Selecting the Best Name For Your Business: How to Research Word Connotations
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Marcia Yudkin
Apr 23, 2013, 8:35:02 AM4/23/13
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Article Title: Selecting the Best Name For Your Business: How to Research Word Connotations
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 578
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=885257&ca=Business
Format: 64cpl
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Suppose you�re not sure whether a word or phrase you want to use in a name or tag line is appealing or distasteful. I was thinking about this dilemma the other day when a client replied to my thumbs down on a word he liked with "There isn�t anything about those negative connotations in the dictionary."
In that instance, the dictionary did not settle the matter. Are there other authoritative indicators?
If you aren�t naturally sensitive to the associations that surround and accompany words, or if you�re tempted by a particular word you don�t encounter much, here are excellent ways to research its aura or ambience.
Six Ways to Research Word Connotations
1. Consult the dictionary. Sometimes dictionary definitions do indicate positive or negative implications. For example, every dictionary I�ve consulted states that "notoriety" is an unfavorable version of "fame." Likewise, any dictionary will alert you that "holocaust" refers to mass murder or genocide and is therefore not a word to use lightly.
2. Consult an encyclopedia. If you were thinking of building a name for an environmental monitoring company around the mythical prophetess Cassandra, Wikipedia informs you that Apollo cursed her so no one would ever believe her predictions. Not an appropriate role model for a monitoring company.
Taking this step saved me from humiliation when I was considering dubbing myself The Poohbah of Publicity. I wasn�t sure what it meant but liked how it sounded. According to Wikipedia, however, "Poohbah" comes from a Gilbert & Sullivan musical where it applied to a bombastic character who elevated himself in a ridiculous fashion. Glad I checked!
3. Look up images. In Google, click the "Images" link after putting your uncertain phrase into the search box. Are most of the first couple of dozen pictures that come up pleasant or horrifying to look at? Do this for "Extra Servings," and most of the pictures that come up don�t exactly stimulate one�s appetite. Hence this would not be a propitious name for your new restaurant.
4. Look in the news. In Google, click the "News" link and see what comes up in a search on your phrase. Doing this for the word "sweetheart" turns up the disreputable idea of a "sweetheart deal," which might be enough of a reason for vetoing its use. Similarly, looking up "moose" in Google News reveals that in Canada, these large hooved mammals have caused so many fatal car accidents that this is no longer an animal with affectionate connotations.
5. Ask people. Whether in the formal setting of market research or just informally posing a question like "Would you rather be safe or secure?" to friends, you�ll discover that "safety" has much more emotional resonance than "security," which is a colder, more abstract concept.
6. Consult an expert. A naming expert typically has zillions of facts and references crammed in her head. Ask me about "money changer," and without any research I�ll tell you it calls up the literary villains Scrooge and Shylock and a historically hated profession. In the same way, off the top of my head I�d advise against adopting a raccoon as a company mascot, because it has a reputation as a pesky marauder in suburban garbage cans.
Do a little poking around or asking to prevent a red-faced mistake in naming your company.
About The Author: Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, which brainstorms catchy tag lines, company names and product names for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with a great name or tagline, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name": http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=885257
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=885257
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=885257
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
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Article Title: Selecting the Best Name For Your Business: How to Research Word Connotations
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 578
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=885257&ca=Business
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=885257
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=885257
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Suppose you�re not sure whether a word or phrase you want to use in a name or tag line is appealing or distasteful. I was thinking about this dilemma the other day when a client replied to my thumbs down on a word he liked with "There isn�t anything about those negative connotations in the dictionary."
In that instance, the dictionary did not settle the matter. Are there other authoritative indicators?
If you aren�t naturally sensitive to the associations that surround and accompany words, or if you�re tempted by a particular word you don�t encounter much, here are excellent ways to research its aura or ambience.
Six Ways to Research Word Connotations
1. Consult the dictionary. Sometimes dictionary definitions do indicate positive or negative implications. For example, every dictionary I�ve consulted states that "notoriety" is an unfavorable version of "fame." Likewise, any dictionary will alert you that "holocaust" refers to mass murder or genocide and is therefore not a word to use lightly.
2. Consult an encyclopedia. If you were thinking of building a name for an environmental monitoring company around the mythical prophetess Cassandra, Wikipedia informs you that Apollo cursed her so no one would ever believe her predictions. Not an appropriate role model for a monitoring company.
Taking this step saved me from humiliation when I was considering dubbing myself The Poohbah of Publicity. I wasn�t sure what it meant but liked how it sounded. According to Wikipedia, however, "Poohbah" comes from a Gilbert & Sullivan musical where it applied to a bombastic character who elevated himself in a ridiculous fashion. Glad I checked!
3. Look up images. In Google, click the "Images" link after putting your uncertain phrase into the search box. Are most of the first couple of dozen pictures that come up pleasant or horrifying to look at? Do this for "Extra Servings," and most of the pictures that come up don�t exactly stimulate one�s appetite. Hence this would not be a propitious name for your new restaurant.
4. Look in the news. In Google, click the "News" link and see what comes up in a search on your phrase. Doing this for the word "sweetheart" turns up the disreputable idea of a "sweetheart deal," which might be enough of a reason for vetoing its use. Similarly, looking up "moose" in Google News reveals that in Canada, these large hooved mammals have caused so many fatal car accidents that this is no longer an animal with affectionate connotations.
5. Ask people. Whether in the formal setting of market research or just informally posing a question like "Would you rather be safe or secure?" to friends, you�ll discover that "safety" has much more emotional resonance than "security," which is a colder, more abstract concept.
6. Consult an expert. A naming expert typically has zillions of facts and references crammed in her head. Ask me about "money changer," and without any research I�ll tell you it calls up the literary villains Scrooge and Shylock and a historically hated profession. In the same way, off the top of my head I�d advise against adopting a raccoon as a company mascot, because it has a reputation as a pesky marauder in suburban garbage cans.
Do a little poking around or asking to prevent a red-faced mistake in naming your company.
About The Author: Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, which brainstorms catchy tag lines, company names and product names for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with a great name or tagline, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name": http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=885257
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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