, like Adobe’s Advertising Cloud, to the metaphorical, like Adobe Premiere, referencing video editing through the metaphor of an exciting finish. These product names might have lots of other parts, like Gillette Venus Comfortglide & Olay Sugarberry Razor, but customers still need to know what kind of thing that is.
Though this is universal in product names, it’s also pretty common for companies. Many companies anchor their name with a word that means “company,” from the very straightforward The Honest Company to something slightly more stylish like Yum Brands.
There are some old-school companies with names that are very literally just a definition of their products: General Motors is just one small step away from being named “engines,” Coca-Cola is simply the name of the beverage’s original two main ingredients, and you’ll never guess what kind of goods Tractor Supply sells. You don’t see names like this much anymore, in large part because the USPTO won’t trademark “merely descriptive” names, and only granted these because they’d acquired distinctiveness after decades of use in market
But not all definition-based names are merely descriptive. Verb-based like WeChat, PayPal, and Dunkin’ Donuts are a relatively recent invention that manages to capture the essence of an offering through what it does rather than what it is. And many names achieve a more ownable status simply by finding unusual synonyms: PlayStation is a very literal synonym for Videogame Console, but achieves ownability through stylish word choice. Stripe doesn’t literally reference credit cards, but rather an iconic feature of them.
Why you might use it
You’re naming, not a company, but a thing. For every company name out there, there are dozens or hundreds of product names, and often the right approach is going to be to indicate what that thing is. If you have fifty products, it’s just going to make a lot of sense to ground them in what they are.
You’re naming a company that will center around a single, unique type of offering. If you think you’ve got a completely unique product or service, that it’s the most important thing about your brand, and that others are unlikely to try to replicate it, then a name based solely on your offering definition might be right.
You’re anchoring a name that you fear would otherwise be too vague, such as a benefit, attribute, or origin name. Many other name messages can feel unmoored, like they could describe anything. Think of Marvel Comics: the benefit is highly distinctive and trademarkable, which is great, but it needs a definition to ground it and help customers know exactly what they’re getting.
Why you might avoid it
The most common reason not to use a definition name is that there is no single “thing”. This could be that you’re naming a company with a wide range of disparate offerings, or you’re name an offering that is still ill-defined, or is expected to change and evolve dramatically. If Google had instead named their flagship product Boolean Search Engine, it would have been (impossible to trademark, for one, but also) very difficult for them to credibly extend that brand to encompass offerings like email and document editing, which it’s synonymous with today. Similarly, Samsung’s Galaxy brand has been far more flexible than Apple’s iPhone brand — both started as smartphones, but Galaxy has extended to cover all of Samsung’s mobile portfolio, credibly extending that name’s equity into tablets, earbuds, and even laptops.
Another reason not to include a definition in your name is if the thing that’s being provided is incredibly obvious. Almost no video games, for example, contain the word ‘game’ in their names, because they’re encountered in stores dedicated to a single product, like Steam. Same thing with books and music albums—but, bizzarely, not common with TV channels, which very often have names like Food Network or MTV, even though for decades that was an unavoidable aspect of the brand. Somebody build us a time machine.
The last major hurdle you may encounter is if the thing you’re naming something people don’t think they want. Noom didn’t name themselves something like Weight Loss Behavior Change Program because that doesn’t sound like something people want, and many offerings related to mental health or chronic illness avoid mentioning those essential components of their definition for the same reason.
Up next:
Want to better understand the other messages a name might convey? Move on to read about attribute names.
Think you’ve found the right message for your name? Time to think about the right method, starting with intuitive.
Or, for a general overview of naming topics, head over to our naming crash course.
Have ideas? Have questions?