---
name: brand-naming
description: Complete brand naming workflow — from brief through linguistic analysis to domain-checked finalists. Use when naming a company, product, SaaS, app, or service. Trigger phrases include "name my brand", "brand name", "company name", "product name", "how to name", "naming". Not for logo design (use logo-design) or brand voice definition (use brand-voice).
metadata:
  author: Petr
  version: 2.0.0
  sources:
    - "Alexandra Watkins — Hello, My Name Is Awesome (SMILE/SCRATCH)"
    - "Rob Meyerson — Brand Naming (spectrum, brief, professional process)"
    - "Jeremy Miller — Brand New Name (Plan-Sprint-Select, Name Score)"
    - "Brad Flowers — The Naming Book (5 Steps, Toddler/Rhyme/Awkwordplay tests)"
    - "Eli Altman — Don't Call It That (25 name species, Ice Cream Principle)"
    - "Sound symbolism research (phonetics, morphology)"
---

# Brand Naming

Complete 7-step naming process: brief, generation, linguistic analysis, domain check, final recommendation.

## When to Use

- Naming a new company, SaaS, product, app, or service
- Renaming/rebranding an existing brand
- Evaluating existing name candidates
- Generating name ideas with professional methodology

## When NOT to Use

- Logo design (use `logo-design`)
- Brand voice/personality definition (use `brand-voice` from copywriting)
- Domain-only search without naming process

---

## Process

### Step 1: Brand Brief

**Check for existing brand context first:**

```
Does a brand voice document exist? (brand-voice.md, brand-guidelines.md, etc.)
|- YES -> Load it, extract: personality, tone, values, audience
|- NO -> Run mini-discovery below
```

**Mini-discovery questions (ask one at a time):**

1. Co je to za produkt/sluzbu? (1 veta)
2. Kdo je cilova audience? (demografie, psychografie)
3. 3 adjektiva ktera popisuji osobnost brandu
4. Jaky ton? (seriozni/hravy/technicke/lidske/premium/dostupne)
5. Hlavni konkurenti? (2-5 nazvu)
6. Co ma nazev evokovat? Co NESMI evokovat?
7. Target trhy/jazyky? (dulezite pro cross-language screening)

**Unusualness Score (Brad Flowers):** Ohodnot 1-5 tyto faktory a secti:
- Mnozstvi konkurentu (1=malo, 5=presyceny trh)
- Reklamni budget konkurence (1=nizky, 5=masivni)
- Geograficky rozsah (1=lokalni, 5=globalni)

Score 10+: potrebujes vysoce unikatni nazev. Score <7: muzes pouzit beznejsi slova.

**Output:** Strukturovany brief — uloz do pameti pro dalsi kroky.

---

### Step 2: Name Taxonomy Selection

Prezentuj **3 strategicke kategorie** (Miller) s **formacemi**:

**Naming Spectrum (od doslovneho k abstraktnimu):**

| Kategorie | Popis | Priklady | Vyhody | Nevyhody |
|-----------|-------|----------|--------|----------|
| **Descriptive** | Rika co delas | PayPal, YouTube, Whole Foods | Okamzite pochopeni | Tezke TM, omezujici |
| **Suggestive** | Naznacuje benefit/zkusenost | Pinterest, Slack, Lush | Evokuje bez omezeni | Muze byt subtilni |
| **Abstract** | Prazdna nadoba — vyznam doda brand | Apple, Kodak, Bluetooth | Unikatni, TM friendly | Vyzaduje brand building |

