WASHINGTON — Ellen Lutwak is a hit at cocktail parties. Once she shares what she does for a living, they always want to know more.
“I say, ‘Well, I name things.'”
Lutwak is a professional namer. Companies such as Mattel hire her to name toys and technical products. She’s named a Barbie doll fashion line and is in the process of naming the new wing of a hospital. So puns don’t always work.
Lutwak, who lives in California, says she finds inspiration in the creativity of others.
“I’ll look at store names. I’ll look at signs. The things in a grocery store. Everywhere you go there’s a name,” she says.
Yet it can be a challenge for many businesses to come up with the right name. Start with a free association about the project or business, she says.
“Go through and make a list of every adjective you can think of when it comes to the company and the business,” Lutwak says. “Then put them together.”
In a new Smithsonian Magazine article, she says when finding a name, it’s best to follow three rules: The name should be easy to pronounce and memorable, and the namer can’t fall in love with it.
“Because after the creative part comes the legal part,” she says.
Research needs to be done to see whether any similar products share the idea for a name and it isn’t translated into something offensive in other languages. And Lutwak says there is often the challenge of the website URL.
“Sometimes people who create the product fall in love with the name and it’s not available. But it’s a fun job.”
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