Before there were so many vegetarians, the expression was, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” If you’re trying to name a company or a product, there are, in fact, a lot of ways to go.

If you talk to a trademark attorney, he’ll tell you that there are two types of names: descriptive and fanciful. That’s the way a lawyer looks at it but you wouldn’t ask a lawyer to name your company. So we’d like to take off the straitjacket.

Yes, descriptive and fanciful are the two big phyla, but we’d like to get a little more into the weeds and look at all the species.

So far we have come up with 25 different types of names and we’re still working on it. We have also come up with what we feel are some good examples within each class.

This is not an analysis, we’re not talking pros and cons. We’re just trying to let you know that if you’re naming a company or product, you’re on a pretty big playing field.

Types of company and product names:

Poetic: Names that paint a picture or roll off the tongue:

–> Bumble and bumble / Lonely Planet / Lululemon

High class gibberish: Where do they come from? An ancient dictionary? Outer space?

–> Kodak / Zynga / Xerox

Derivative: Almost something you’ve heard of:

–> Nespresso / Arc’teryx / Zappos

Initials: The easy way out:

–> KFC / BMW / ESPN

Acronyms: Initials that you say instead of spell:

–> Asics / SAAB / RAND

Interesting letters: Letters that go above and beyond:

–> TCHO / RAV-4 / THX

Descriptive: Just get to the point:

–> Airbus / VitaminWater / Whole Foods

Part descriptive, part fun: You might as well have some fun along the way:

–> Juicy Couture / Mighty Leaf / Big Gulp

Americana: Names that awaken feelings of patriotism:

–> Baby Ruth / Dixon Ticonderoga / 76 Gasoline

Into the wild: Nature as powerful inspiration:

–> The North Face / Puma / Wolf Ranges

Someone special: The man, the myth, the legend:

–> Tesla Motors / Jack Daniels / Newman’s Own

Suggests the solution: What’s in it for me?:

–> Kryptonite / SubZero / 5-Hour Energy

Exclamation: Something to get excited about:

–> I can’t believe it’s not butter! / Yelp! / Buzz Off!

Daring: Not for the faint of heart:

–> Obey / Virgin / FCUK

Adrenaline: Get your motor running:

–> Stingray / Speedo / Full Throttle

Literary/historical: Align yourself with something powerful:

–> Starbucks / Big Bertha / Rosetta Stone

Mythical: A lot to live up to:

–> Nike / Pandora / Hermès

Foreign-feeling: Implied sophistication: “The croissants taste so much better in Paris”:

–> Clinique / Häagen Dazs / Tazo

Place names: Names that take you somewhere else:

–> Patagonia / Poland Spring / Hidden Valley Ranch

Name as statement: Names that are on a mission:

–> Forever 21 / Citizens of Humanity / Live Strong

One letter off: You’re so 2.0:

–> Flickr / Zillow / Vimeo

Made-up people: Pure invention with a dose of reality:

–> Green Giant / Dr. Pepper / Captain Morgan

Remember when: Names that feel like they’ve been around for a while:

–> Banana Republic / Berkshire Hathaway / Crown Royal

Back to basics: Everything else is so complicated:

–> Origins / Simple Shoes / Country Time

Latin class: Veni, vidi, vici:

–> Ex Officio / Novartis / Aquascutum