By: Simon Woolford, Founder – SUM

One of the Most Strategic Steps – And Most Misunderstood

Naming a brand is one of the most deceptively simple parts of the process. It is also one of the most strategic. Especially in the luxury space, where tone, heritage, and nuance matter more than clarity at all costs.

At SUM, naming is never treated as a standalone exercise. It is an extension of brand strategy – a distilled expression of positioning, personality, and long-term ambition.

The wrong name can limit how a brand is perceived, priced, or extended. The right one sets the tone for everything that follows.

Editorial, Not Descriptive

In the world of luxury, naming often behaves more like publishing than packaging. The goal is not to explain, but to evoke. The strongest names in this space do not describe the category – they create their own context.

Consider the difference between a name that says what the product is, versus one that hints at what the brand believes. The former fits the market. The latter reshapes it.

This distinction matters, because in luxury, consumers are not buying functionality – they are buying belief. The name is often their first invitation into that world.

Think of Byredo. It does not describe scent. It sets a mood. Or Aesop – a name that draws from narrative and heritage rather than skincare efficacy. These names do not shout. They whisper. And in doing so, they hold attention longer.

Naming as a Strategic Signal

A well-chosen name does more than sound right. It signals point of view. It telegraphs attitude. And it sets the stage for everything that follows – from identity and tone of voice to product naming and collection structures.

This is especially true in sectors like fragrance, wellness, or fashion, where product architecture is complex. If the master brand name lacks resonance, the structure beneath it will struggle to hold.

It is why, at SUM, naming is tightly integrated with our broader brand strategy work. Because the wrong name – even if beautiful – can compromise everything that follows.

The best names are never just labels. They are boundary-setting tools. They define how far the brand can stretch without losing coherence.

The Process: What Naming Really Involves

While the final name may look effortless, the process rarely is. Naming work is high-friction by nature – emotionally charged, full of subjectivity, and deeply intertwined with ambition.

At SUM, the process typically unfolds in three stages:

Strategic grounding – clarifying the emotional and narrative space the brand wants to occupy.

Semantic exploration – researching, mapping, and filtering word sets that align with tone, heritage, and worldview.

Refinement – evaluating shortlisted names against visual identity, verbal tone, and market positioning.

It is not about brainstorming a clever word. It is about building a framework for meaning, then drawing names from that framework that hold weight.

Common Mistakes in Luxury Naming

We often see founders fall into one of three traps:

Over-describing – Names that try too hard to explain what the brand does. This is common in early-stage wellness or eCommerce, but it flattens the emotional depth luxury brands require.

Over-styling – Names that sound elegant, but lack meaning. These often do well on moodboards but fade fast in real-world use.

Overlooking nuance – Names that feel strong in one language but collapse when spoken aloud in another. Or names that carry unintended meanings across cultures.

All of these risks are avoidable – but only when naming is treated as a strategic act, not a creative sprint.

Global Reach, Cultural Nuance

Luxury brands now launch into global markets from day one. That means names need to work across languages, mindsets, and cultural sensitivities. A name that resonates in Paris may sound clinical in Dubai. A name that feels poetic in English may fall flat when translated.

This does not mean compromise – it means strategic depth. A good luxury naming agency understands where the line is between universal and specific. Between ownable and overreaching. The best names find that line – and make it part of the story.

Naming and Search Behavior

Increasingly, founders begin their journey by searching terms like “luxury naming agency” or “brand naming agency”. But these terms lead to very different types of partners.

Some firms focus on trademark clearance. Others on naming speed. Others on machine-generated word banks.

At SUM, we sit in the middle. We focus on narrative, strategy, and semantic alignment – but with a clear eye on brand building. The result is names that do not just sound good now, but continue to resonate five years on.

Final Thought

In luxury, names are not just names. They are narrative containers. Strategic assets. And creative boundaries.

They set the tone for brand architecture. They invite alignment. And they mark the beginning of a longer, more coherent story.

They deserve more than a quick brainstorm. They deserve time, tension, and rigor.

Because the best names do not follow convention.

They create their own.