**Name Formations (jak je nazev vytvoren):**

| Formace | Popis | Priklady |
|---------|-------|----------|
| **Real Words** | Existujici slova | Apple, Kindle, Oracle, Tesla |
| **Compound** | Spojeni 2 slov | Facebook, Firefox, Salesforce, WordPress |
| **Blended** | Prekryvajici se slabiky | Groupon, Pinterest, Instagram, Accenture |
| **Constructed** | Nove tvary ze skutecnych casti | Shopify, FedEx, Snapchat |
| **Invented** | Uplne nove slovo | Xerox, Kodak, Dasani, Etsy |
| **Foreign** | Slova z jinych jazyku | Volvo (lat.), Audi (lat.), Honda, Mercedes |
| **People/Places** | Vlastni jmena | Tesla, Patagonia, Samsonite |
| **Phrases** | Kratke fraze | Black Diamond, Mountain Dew, Dave's Killer Bread |
| **Affixed** | Prefix/suffix pridany | iPhone, Spotify (-ify), Napster (-ster) |
| **Misspelled** | Zamerna chyba | Flickr, Tumblr, Krispy Kreme, Chick-fil-A |
| **Acronyms** | Inicialy | IBM, NASA, Aflac |

**Altman 25 Name Species** (pro inspiraci — ukaz relevantni):

Poetic, High Class Gibberish, Derivative, Initials, Descriptive, Part Descriptive/Part Fun, Americana, Into the Wild, Someone Special, Remember When, Suggests the Solution, Back to Basics, Daring, Adrenaline, Made-up People, Foreign-feeling, Literary/Historical, Place Names, One Letter Off, Mythical, Exclamation, Name as Statement, Latin Class, Interesting Letters, Acronyms.

**Doporuceni:** Na zaklade briefu a Unusualness Score doporuc 2-3 formace. Uzivatel vybere.

```
[WAIT FOR ANSWER]
```

---

### Step 3: Name Generation

**Fail Early (Altman):** Nejdriv generuj 10-15 SPATNYCH nazvu a pojmenuj proc jsou spatne. To vycisti mysleni od klise.

Pak generuj **40-60 nazvu** rozdelenich podle vybranych formaci.

**Brainstorming techniky (pouzij kombinovane):**

**A) Make It Concrete (Flowers):**
1. Napis 5 faktickych vet o brandu (subjekt/sloveso/predmet)
2. Free-associate 15-20 slov pro kazde sloveso a predmet
3. Pouzij tato slova jako zaklad pro nazvy

**B) Make It Abstract (Flowers):**
1. Napis 3 metafory a 3 prirovnani pro brand
2. Generuj 5-10 asociovanych slov pro kazde
3. Kombinuj s formacemi z Step 2

**C) Miller 5-Day Sprint temata (pro sirsi zamery):**
- Den 1: Perspektiva zakaznika (zkusenosti, smysly, vysledky, hodnoty)
- Den 2: Literarni zdroje (knihy, filmy, hudba, citaty)
- Den 3: Ocividne a neviditelne (firemni slovnik, slang, oborove terminy)
- Den 4: Lide, mista, prostory (geografie, landmarks, osobnosti jako metafory)
- Den 5: Word Twister (compound, suffix, puns, foneticky vynalezena slova)

**D) Expansive Research (Flowers):**
- Thesaurus — synonyma a antonyma
- Wikipedia — historicke a vedecke terminy
- Literarni zdroje — citaty, jmena postav
- Insider lingo — hobbyisticke a oborove terminy
- Mythologie — recka, rimska, nordická

**Lingvisticke techniky:**

| Technika | Popis | Priklad |
|----------|-------|---------|
| **Portmanteau** | Slouceni 2 slov | Pinterest (pin+interest), Instagram (instant+telegram) |
| **Blending** | Prekryv hlasek | Spotify (spot+identify), Groupon (group+coupon) |
| **Affixation** | Prefix/suffix | Shopify (-ify), Coursera (-era), iPhone (i-) |
| **Clipping** | Zkraceni | Cisco (San Francisco), Lego (leg godt) |
| **Metaphor** | Preneseny vyznam | Amazon (velka reka), Jaguar (rychlost) |
| **Mythology/History** | Mytologicke/historicke | Nike (bohyne vitezstvi), Oracle (vestirna) |
| **Sound crafting** | Tvorba z hlasek | Xerox (ostry X), Zoom (onomatopoeia) |
| **Rhyme/Onomatopoeia** | Rymovani, zvukomalba | StubHub, Lean Cuisine, Zipcar, Meow Mix |
| **Foreign words** | Cizi jazyky | Volvo (lat. "valim se"), Audi (lat. "poslouchej") |
| **Vowel/Consonant swap** | Zamena hlasek | Modifikace beznych slov do novych tvaru |

