Carve by · Technique

Eight ways to carve a name

Every great brand name uses one of these eight techniques — usually combined. Pick a technique to see how it produces names.

Morpheme assembly

Latin/Greek root + classical suffix. Vercel = ver + cel. Pentium = pent + ium.

Vowel mutation

Lift → Lyft. Tumblr from tumbler. Google from googol.

Truncation

Microcomputer → Micro. Application → App. Bumblebee → Bumble.

Blending

Microsoft = microcomputer + software. Pinterest = pin + interest.

Compound-evocative

Two real words, third meaning. Windsurf. BlackBerry. PowerBook.

Foreign borrowing

Lyft (Swedish). Volvo (Latin). Azure (Persian). Häagen-Dazs (invented Danish-ish).

Phonetic invention

Pure CVCV from preferred phonemes. Kodak. Sonos. Xerox.

Misapplication

Common word, unrelated context. Apple. Amazon. Bumble (the app, not the bee).