What is naming?
Naming is the branding discipline of finding the right word. It covers company names, product names, sub-brands, features, campaigns and even internal codenames that end up public. A name is the most used piece of a brand: it is said, typed, searched and written more than anything else the brand owns, and it is the hardest piece to change later.
Names fall along a spectrum, from descriptive (says what it does) to suggestive (hints at a benefit) to abstract or invented (means nothing until the brand fills it). Descriptive names are easy to understand and hard to own. Invented names are easy to own and need the brand to give them meaning.
Why it matters
Why naming matters
A good name works for the brand every time it is spoken. It is easy to say, easy to spell after hearing it, and distinctive enough to stand out in a category of lookalikes. A bad name creates friction forever: people mishear it, search engines confuse it, a competitor already owns something similar, or it means something unfortunate in another language. Because a name is so expensive to change, the decision deserves more rigor than it usually gets.
Names also carry the brand into places design cannot reach: a recommendation over dinner, a podcast mention, a voice search, a line in a press story with no logo beside it. In all of those moments the name is the whole brand, and it either sticks or slides off.
In practice
How naming works in practice
- 01
It starts with a naming brief: what the name needs to signal, what it must avoid, who will say it and where. The team then generates hundreds of candidates across different routes, from real words to compounds to inventions, and filters hard for sound, meaning, spelling and fit with the brand's positioning.
- 02
The shortlist goes through screening: trademark searches in the relevant classes and markets, domain and social handle availability, and linguistic checks in key languages. Then the finalists are tested in context, in a logo, a sentence, a film's end card, because a name that looks weak alone can feel right in use, and the reverse.
At RIOT
Naming at RIOT
We named our own brands: Krova, AltSounds, vandal_, Muvvoo and Modchip, across production software, a creative shop, music and music video. Each one had to work as a word, a logo and a domain at once. We also know how a new name meets the public: for the Washington Commanders, our 2022 rebrand film and new identity trailer helped launch the new name and identity.
Watch out
What people get wrong about naming
Falling in love before checking. Teams pick a favorite, design around it, and then discover the trademark is taken. Screening should happen before anyone gets attached. The other mistake is judging names by first reaction. Almost every great name sounded odd the first time; familiarity comes from use, so test for fit and ownability, not instant comfort. A third is choosing a name too narrow for where the business is going, which forces a rename the moment it grows.
