We make a lot of assumptions about the background and meaning of brand names, and for the most part, we're right. But there are also some clever strategies behind brand names that we rarely hear about as consumers. Here are a few of my favorites:

Häagen-Dazs
Most people assume Häagen-Dazs is a European brand. It must be a high-end, foreign-based ice cream. In reality the ice cream brand was created in the Bronx in 1961. Founder Reuben Mattus spent long hours trying to derive a name that sounded Scandinavian to him. His goal – to create something that sounded unique and original. He made up words and sounds until he landed on one he liked most. The umlaut was added to give it an even stronger European flair. The brand is now distributed by Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (known as Edy's to use East-Coasters). Not so foreign.

Clif Bar
I always thought Clif Bars were named ‘Clif' because their bars were for the athletic and outdoor fanatic. I assumed the one ‘f' was due to issues in trademarking the actual word ‘Cliff'. That is incorrect. Founder Gary Erickson named the bar after his father Clifford. The rockface packaging design was created later as a simple way to connect the name back to the brand message. A name that was personally meaningful to Erickson was given consumer meaning through association.

TOMS
When I first came across TOMS I assumed it must be named either for the founder or for someone the founder had been inspired by – maybe a kid. Actually, TOMS isn't named after anyone named ‘Tom' at all. Rather, it was derived from the word "tomorrow". The original name founder Blake Mycoskie used for his business idea was the "Shoes for Tomorrow Project". The abbreviated form of "tomorrow" – ‘TOMS' – grew from there.

Names can significantly impact our perceptions of a brand simply by the words chosen, the sounds they make, and the intuitive meaning assigned.

What are some of your favorite brand name misnomers?

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