How the World Names: A We Are Naming limited series

How the World Names: The U.S. with Caitlin Barrett

TWIST: U.S. partner Caitlin Barrett is the guest this week, interviewed by the great Felipe Valério, We Are Naming’s partner from Brazil. They talk about: - The importance of brands “just being themselves!” and not trying too hard to conform to trends - Paths for brands coming into the U.S. with names that carry less-than-positive associations (Would *you* name your baby-diaper brand GOO.N? Probably not, but that’s not stopping a Japanese brand from giving it a try in the U.S.) - Trademark turmoil and how to plan ahead for the headaches that trademark hurdles can bring - Caitlin’s favorite “American” brand name, which is a gas station (and why wouldn’t it be!) Plus Caitlin stumps Felipe with some insider powerlifting lingo, since they both speak English. Want to go deeper? Read Caitlin’s report, What You Need To Know About Naming In the U.S., along with all the other We Are Naming reports, right here: www.wearenaming.com/reports [http://www.wearenaming.com/reports] About Caitlin Caitlin Barrett is the founder of the naming studio Wild Geese Studio [http://www.wildgeesestudio.com] and the naming education platform Naming for Everyone [http://www.namingforeveryone.com]. They have spent nearly 20 years helping brand teams improve the way they name. Previously, Caitlin was a partner at the brand-language studio Doublebit and served as director of verbal identity and global head of naming at Interbrand. They were also a senior writer at Ologie and a copywriter at Martha Stewart, where they got their start naming scented candles, kitchen towels patterns, and, once, a very expensive ham. Listen to Caitlin’s other podcast, Big Names in Naming [https://namingforeveryone.substack.com/podcast], and sign up for their weekly Naming for Everyone newsletter [https://namingforeveryone.substack.com/], as well as their monthly enterprise naming strategy newsletter, The Naming Playbook [https://wildgeesestudio.beehiiv.com/]. (You can also gather with them and dozens of other namers at The Business of Naming [https://www.thebusinessofnaming.com/] conference in 2026—info to be announced soon.) About How the World Names Building on our “What You Need to Know About Naming in…” reports, How the World Names is a limited-run interview series that dives deeper into what matters most when naming across borders. Each episode spotlights a We Are Naming partner’s home market, unpacking the linguistic quirks, cultural landscape, emerging naming styles, and practical insights that shape brand names around the globe. For more information, visit wearenaming.com [http://wearenaming.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearenaming.substack.com [https://wearenaming.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How the World Names: France with Sophie Gay

U.S. partner Caitlin Barrett is joined by Sophie Gay, a naming expert from France and the co-founder of We Are naming, to discuss the intricacies of brand naming in the French market: They talk about: - Sophie's journey into naming and the founding of her agency, Namibie. - Four major naming trends in France - The rise of French-English hybrid names and their impact on brand identity - Exploration of French cultural references in naming and their significance. - Sophie's favorite name, Swile Plus Sophie stumps Caitlin with the tongue twister, “Les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches.” Want to go deeper? Read Sophie’s report, What You Need To Know About Naming In France, along with all the other We Are Naming reports, right here: www.wearenaming.com/reports [http://www.wearenaming.com/reports] About Sophie Sophie has over 20 years of experience in naming. She worked for the first naming agency in Paris as a Director. In 2016, she founded Namibie, an agency specializing in Branding applied to naming & identity.Among her clients, both French and international, are Saint-Gobain, EDF, Dacia, Valeo and many others in France & at an international scale. In 2020, she launched We are Naming, a collective of naming experts operating in more than 10 countries. Holder of a Master’s degree in Communication and Literature, as well as diplomas in Philosophy, Sophie is passionate about words, verbal expression, and languages in all their forms. “Every naming project holds a mystery. You can never predict the brand that will be created. Our profession is always a challenge — that of bringing minds to converge at a single point: a name.” About How the World Names Building on our “What You Need to Know About Naming in…” reports, How the World Names is a limited-run interview series that dives deeper into what matters most when naming across borders. Each episode spotlights a We Are Naming partner’s home market, unpacking the linguistic quirks, cultural landscape, emerging naming styles, and practical insights that shape brand names around the globe. For more information, visit wearenaming.com [http://wearenaming.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearenaming.substack.com [https://wearenaming.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How the World Names: The U.K. with Pete Dewar