**Format vystupu:** Ke kazdemu nazvu uvest etymologii a pouzitou techniku.

```
## [Formace] nazvy
1. NazevA — [etymologie, technika]
2. NazevB — [etymologie, technika]
...
```

---

### Step 4: Evaluation & Filtering

Ohodnot KAZDY nazev ze Step 3 pres tri vrstvy:

**4a. SMILE Test (Watkins) — kazde kriterium 0-5:**

| Kriterium | Otazka |
|-----------|--------|
| **S**uggestive | Evokuje neco o brandu? |
| **M**eaningful | Ma asociaci s necim znamym? |
| **I**magery | Vyvolava vizualni/smyslovy obraz? |
| **L**egs | Da se s nim pracovat (slogany, kampane, rozsireni)? |
| **E**motional | Vyvola emoci? |

**4b. SCRATCH Test (Watkins) — red flags (ano/ne):**

| Red Flag | Otazka |
|----------|--------|
| **S**pelling-challenged | Tezke napsat spravne? |
| **C**opycat | Prilis podobne existujicimu brandu? |
| **R**estrictive | Omezuje budouci rust? |
| **A**nnoying | Iritujici tvar/zvuk? |
| **T**ame | Prilis genericky/nudne? |
| **C**urse of knowledge | Pochopi to jen insider? |
| **H**ard-to-pronounce | Tezke vyslovit? |

**4c. Quick Tests (Flowers):**

| Test | Co overuje | Jak |
|------|-----------|-----|
| **Toddler Test** | Vyslovitelnost | Rekl by to 3-lety? Vyhni se shlukum j, l, r, s, sh, ch, th |
| **Rhyme Test** | Prirozeny zvuk (pro invented) | Rymuje se s realnym slovem? (Lexus ~ Texas) |
| **Awkwordplay Test** | Plynulost blendu | Je jasne kam pada duraz? (Groupon OK, Uniqlo sporny) |
| **Visual Cadence** | Jak nazev vypada | Zkontroluj v Title Case i ALL CAPS, ascendery/descendery |

**Filtr:** SMILE >= 18/25 + ZERO SCRATCH flags + projde Quick Tests -> top 5-8 finalistu.

Prezentuj vysledky:

```
| Nazev | S | M | I | L | E | Total | SCRATCH | Toddler | Rhyme | Visual |
|-------|---|---|---|---|---|-------|---------|---------|-------|--------|
| ...   | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 21    | clean   | pass    | pass  | good   |
```

**Ice Cream Principle (Altman):** NEVYBIREJ nazev skupinovym hlasovanim. Skupiny se shodnou na "vanilla" — bezpecny a nudny. Doporuc na zaklade dat, ne konsenzu.

```
[WAIT FOR USER CONFIRMATION of finalists before continuing]
```

---

### Step 5: Linguistic Deep Analysis

Pro kazdeho finalistu (top 5-8 ze Step 4):

**5a. Sound Symbolism**

| Typ hlasky | Evokuje | Priklady |
|------------|---------|----------|
| Plosives (p, b, t, d, k, g) | Sila, rozhodnost, energie | Bold, Kick, Tap, Kodak |
| Fricatives (f, v, s, z, sh) | Rychlost, plynulost, elegance | Visa, Zara, Swift, Swiffer |
| Nasals (m, n) | Mekost, comfort, duvera | Amazon, Nimble |
| Liquids (l, r) | Plynulost, premiovost | Rolex, Lexus |
| Front vowels (i, e) | Malost, preciznost, lehkost | Mini, Etsy |
| Back vowels (o, u, a) | Velikost, sila, stabilita | Volvo, Ubuntu |

Soft undulating sounds ("maluma") = jemnost. Abrupt jagged sounds ("takete") = ostrost.
Initial hard consonants (B, D, P, T, K, G, V) = vysoka zapamatovatelnost.

