What’s in a name?

I always find names interesting. People’s names, names of places, business names, brands, logo’s…..they are, in one way, a sum-up of something in a few syllables. Take for example my name, Wendren. It is highly unusual, quite unique and is elect. It is has grown on me and in a way, I think I’ve become my name. How many of you feel this way? That without your name you might not be the same person?

An interesting story about names is by danah michele boyd. Born: ‘Danah Michele Mattas’ she wanted to change it. For various reasons that if you would like to know, read her article but what I found most interesting was her deliberate exclusion of capitals. She has chosen to not use capitals in her name becuase it looks visually more balanced (danah instead of Danah) and because she did not want to be self-righteous which is is really what capitals do – emphasize the importance of a word. This led her to ask “why do we not capitalize ‘we’ or ‘they’ but ‘I’?”. Strangely enough, ‘I’ is not meant to be capitalized at all! How this happened was that over the years we started writing more about ‘ourselves’ and starting more and more sentences with ‘i’ and so referring to yourself with a capital ‘I’ stuck.

What is most interesting about danah’s story is how she has made her name her brand not only verbally but visually. It is what frames her and is this not what a company’s name or brand image is about?

This quest to find out what’s in a name led me to a really interesting blog post by David Donde called ‘Choosing a name for a company’. He argues that what a name or brand stands for often does not last as long as the name does. The NAME is what you remember, not what it means.

Take for example Vida e’ Cafe. It means ‘Life & Coffee’. I did not know this. I only know ‘Vida’. It is interesting how we shorten the name down to it’s very core and forget or discard it’s link or meaning. This kind of trend/movement is important to note if you are in the process of naming.

Often I am asked about my name and my story is short: both my parents are teachers, they taught a girl name Wendren and liked it, so I got it. Ironically enough I now live in the same city as that Wendren and by pure coincidence, go to the same hairdresser – but I have never met her in person. It is great to have such a unique name but using it to leave a message for somebody is a pain. I hate shortening it as it is not who I am or know myself as but in these circumstances, I do.

So, what’s the story with Wren? It hardly has anything to do with my name: Wendren although the link is hard to miss. I first drew a little bird (the Wren Avatar) and wanted a name for my business and brand. Going through small bird names Jeremy suggested the little Wren bird. ‘Wren’ felt so fitting and it was decided in an instant. My name (Wendren) did not come before Wren as any inspiration. It was simply a perfect fit.

So…in conculsion I think there is a lot to a name and you have to decide what all that name is going to be, for the right reasons and be aware of what it means to who. If you are naming a company now, know that only a word or two will stick and a full sentence is possibly waste of time and adds to your billboard printing cost…but then again, perhaps in 5 years time this will all change…and in that case, make sure your name is flexbile or adaptable. Names are important and can be everything!