Naming swipe file: Portmanteaus

All manner of freaky lil' frankenwords

Frankening-ly speaking

As brand people, we are often asked to stitch together ideas (a la Frankenstein’s monster) with the hope, however distant, that both the original ideas will be telegraphic, and a new, unique-to-the-brand meaning will be revealed.

This happens with all sorts of creative and strategic work: Logo design (“Can we combine the square direction with the circle direction and create a shape that’s sort of in-between the two?”), positioning (“We love the concept about being your human best friend, but can we do anything to integrate the concept where we’re your robot overlords?”), and, yes, naming (“We love the names that say “Hamburger” but could they also say “Hot Dog?”).

So we end up calling the outcomes of these “Franken-” somethings. Frankenlogos, frankenconcepts, frankenames.

You might also call them portmanteaus, “Turducken names” (thank you, Rob Meyerson), compounds, composites, hybrids, smashwords, or something else (TELL ME!).

(And, yes, you might make distinctions between a compound as two whole words, like Madewell, and a composite as two parts, like Verizon, meaning veritas + horizon, as well as other nuances unique to labels under the frankenname umbrella).

As we enter the unofficial start of Halloween season (I’m hanging up my porch skeleton today!), here are some glorious monstrosities (complimentary) for us to behold.

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From my laptop and phone screenshots, here are some favorite little smushed-together fellas I’ve amassed recently:

Old-school melds I like

I love this kind of compound name: practical, telegraphic, descriptive. If you pair it with a cute St. Bernard drawing, a very charming brand starts to emerge.

It really can be that simple.

The Plumbtrician here is my neighbor. He’s a bit of a prolific poster on Nextdoor, but I appreciate how much work he puts into knowing you can reach out to him for BOTH plumbing and electrical needs.

Ones I can be convinced of

I’m like 90% there with this name. I get the play on black market + bringing things back into circulation/out of the trash, but sometimes, when I scan the name quickly, my brain fills in an L and makes it Blackmarket again. This is something I struggle with frequently when creating these types of names: Will people not see the evolution, and just read the name I’m trying to play off of?

While if someone said, “What is Chalsa?” I don’t think I would guess chutney and salsa, it’s a simple and inoffensive enough combo that I could see, with enough repeated use, this establishing a category. I see the circle R on it, so I wonder if they’ll try to enforce rights if it takes off.

What do we think about Moonions? Do we get “moon” + “onions”? Does that do anything for us?

I feel like the fact that the form factor is a ring and not a disc shape betrays the expectations set by the name, but if they were really, really good and really, really crunchy, I could forgive.

Entering the danger zone

I don’t hate this one based on its execution. I worry about its defensibility.

Above, Chalsa is not the brand name. It’s a product name. And while they’re trying to lay claim to it via registration, if it escapes their grasp and becomes industry standard usage/they lose a case that it’s too descriptive to protect, they still have their brand name, Pancibus.

KOATJI here has created a different situation for themselves; one that makes me nervous. From their website:

The name is KOATJI because that’s what it is. Oats enriched with koji: A naturally probiotic superfood — fermented rice used in Japan for centuries — And now elevating plant milk to a new standard combining flavor, texture and health.

Trying to establish a new category is HARD WORK. I totally understand the inclination to try to own the new category word, and be THE association with that concept.

But here, I would have strongly recommended establishing a separate brand name, one that’s more distinctive (and expansive! maybe you want to do something rice-only one day?), and then message the HELL out of its unique KOATJI formulation and its benefits. (KOATJI, get at me if you want to talk through your naming strategy. You can pay me in KOATJI. I’m not kidding.)

Not for me, thanks

Success is a great concept. And we obviously love seeds, the hard little things that turn, somehow, into life.

But when you look at this, how do you want to pronounce it? It’s either just “succeed,” in which case you have to spell this name every time you talk about it, OR, and this is the case for my brain, I say “SUCK seed” in an attempt to signal that there is a different emphasis in the spelling. Tough one. Real tough.

I have several challenges with this name: It’s long and multisyllabic, there are a lot of sounds clustered in the middle there, and it’s unclear which word the second part is referencing: Hudson Centricity? Hudson Electricity? (I just looked it up and it’s seemingly Hudson Eccentricity.)

NO HATE. I’m sure it was developed with love, but this feels like a first-draft name. A liiittle bit more work on what they wanted to convey might’ve gotten them something that tells their story. I’m unhelpfully not going to suggest one. I have a skeleton to mount on the front of my house.

Happy frankennaming!

Caitlin

Want to become a better namer?

The full Foundations of Naming self-guided class series is here—take one class or the complete series, and boost your naming confidence.

Download free booklets from the Truth in Branding series on naming and trademarks.

Check out an episode of Big Names in Naming, the podcast where I interview namers about…naming.