In this episode, Caitlin Barrett interviews Pete Dewar about the highs and lows of naming in the U.K.: - The English language as a blessing and a curse when it comes to brand naming - What we can learn from the Aberdeen naming case, as well as other smart ways to modernize an outdated or otherwise limiting brand name - Naming styles that can sound cheap in the U.K.—and when to use those to your advantage! - Pete’s favorite names in English (one of which is a really wild pick) Plus Pete provides Caitlin with some Geordie phrases to parse: “Hoy a hamma owa here” and “That lass is proper canny like.” Want to go deeper? Read Pete’s report, What You Need To Know About Naming In the U.K., along with all the other We Are Naming reports, right here: www.wearenaming.com/reports [http://www.wearenaming.com/reports] About Pete Pete Dewar is a founding partner and creative director at London-based branding agency, The Clearing [https://theclearing.co.uk/]. He has been pioneering the importance of words in branding for over 25 years, helping organisations all over the world use language more imaginatively to engage the people who matter to them. Before setting up The Clearing, Pete worked in advertising, and latterly led Interbrand’s verbal identity practice in London – where his journey into naming began (with a project to name, of all things, a genital herpes treatment). About How the World Names Building on our “What You Need to Know About Naming in…” reports, How the World Names is a limited-run interview series that dives deeper into what matters most when naming across borders. Each episode spotlights a We Are Naming partner’s home market, unpacking the linguistic quirks, cultural landscape, emerging naming styles, and practical insights that shape brand names around the globe. For more information, visit wearenaming.com [http://wearenaming.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearenaming.substack.com [https://wearenaming.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How the World Names: Germany with PalisHotze

We Are Naming’s U.S. partner Caitlin Barrett interviews Sebastian Hotze and Solveig Palis of PalisHotze, our German partners. They talk about: - Their 18-year naming partnership and what’s made it work - The German language’s ability to be charmingly descriptive (gloves=hand shoes!) - And what that means for naming (balancing clarity with brevity and emotion) - The meaning behind successful German names like Braun and Birkenstock - German’s ability to express concepts beautifully Plus Caitlin guesses what “Das ist mir Wurst” means (and they would have totally guessed it right if they’d seen it written down…). Want to go deeper? Read PalisHotze’s report, What You Need To Know About Naming In Germany, along with all the other We Are Naming reports, right here: www.wearenaming.com/reports [http://www.wearenaming.com/reports] About Sebastian Hotze After completing his studies in German language and literature (and history), he wanted to do something creative with his knowledge but had no idea what. It was just by chance that he ended up in the naming team at the agency Interbrand in 2007, and that was it for him. Right from the start, he was excited by the fact that naming allowed him to immerse himself in new worlds that were completely unknown to him until then. One week he develops a name for a start-up that is revolutionising spectrometers, the next week a prosthesis for leg amputees. Then Europe's largest real estate company, and next a new type of printer for a packaging company. In 2012, he co-founded his own agency, PalisHotze, together with his former colleague Solveig. Even though the two have been involved in international naming projects from the outset, they really went global in 2019 when they joined We Are Naming. In addition to his passion for developing names, his great love is music, music, music. About Solveig Palis Solveig’s journey into brand naming began in 1998, when she joined Interbrand Hamburg as a naming consultant. What started as a job quickly turned into a lifelong passion for the craft of naming. Over the years, she has lent her expertise to global naming projects across industries, from automotive to finance and FMCG, always guided by a fascination with language, culture, and strategic thinking. In 2012, she left Interbrand to co-found a naming agency with longtime collaborator Sebastian. Then in 2019, she joined We Are Naming, bringing with her a wealth of experience. Solveig studied French and Spanish literature and even dipped into Aztec while studying Ancient American Cultures—an academic journey that still informs her creative process today. For her, naming is a blend of linguistic sensitivity and persuasive storytelling. She relishes a good naming challenge and isn’t afraid to stand up for the names she believes in. About How the World Names Building on our “What You Need to Know About Naming in…” reports, How the World Names is a limited-run interview series that dives deeper into what matters most when naming across borders. Each episode spotlights a We Are Naming partner’s home market, unpacking the linguistic quirks, cultural landscape, emerging naming styles, and practical insights that shape brand names around the globe. For more information, visit wearenaming.com [http://wearenaming.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearenaming.substack.com [https://wearenaming.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How the World Names: Spain with Ignasi Fontvila

In this episode, Caitlin Barrett interviews Ignasi Fontvila about what makes naming work in Spain: - Spain’s linguistic landscape encompasses so much more than just Spanish - Spanish nickname culture and its impact on brand naming (we loved your name, Mr. Jeff) - The expansion of transgressive and ironic names - Ignasi’s own sources of creative inspiration Plus Caitlin guesses the meaning of the Catalan phrase “setze jutges mengen fetge d’un penjat” and gets one word right (not bad!). Want to go deeper? Read Ignasi’s report, What You Need To Know About Naming In Spain, along with all the other We Are Naming reports, right here: www.wearenaming.com/reports [http://www.wearenaming.com/reports] About Ignasi Ignasi started doing naming in 1995, as a creative director of Nomen Spain, while he was also teaching at the university. In 2000, he founded Nameworks, then joined Nomen again. In 2010, Nomen closed its Spanish office and Ignasi returned to Nameworks. In past three decades, he’s written, taught and lectured about naming. He has worked one more than 900 naming projects. About How the World Names Building on our “What You Need to Know About Naming in…” reports, How the World Names is a limited-run interview series that dives deeper into what matters most when naming across borders. Each episode spotlights a We Are Naming partner’s home market, unpacking the linguistic quirks, cultural landscape, emerging naming styles, and practical insights that shape brand names around the globe. For more information, visit wearenaming.com [http://wearenaming.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearenaming.substack.com [https://wearenaming.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]