Company names

Aminata and Mariam continue their discussion about what to call Aminata’s company.

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Mariam: So what’s it going to be?

Aminata: Well, since I’m going to sell telephones so I thought of The Telephone Company.

Mariam: Bit ordinary, trifle generic. How about 1-2 CALL?

Aminata: Another company already got that. Naming is not easy. You know, a lot are just named after their founder, like Ford.

Mariam: Lots are acronyms like IBM.

Aminata: And many are just plain misleading. Boots don’t make shoes, Apple doesn’t sell fruit, Caterpillar doesn’t run butterfly shops.

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Voiceover

Thinking of a name, for babies or companies, requires time. “Microsoft” and “Berkshire-Hathaway” have acquired authority as time has made them two of the wealthiest and successful companies in the U.S. But if they weren’t, we might notice novel names like Apple and Xerox instead.

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