Analyzuj: Sedi zvukovy profil nazvu k brand personality z briefu?

**5b. Morfologicka dekompozice**

Pro kazdy nazev rozloz na komponenty a vysvetli co kazda cast komunikuje:
- `Spotify` = spot (najit) + -ify (udelat z toho akci) -> "udelej z hledani akci"
- `Airbnb` = air (mattress) + b&b -> primy popis puvodniho konceptu
- `Accenture` = accent + future -> duraz na budoucnost

**5c. Cross-Language Screening**

Zkontroluj nazev minimalne v:
- Cestina, Slovenstina
- Anglictina
- Nemcina
- Spanelstina, Francouzstina
- Dalsi jazyky podle target trhu z briefu

Hledej:
- Negativni/vulgarni vyznamy
- Nechtenou homonymii
- Tezkou vyslovitelnost v cilovych trzich

**5d. Vyslovitelnost a Visual Cadence**

- Foneticky prepis (IPA pokud relevantni)
- Varianty vysloveni v ruznych jazycich
- Risk dezinterpretace pri ustnim predani (telefon test)
- Visual Cadence: jak nazev vypada v Title Case, ALL CAPS, lowercase
- Ascendery/descendery vytvarejici vizualni rytmus (Marlboro = dobry rytmus)
- Palindromicke/symetricke tvary (SONOS = vizualni echo)

---

### Step 6: Domain Check

Pro kazdeho finalistu spust domain check pres `instantdomainsearch` MCP:

**Checkuj tyto TLD:**
- `.com` (priorita #1)
- `.io` (tech/SaaS)
- `.co` (alternativa)
- `.app` (pokud mobilni)
- Country-specific: `.cz`, `.sk`, `.de` (podle target trhu)

**Prezentuj:**

```
| Nazev | .com | .io | .co | .cz | Alternativy |
|-------|------|-----|-----|-----|-------------|
| XYZ   | volna | volna | obsazena | volna | getxyz.com, xyzapp.com |
```

Pro obsazene domeny nabidni alternativy:
- Prefix: get-, try-, use-, go-
- Suffix: -app, -hq, -labs, -io
- Jina TLD

**Non-Starter Screening (Miller):** Pred zamilovanim se do nazvu prohledej Google, app stores, social media vanity URLs, a trademark databaze (USPTO, EUIPO) pro okamzite konflikty.

**Doporuc take:** Zkontrolovat social handles (@nazev na X, IG, LinkedIn).

---

### Step 7: Final Presentation

Prezentuj **top 3-5 nazvu** s kompletnim profilem:

**Name Score (Miller) — ohodnot kazdeho finalistu:**

| Dimenze | Co hodnoti |
|---------|-----------|
| **Strategic Fit** | Positioning, ton, jasnost, emocionalni spojeni, technicke pozadavky |
| **Namescape** | Jak odlisny je od konkurence, jak obhajitelny (TM) |
| **Market** | Rezonance s cilovkou, zapamatovatelnost (recall rate) |

**Format:**

```
## #1: [NAZEV] (Doporuceny)

**Typ:** Suggestive / Compound
**Etymologie:** [dekompozice a puvod]
**SMILE Score:** 23/25
**Name Score:** Strategic Fit 9/10, Namescape 8/10, Market 9/10

**Lingvisticky profil:**
- Sound: [popis zvukoveho profilu a co evokuje]
- Slabiky: 2
- Vyslovitelnost: vysoka ve vsech target trzich
- Cross-language: cisty (zadne negativni vyznamy)
- Visual Cadence: [jak vypada, ascendery/descendery]

**Domeny:**
- nazev.com — volna
- nazev.io — volna
- nazev.cz — volna

**Proc #1:** [Jasne oduvodneni proc je toto nejlepsi volba vzhledem k briefu]

**Legs:** [Priklady jak se da nazev rozsirit — slogan, kampan, sloveso ("just ___ it")]

---

## #2: [NAZEV]
...

## #3: [NAZEV]
...
```

**Na konci:**
- Doporuc #1 s oduvodnenim
- Pripomen dalsi kroky: trademark check (EUIPO/USPTO), social handles, logo-design skill
- Post-naming (Flowers): Descriptive tagline (max 5 slov), Elevator Pitch (What, How, Why), core Values
- Nabidni iteraci: "Chces upravit brief a generovat dalsi kolo?"

---

## Reference

### Klicove frameworky

| Framework | Autor | Kniha | Pouziti v skillu |
|-----------|-------|-------|-----------------|
| SMILE/SCRATCH | Alexandra Watkins | Hello, My Name Is Awesome | Step 4 — evaluace |
| Naming Spectrum | Rob Meyerson | Brand Naming | Step 2 — taxonomie |
| Naming Brief | Rob Meyerson | Brand Naming | Step 1 — brief |
| Plan-Sprint-Select | Jeremy Miller | Brand New Name | Step 3 (sprint temata), Step 7 (Name Score) |
| 5 Steps + Tests | Brad Flowers | The Naming Book | Steps 1-4 (Unusualness, Toddler, Rhyme, Awkwordplay, Visual Cadence) |
| 25 Name Species | Eli Altman | Don't Call It That | Step 2 (inspirace), Step 3 (Fail Early) |
| Ice Cream Principle | Eli Altman | Don't Call It That | Step 4 (anti-group voting) |
| Sound Symbolism | Lingvisticky vyzkum | — | Step 5 — deep analysis |

### Ilustrativni case studies

| Brand | Typ | Technika | Proc funguje |
|-------|-----|----------|-------------|
| **Spotify** | Invented | Blending (spot+identify) | Foneticky prirozene, 3 slabiky, -ify suffix = akce |
| **Nike** | Evocative | Mythology | Bohyne vitezstvi, 2 slabiky, plosive K = sila |
| **Airbnb** | Descriptive | Portmanteau (air+B&B) | Primy popis, storytelling potencial |
| **Shopify** | Suggestive | Affixation (shop+-ify) | Jasna akce, skalovatelne ("Shopify your store") |
| **Slack** | Abstract | Real word + quirk | 1 slabika, plosive K, embracing negative connotation |
| **Stripe** | Abstract | Real word | 1 slabika, fricative S + plosive T = rychlost+preciznost |
| **Starbucks** | Literary | Moby Dick character | Evokuje morskou tradici, nauticky puvod |
| **Hagen-Dazs** | Invented | Foreign-feeling | Umele "danske" jmeno = premiovost, exoticnost |
| **Groupon** | Suggestive | Blend (group+coupon) | Plynuly blend, jasny vyznam, 2 slabiky |
| **Patagonia** | Place name | Geografie | Drsnos, dobrodruztvi, aspirace |

### Doporucena literatura

- Alexandra Watkins: *Hello, My Name Is Awesome* (2nd ed.)
- Rob Meyerson: *Brand Naming: The Complete Guide*
- Jeremy Miller: *Brand New Name*
- Brad Flowers: *The Naming Book: 5 Steps to Creating Brand and Product Names that Sell*
- Eli Altman: *Don't Call It That: A Naming Workbook* (3rd ed.)
- Marty Neumeier: *The Brand Gap*

---

## Integration

| Skill | Vztah |
|-------|-------|
| `brand-voice` (copywriting) | Vstup — pokud existuje, nacti brand personality |
| `logo-design` (branding) | Vystup — navazujici krok po vybranem nazvu |
| `instantdomainsearch` MCP | Step 6 — domain availability check |
| `uvp-optimization` (marketing) | Kontext — UVP muze informovat naming brief |