Great brand names, while likable, also fit a number of important criteria in order to be great.

Last week I wrote about the origin of the naming of Microsoft's Xbox.  Today I'll look at the origin of the name of the Mac computer.  Jef Raskin, an Apple employee, wanted to name the computer after his favorite apple, the McIntosh, but the name had to be changed because it was too close to that of the McIntosh audio equipment manufacturer.  Jobs requested a release of the name but was denied, forcing Apple to buy the rights to use the name.

In the case of both the Xbox and the Macintosh, the names came relatively easy to an internal team.  And this often happens.  But what I think is interesting about these is that likability of a name is less important that key principles of a good name. Our 7 principles of a great brand name are:

1. Meaningful
2. Memorable
3. Distinctive
4. Ownable
5. Likable
6. Intuitive
7. Flexible

Note that likable is one if the 7, but too often it becomes the most important characteristic of a good brand name.  In the case of both the Xbox and the Macintosh, while the initial was very likable, but also fit the other principles of a good brand name.

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