Five categories can be considered while registering a trademark as a brand name as you think creatively along the lines of that certain category.

1. 5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES
HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND
NAME FOR TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION?

2. Naming a company is strenuous for it will define your
organization for as long as it runs. It may bring the
company to success or not as it bears the name that you
have trademarked for it. It is always helpful though to have
some sort of help or a simple guide when it comes to
deciding the lasting name you should give for your entire
business.
Seeing the different brand names that are everywhere in the
world, there are five categories that those names fall into.
When this is considered, it will be easier to decide in which
type you’d want your company to fall into as you think
creatively along the lines of that certain category.
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION

3. TYPES OF BRAND NAMES AND THEIR
MEANINGS
1. Generic
The first and considered to be the weakest in the list is a generic brand
name that cannot be trademarked. This kind of brand name basically
distinguish an entire group of products, such as “Bread”, “Dog Food”,
“Cold Beer”, “Hotels.com”, “Business.com”. Although these are legally
impossible to be protected by a trademark, they can still be used at a
person’s own risk.
It does have an appeal in the sense that it is simple and easy to
remember, practically describing what your business is all about
without saying another word, but it is difficult for businesses with a
brand name like this to establish its own identity as the word or words
used have been used and heard by people probably a hundred of times
every day.
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
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4. 2. Descriptive
Just like generic brand names, descriptive names are difficult or even
ineligible for trademark protection since it only adds one or more
adjective before a word. Although a descriptive brand name is true to
its name in describing exactly what your business is all about, it could
be that when, for an example, you branded your new t-shirt business
as “Unique Shirts” that your product will get lost in the middle of
searches and other products and services that are connected to
“Unique Shirts”. It is indeed a risk to go for this kind of brand name
since there is basically nothing that can hold back your competitors
from making a claim for the same descriptive brand name.
However, there are well-known companies with descriptive brand
names that have earned trademark protection, namely Holiday Inn,
Pizza Hut, and Burger King. There are cases that descriptive brand
names could work when customers start to link their brand name to
the product they’re offering only and nothing else. If that sticks in the
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION

5. 3. Suggestive
In using suggestive brand names, there is a better chance in
having it protected with trademark. This kind of names plays on
metaphor and analogy for the purpose of creating an association
of their products in the consumers’ minds. Amazon, Greyhound,
or Chicken of the Sea are examples of suggestive brand names.
Even if they are correlated with other things, it is more likely to
be sustainable in the industry. Suggestive brand names are more
difficult to create but easier to legally protect although they are
also more challenging to market than the previous categories.
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION

6. 4. Coined
Known as either coined or fanciful, these are the brand names that are
considered to be the easiest to trademark because of its uniqueness
since it’s simply created. Some instances of this kind of brand name
include Google, Twitter, Microsoft, etc.
Coined names are made to have no meaning at all just like Kodak or
completely structured from Greek, Latin, or other words that are
mostly not known to some (Xerox, Volkswagen, and Sony).
This is considered to have double-edged sword effect because the
name is a made-up word so the consumers wouldn’t figure out in a
snap of a finger what your business is about and what you are offering
exactly. On the other hand, you can have a good control on what you
want people to associate to your brand, and it is favorable on your side
when you register for a domain name.
Therefore, this requires a business with a coined brand name to put
more effort into marketing to establish with the people what products
and services are being offered and to associate the brand name with
positivity.
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION

7. 5. Arbitrary
The last one in the list is arbitrary names. This kind of brand
names seems generic but it can be legally protected because of
their out-of-context use. Some of the examples of this is “Shell”
and “Apple,” two big companies that are not using their names to
sell sea shells and a certain fruit, respectively.
More often than not, arbitrary names are used to suggest
qualities that a business wishes to kindle in people’s minds. In
choosing to have your brand names to be arbitrary ones, a huge
amount of time in building your brand would be needed.
People’s association with the original concept of the arbitrary
name should be broken for you to insert your own connection to
your business.
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
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8. Conclusion
In truth of it all, there are certain pros and cons in any categories
above. Choosing a brand name requires a huge amount of time
and a lot of considerations for it will be for a long-term use. The
key to picking a brand name lies on which category best suits
with your marketing strategies and objectives. You can hire
a trademark attorney to choose and register a trademark
internationally.
5 TYPES OF BRAND NAMES | HOW TO CHOOSE A BRAND NAME FOR TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION