A business name has done its job if it causes a person to pause for a second. And it’s even more valuable if you can remember it long after that pause. Memorability matters.



So how do you create a memorable name? In a 2003 article from the Journal of Advertising, the authors cited the following features that enhance either the recall or recognition of brand names:

Rhyme
Unusual spelling
Onomatopoeia
Initial hard consonant
Wordplay
Brand-name fit
Let’s look at a few in greater detail, along with some other factors that influence memorability.

Familiarity

This isn’t in the above list, but it’s worth acknowledging. The same Journal of Advertising article says that familiarity plays a larger role in brand-name memorability than the linguistic features of the name.

Repetition is one of the most effective ways to make a name familiar. That’s the idea behind advertising: repetition to create familiarity. So more familiar brand names are more memorable because we see them more often. For example, AT&T is one of the largest spenders on advertising, year after year. I certainly remember the name, although it isn’t inherently memorable. But it’s everywhere, from billboards to buses, on my telephone, and on TV. The brand achieves familiarity through ubiquity. So the more familiar a brand is, the less important linguistic devices are.

Rhyme

Poets know this, and now you do, too: Rhyme aids in memory. While rhyme is common in many formats, this technique is especially common with consumer-facing brands:

Reese’s Pieces
Lean Cuisine
Slim Jim
Rhyming isn’t restricted solely to food companies. Following is a range of companies using the device. They don’t feel forced or gimmicky because the parts of the name are related to what they do.

FireWire
StubHub
Crunch ‘n Munch
Crunch ‘n Munch gives you a hint at the texture and addictive nature of the treat. The rhyme of StubHub is almost a sentence. You get the idea that it’s a place where you can buy tickets. And FireWire’s rhyme is a metaphor: You get the sense that the wire transfers information fast. Rhyme can work for more grown-up businesses if the words give you valuable information about the business or product.

Unusual Spellings

Does Kraft stick with you more than the standard Craft? Krispy Kreme or Crispy Cream? Research says unusual spellings can make a name more memorable. Building on the previous point about rhyme, here are two names that do both:

Laffy Taffy
Mello Yello
The unusual spelling combined with the rhyme reinforces the youthful nature of the product and likely its memorability. The trend of unusual spellings was common in the middle of the 20th century and has become common again, especially online. A scarcity of URLs spurred this trend among startups. Some examples include:

Digg
Flickr
Reddit
As more URLs became available, this trend has slowed. Is there space for you to use an unusual spelling purposefully? When Twitter launched, it was called “twttr” (without the vowels) because Twitter.com was owned by someone else. That trend subsided, and it got large enough to...read more>>>https://www.successdigestonline.com/7-ways-to-make-your-new-business-name-unforgettable/