Some of the foremost articles covering the subject of great business names state “The best names are typically the most risky, different, unusual and rare. Often these names have nothing to do, and at the same time, everything to do with their relevant businesses...”.
A popular article in the Huffington Post, entitled “The Best (and Worst) Business Names” highlighted some of the most fundamental reasons why certain companies chose their names, and the success behind them.
“I have to think that Google has become one of the most famous names of all time. It is based on a word, googol, which has real-world meaning (10 to the power of 100).” Many speculate this was the number of searches Google intended growing to in its initial business plans.
Accenture
“The new name for Andersen Consulting, derived from the phrase ‘accent on the future,’ captures the pioneering spirit of this leading IT consulting firm. The name is ‘strong, sellable and pronounceable’. The name has a story to it, which is always compelling.”
PayPal
“A hugely successful brand that’s had little marketing or promotion behind it, PayPal puts a softer, friendlier face on the payments business.”
“It’s a great name because it’s quirky and fun to say. It’s also extensible in that people think of twittering like a bird, which ties in with their logo. It’s a huge plus when you can reinforce your name visually or graphically through things like your logo or even the way the letters fit together.”
After scouring many of these and other articles on the subject, the co-founders of Turrito Networks embarked on a search for the name of their company.<
“We were looking for something quirky, different and somehow related to what we do as a business,” explains one of the co-founders. “Our initial list was far too long to mention, but I’ll give you a few examples, and the reasons they were not chosen.”
Some names we tried
- Tamaraw - A rare dwarf buffalo found in the Philippines... It was an interesting name, and that’s were it ended.
- Empty-N – Being a ‘Virtual Network’ this was a spin on having an ‘Empty’ Network... That was maybe a bit too cheeky, but would have been great for cold calls.
- ElohSA – A good acronym for ‘Extensive Link Operation Holdings South Africa’, but ElohSA was problematic when read backwards.
- Google – It was already taken, but we were getting desperate.
The co-founders explain, “Eventually we came across the word ‘resorb’ – the method of re-absorbing biotic cellular matter, as done by a rare immortal jellyfish originating in the Caribbean, known as the Turritopsis nutricula. We had to google biotic cellular matter, but once we understood what this meant, the choice was obvious.
“An immortal jellyfish, with tentacles reaching out like a network, floating freely (between service providers) and with no physical backbone (but rather that of other networks) ... Turrito Networks was born. Quirky, different, the name is rare, but since the jellyfish never naturally dies, it’s extremely common in our oceans. Aside from being called Burrito Networks by customers familiar with the Mexican dish, the name was well received with customers enjoying the background of the immortal jellyfish as well as the design it bore.
“Within the Turrito Networks logo, the jellyfish tentacles form the infinity sign, which references the immortal nature of the sea jelly. The corporate identity colours are ocean blue and deep teal. We also had, at one time, a live Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish in our office, but it died. Apparently you still need to feed them.”
Welcome to Turrito Networks – exceptional service, for a very long time!