The Grateful Dead.

If you stop to think about it, the name is sorta weird. Even a little scary.

But boy is it memorable.

Originally calling themselves The Warlocks when they formed in 1964, members of the band realized they needed to come up with a new name a year later when they found out that there was another band by the same name that had recorded a single.

The guys debated names, suggesting ideas such as “Mythical Ethical Icicle Tricycle” (Garcia) and “His Own Sweet Advocates” (Weir). When they were unable to find a name they agreed on, they gathered at Phil Lesh’s house around a copy of Bartlett’s Quotations, read out a thousand possible names, but couldn’t agree on anything.

Then Jerry Garcia opened a copy of Funk and Wagnall’s New Practical Standard Dictionary (1956 edition) and randomly pointed to a page. There, staring back at him, was GRATEFUL DEAD. Several members immediately fell in love with the name and wanted to use it. Others were a bit wary. But all agreed it was memorable so they decided to use it.

Love it, hate it, or don’t understand it – the Grateful Dead is a name that you remember.

A name – like the Grateful Dead – is an asset to an organization choosing wisely. When you select an uncommon name (and one appropriate to your company image and target market) it’s unlikely that consumers will confuse your product with something similar. They will remember you. And in today’s world of online communications and of search engines, unique names for your company, products, and services allow you to own the search engine results for your brands.

Most companies don’t focus enough attention on choosing a memorable name or to the importance of Google, Bing, and other search engines when selecting those names. Typically people closest to the product development effort are the ones proposing the candidate names. This usually leads to overly technical names focused on what a product does (something like “MP3 Deluxe Pocket Player” rather than a memorable name that appeals to customers like “iPod”).

At most companies, candidate names are vetted by the legal department for copyright and trademark issues that would disqualify use, but few bother to do a Google search on the potential new name. If your company’s website is not on the first page of the Google results with your product name, that should disqualify it as an option.

Naming is tough. But it is a very important element of marketing. Most organizations don’t spend enough time on this important activity.

Here are some things to keep in mind and a few tricks you might try as you think of a name:

  • Avoid common names and names that are already used as a title of a popular movie or book. You will want to have a name that you can have the top listing for in the search engines.
  • Use search engines before finalizing a name. You don’t want to fall in love with a name that you cannot have the top search results for.
  • Find inspiration in unlikely places. Why not go to one of the online booksellers (such as Amazon.com, BN.com, or Borders.com in the US) and search on the name of the category of product you are trying to name. You’ll see a list of book titles and subtitles that may spark an idea.
  • Many people choose made up words as a name. This is great because you can own the search results. But try not to choose one that is too esoteric or difficult to pronounce if you go this route.
  • You might take two words that are very different and put them together as one word like SurveyMonkey, an intriguing company name.
  • Try an alternative spelling for a word. Google is a derivation of the word “googol,” a number that is ten to the power of one hundred (the numeral one followed by 100 zeros). Flickr is “flicker” with an “e” removed.
  • In her excellent book POP!, Sam Horn talks about what she calls “alphabetizing” common words to come up with a name. We like this technique. Take a common product you want to name, for example, Yogurt in a squeeze tube. Then go through every letter in the alphabet and substitute it for the “Y” in Yogurt and presto: “GoGurt” is born.
  • Take a common name and change it slightly to create a new word. For example social networking site FledgeWing is a derivation of the word “fledgling.”

Tell us: What’s your favourite brand name? Leave us a comment and we’ll enter your name in a draw for a free copy of the book!

Excerpted from the new book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History (John Wiley & Sons) by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan. ISBN-13: 978-0470900529. Used with permission.