PERSONAL NAMES IN BRAND NAMING

“Hello, my name is X and I work at X.”
John X, Owner, X Ltd.

We are not against using a personal name in a business name, especially not in industries where the person is everything, like in fashion/clothing (Armani is obviously perfect), legal services and even restaurants (e.g. McDonald’s). However, you have to ask yourself a few questions:

1. Do you have a good sounding name, like Armani or Chrysler?

2. Do clients choose your company only because of you? Do you want it to be like this in the future?

3. What if you sell your company?

Using personal names to brand a business is easy, you save money on naming consultants but, in the end, it could be restricting. For example, our favourite marketing expert is Al Ries and his company is called Ries&Ries. His daughter Laura Ries also works with him and this is obviously a family business. A final question to all those who consider using their family name as a business name: do you want your company to be perceived as a family business?