How wrestlers get their names

The sport of professional wrestling is punctuated with some of the more outlandish names in the history of branding. (For instance, the dashing fellow shown here goes by the delightful moniker 'Nacho Libre'!) In this post, I direct you to the riveting story behind another wrestling/er brand, the 'Rock and Roll Express'. And more.

"Have you ever wondered where some of the names wrestlers use come from? Well they can only come from two places. Either the wrestler gives himself a name or the booker/creative people do. In earlier times, a guy could get a name in 30 seconds. Now, it might take weeks to run copyright and trademark searches. The Rock and Roll Express didn't have to wait long. Click here for the story of not only how their name was arrived at but also their gimmick."

Speaking of which, who is your favourite brand of wrestler? Mine's, hands down, 'The Undertaker'. In fact, the mere mention of the name sends a chill down my spine. Talk about brand personality.

Orissa is now 'Odisha'

For more reasons than one, this is a better name. For one, it's easier to spell. For two, the 'd' in the middle gives it a nice point of emphasis stronger than the earlier 'r' and for three, 'Odisha' is how the people of Odisha pronounce 'Orissa'. So it makes sense. (Names are more memorable when spelled the way they sound. ex: Orissa v/s Odisha.) Incidentally, Oriya is now 'Odia', which in my opinion is not as memorable as 'Oriya'. (It's complicated and can be explained only in an elaborate Powerpoint presentation.) All said and done, what do names, and name-changes, like Odisha, Chennai, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai say about the principles of naming? Think about it.

A Tamil Name for a Swiss Watch

Just discovered this 1983-born Swiss watch. It's derived from the tamil word Kattamaram. The idea was to position it as the ideal watch for sailing.

Wave, it doesn't matter

I believe what you call a new brand doesn't count all that much when it is already backed by an old one with high equity and recall. Case in point: Wave from Google. In such cases, more than the name of the new product what matters, more than earlier, is the quality of the newly-launched product from the old stable. If, for example, Wave turns out to be shit, Brand Google takes a beating. On the other hand, had Google chosen to call 'Wave' 'Siht' and gone on to deliver yet another great product, 'Siht' would, in all likelihood, be hailed as a revolution in naming. (Sorta like 'FCUK'). That's how much names matter. Or not. Btw, don't you just love the 'Wave' logo? I do.

Strange Cricketer Names

Aiden Blizzard
John Snow
Gladstone Small
Anthony Llewyn Biggs
Allan Lamb
Rodney Hogg
Geoff Boycott
David Boon
Craig White
Marlon Black
Bill Brown
Gordon Greenidge
Peter Sleep
Rick Darling
Napoleon Einstein
Farookh Engineer
Derek Underwood
Ryan Sidebottom
Graham Onions

Feel free to add to the list...

Onion themed names

A good name for an airline?

It's called Calm Air and it indicates, very clearly, it is a Canadian airline. Nifty or what?

A surname that may not work in Chennai

Tavadia is a parsi surname. Tha-waad-dia is how it's pronounced, I guess. I googled and tried to find its meaning. Couldn't. Whatever it means, it can only spell trouble in Chennai. Tevudia means whore in tamil slang. And tevudia paiya means a bastard. So any chap with a Tavadia surname is bound to be ragged at a college in Tamil Nadu. Mind it!

Names We Like: dnL

In 2002, Cadbury Schweppes launched dnL. A 180-degree take on 7up. I think it was a fabulous idea. Unfortunately, it was discontinued in 2005. If it were relaunched today with a different taste, the brand will get enough trials by the sheer beauty of the name. I feel it was an audacious experiment, a little ahead of its time.

Mountain themed brand names

Factonama: Joomla

Joomla, the content management system brand, derives its name from the Anglicised version of the Arabic word Jumla which means 'all together'. Probably the open source origins, influenced the choice. Or may be since the name itself was a colloborative effort of so many people.

List of pen brand names

Add Gel
Aurora
Bic
Bril
Camel
Caran D'Ache
Cartier
Cello
Chelpark
Cross
Curtis Australia
David Oscarson
Delta
Ducati
Faber Castell
Fisher
Flair
Hero
Jac Zagoory
Jaguar
Jean Pierre Lepin
Jetter
Krone
Lamy
Libelle
Linc
Luxor
Mercedes
Michel Perchin
Mont Blanc
Montegrappa
Monteverde
Montex
Namiki
Omas
Papermate
Parker
Pelikan
Pilot
Porsche Design
Quill
Reynolds
Rotomac
Rotring
Sensa
Sharpie
Sheafer
S T Dupont
Stic
Today
Uniball
Visconti
Waterford
Waterman
Zebra

Sunami and Tsunami

There's a Sanskrit word called Sunami. Me thinks, it will make a great name for a naming company. Decoded it means 'well named'. But the only hitch is the acoustics. Sunami seems like a Siamese twin of Tsunami. And that can be a huge problem in India. Because the word Tsunami evokes the imagery of a cosmic dance of death. Too bad.

