This website is still being edited. It may always be. - SID
A Naming Studio

We're two ADHD brains with 30 years of combined experience naming companies, products, and brands across SaaS, gaming, consumer, biotech, and AI.1

We see connections between things that have no business being connected. A 10th-century Danish king and your wireless earbuds. A Latin word for salt and your paycheck. A Nahuatl word for testicle and your breakfast toast.

That's not a creative exercise.
That's how we're wired.

We'd rename you too, if you'd let us.2

Words Matter. Yours will too.

Say HELLO! ->
^1In fairness, 4 of those years were spent naming things nobody asked them to name. - SID
^2They have, in fact, renamed things without being asked. Relationships were tested. - SID

Everything has a name.
Not everything has the right one.3

^3They've been saying this to strangers at parties for years. It has not made them popular. - SID

Things we've named: The Eiffel Tower. Machu Picchu. Slovenia.

Nah, just kidding.

We've named a hospital. We've named a condominium. We've named a massage chain (we were also named in their criminal proceedings).4 We've named internal tech tools. And we've also named our neighbor's very annoying pet parrot.5

But confidentiality is very tight with us. We don't name our clients.

You wouldn't want others to think you didn't name your own baby, would you?

^4They were cleared. Mostly. - SID
^5The parrot's name was Gerald. It was previously named Gerald. They renamed it Gerald. They maintain this was an improvement. - SID
WORDS APART

Bluetooth

958 AD

King Harald Gormsson united the warring tribes of Denmark and Norway. He was known as "Blatand" - Bluetooth - likely because of a dead tooth that looked dark blue.

1,038 YEARS LATER

Engineers at Ericsson, Intel, and Nokia needed a name for a technology that would unite warring devices - phones, computers, headsets - under one wireless protocol.

An engineer named Jim Kardach was reading a historical novel about Scandinavian kings. He proposed "Bluetooth" as a temporary codename.

It stuck.

A dead king's dental problem became the reason your AirPods work.6

Words Matter. Yours will too.

^6They tell this story to everyone. Baristas. Uber drivers. The person next to them on the plane who made the mistake of asking what they do for a living. - SID

Most people think naming is brainstorming in a room until something sounds good easy. We think naming is a seven-layer problem that most people only solve one layer of.

01The LandscapeWhat does this name need to survive?
02Audience ArchitectureWho is hearing it, and what is their brain doing with it?
03Sound ScienceWhat is this name telling you before you've processed its meaning?7
04The Cultural MinefieldWhat does it mean in the places you forgot to check?
05The Ecosystem FitHow does it perform where it actually lives?
06The Story TestCan it be told in one sentence and remembered after one hearing?
07Metaphysical Alignment (optional)Numerology. Vedic. Feng Shui. For those who believe.8

This is how we think. Every name we deliver has passed through all seven.

Words Matter. Yours will too.

^7They will talk about the Bouba-Kiki effect at any social gathering. Any. Do not ask unless you have 40 minutes. - SID
^8They believe. - SID

How It Works

You tell us what needs a name.

We disappear into a rabbit hole your brain can't reach.

You get the name.

The DIY

Our seven-layer naming framework, plus an AI tool trained on how we think. It won't be as good as us. But it'll be better than brainstorming in a Slack channel.

$99

We Name It

The price depends on how much thinking needs to happen before the naming starts. We'll tell you where you fall after a short call.

$500 - $5,000

The Full Build

Positioning before naming. Because naming without strategy is just expensive guessing.9

$10,000+

The Baby

Yes, we name babies.10 Etymological research, cultural screening, a curated shortlist with the story behind every name. Because Braxtyn ages like milk.

$500

^9The last Full Build took 3 weeks. They tell clients 4-8 weeks so expectations stay manageable. This is the only dishonest thing about them. - SID
^10They've named three babies to date. All three parents cried. They keep the thank-you cards in a drawer. They will not admit this is their favorite part of the business. It is their favorite part of the business. - SID

Tell us what needs naming.11

Hello!12
hello@wordsmatter.studio

Twitter/X · Instagram · LinkedIn

^11They mean it. They named a font folder last week. Nobody asked them to. It's now called "The Serif Wing." They were very pleased with themselves. - SID
^12They spent 45 minutes choosing the word for this button. - SID

on the next...

They attempt to explain why "Salary" comes from the Latin word for salt. A client questions Layer 6. Things get metaphysical.