What significance or intrinsic value does a name hold is a question one can ask of anything – be it a person’s name, the name of a town, an object or even a business.
Throughout history names have carried weighty implications and symbolised lineage, status, and societal expectations.
As for lineage, consider the names given to you, your siblings and others in the extended family, which are often those of living or of deceased relatives such as grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.
Royalty, religion and culture also play a role in name giving.
Kings, queens and tribal leaders bear the names of their ancestors, and in turn popes and bishops bear the names of their predecessors or religious icons.
I know many and even have friends who have been given biblical names by their parents.
Names such as Moses, Ephraim, Abel, Benjamin, Levi, Ester, Abigail and Ruth among others.
In a cultural context it is not unusual for children to be given the names of revered leaders or named for historical significance and notable historical occurrences.
As for status, it is not unusual for some parents to name their children after people of rank and standing in a community.
Two of my brothers bear the names of the doctors who delivered them into this world – medics of standing in our village at the time.
The saying ‘What’s in a name?’ features in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
In the play, Juliet expresses her love for Romeo, asserting that his family name, Montague, is inconsequential to their love for each other, despite the raging feud between their families.
As illustrated above, the saying ‘What’s in a name?’ has implications beyond its Shakespearean roots, and can be applied to business too.
A striking example of business names are those of shebeens in Namibia’s northern-central regions where I have been working over the past weeks.
Descriptively hilarious names I saw included Time Out, Try Again, E-wallet Bar, Carbon Dioxide, U-turn, Think Again, Every Day Is Friday and Zama Zama Bar, translated into English as ‘Try Try Bar’.
I couldn’t help but wonder what motivated the owner, presuming it’s a woman, to name her business Fanny Resting Bar.
Entrepreneurs will often choose the family’s name for their business, believing it helps to shape perceptions others will hold of their business, reflecting their family values, professionalism, quality workmanship, ethics and the esteem in which they are held in the community.
Examples of global enterprises named after the family who founded the business include Johnson and Johnson, Ford Motor Company, Porche, Tata Motors, Dell Technologies and Cargill incorporated.
Here in Namibia, we have the Pupkewitz Group, Ohlthaver and List, Woermann Brock, Metje and Ziegler, the Indongo Group and Wecke and Voigts, among others.
Several of these Namibian enterprises, like many of the international ones, are still majority owned and managed by the founders’ heirs.
It is not unusual for entrepreneurs in Namibia to use their children’s names combined with the family name for their businesses.
The ones we come across routinely in our work will fill two pages of The Namibian.
So, the next time you come across a business name, don’t view it as just another name – ask the owner what it really means.
– Danny Meyer is reachable at danny@smecompete.com