To all those who won't pay for names

A lot of people write to me asking for a name. I often tell them, I do pro bono work for NGOs. But I will never do charity for a business that leverages a name for profit.

My logic is simple. A name is the 1-word story of your offering. It's not easy to create a 1-word story that's never been told.

Even if one were to coin something unique for you, remember, it has to pass the memorability test. Any namer worth his namak will tell you, this is never easy. It takes a lot of effort and research.

As much effort as creating a logo or campaign. So to expect me to give it to you for free, is a tad too unfair. Right?

A Beer name Reeb

One of the most popular beers in Shanghai is named Reeb (the reverse of beer). Yes, it uses an old naming technique. But I am all for it, as mirror names have always worked. Makes the brand look clever and offers a talking point for the glugger. The only issue with the name could be the sound. Reeb's acoustics is not as good as say Tiger, Budweiser or Heineken. It's got a wimpish sound. Almost like the feeb in feeble. But who cares. At the end of the day, all that counts is it's a short, interesting name.

What is the name of the largest number?

A Googol is 1 followed by a 100 zeroes. That is 10^100. Edward Kasner popularized this concept in 1940. It's not the largest number known to mankind. Wikipedia says the Shannon Number (the exhaustive number of possible moves in a chess board) amounts to 10^120. This was computed in 1950. Long before, Kasner or Shannon, Valmiki gave us a clue about numbers not known to mankind. And Hindu wizard mathematicians had names for it. Listed below is a set of terms that should boggle your mind -

10^5: Lakh
10^7: Crore
10^12: Shanku
10^17: Mahashanku
10^22: Vrindam
10^27: Mahavrindam
10^32: Padmam
10^37: Mahapadmam
10^42: Kharvam
10^47: Mahakharvam
10^52: Samudram
10^57: Ogha
10^62: Mahaugha

Georges Ifrah mentions another set of names for large numbers in ancient India...

Koti —10^7
Ayuta —10^9
Niyuta —10^11
Kankara —10^13
Pakoti —10^14
Vivara —10^15
Kshobhya —10^17
Vivaha —10^19
Kotippakoti —10^21
Bahula —10^23
Nagabala —10^25
Nahuta —10^28
Titlambha —10^29
Vyavasthanapajnapati —10^31
Hetuhila —10^33
Ninnahuta —10^35
Hetvindriya —10^37
Samaptalambha —10^39
Gananagati —10^41
Akkhobini —10^42
Niravadya —10^43
Mudrabala —10^45
Sarvabala —10^47
Bindu —10^49
Sarvajna —10^51
Vibhutangama —10^53
Abbuda —10^56
Nirabbuda —10^63
Ahaha —10^70
Ababa —10^77
Atata —10^84
Soganghika —10^91
Uppala —10^98
Kumuda —10^105
Pundarika —10^112
Paduma —10^119
Kathana —10^126
Mahakathana —10^133
Asankheya —10^140
Dhvajagranishamani —10^421

Asankheya is supposed to have figured in Vishnu Sahasranama. It also happens to be the Hindi word for countless. It is larger than the Shannon Number. And Dhvajagranishamani beats Asankheya by a mile. So is that the largest known number? Nopes. The largest number is a never ending story. In the begining, we were told it's Googolplex (10^Googol). Then came Googolplexian (10^10^Googol). Then Googoltriplex (10^10^10^Googol). The mathematicians didn't stop. The tweaking continued. And now we're at Googoldecaplex. That's like 10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^10^Googol. The only larger number I know is Anantha :-)

Element 112 to be named Heisenbergium?

The hunt is on for a new name for Ununbi (one-one-two in latin), the chemical element number 112. BBC did an interview with scientist John Hemsley, who seems to indicate a groundswell of support for naming the element after Werner Heisenberg (yes, the uncertainty principal). But till it happens, we'll never be certain.

Factonama # 11

Volkswagen's new pickup truck is called Amarok. It's has been derived from the name of the giant wolf in Inuit mythology. Unlike normal wolves that hunt in packs, Amarok is supposed to do it all alone.

Greek Alphabet Themed Names