Culture Archives

March 10, 2023 By Ali Sell

Moomins and the naming genius of Tove Jansson

Namers find inspiration in people, places, and things both far and wide. However, art and literature are often at the heart of our creative wanderings. The process, expression, and advice of great writers is like nourishment for our naming souls. For instance, Zinzin has written blog posts on Elmore Leonard, Jack Kerouac, and Don DeLillo and Jhumpa Lahiri, among others. With all due respect to those great writers, perhaps no one nourishes and inspires this namer more than one of the greatest writers and artists of all time, Tove Jansson.

Tove Jansson blew the lid off what it means to be a creative force in the world. She was an internationally acclaimed author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. There’s so much to cover when Tove Jansson is the subject, because her work is vast and varied. However, this blog post will focus on…you guessed it…names! And she created some fabulously fun ones.

February 6, 2023 By Ali Sell

Super Bowl LVII: Naming Rights vs. the Right Name

It’s that time of year, sports fans — the Super Bowl is almost here! If this Zinzin namer loves anything as much as naming, it’s sports. And on any given Sunday, the two align in glorious strategic formation.

The game plan here is to explore the topic of naming rights. Not so much the right to bear names, but the way corporations purchase the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of time. When it comes to the Super Bowl, to own naming rights is like a brand building blitz. But is it a practice that can last with price tags up to $700 million?

December 21, 2022 By Ali Sell

Top 10 words of 2022, according to Merriam-Webster

Gaslight (1944) - movie title — *Gaslight*, 1944.

Fellow namers and word nerds, have Christmas and Hanukkah come early? Merriam-Webster, America’s “leading provider of language information,” recently announced its top 10 words of 2022.

December 1, 2022 By Ali Sell

Holiday scents & nonsense: evocative candle names

Ahh, the cozy, inviting scents that fill our homes over the holidays — cinnamon, gingerbread, spruce, cedar, and…broken rosary, or old books?

Believe it or not, these are some of the holiday candle scents available this season. What does a broken rosary smell like, you ask? Apparently, it’s woody and floral (with a hint of Catholic guilt?), and it can be yours for $44.

Within recent years, scented candle names took a distinctly evocative turn. They went from being merely descriptive to evoking emotions, memories, and experiences. And as the holiday shopping season approaches, they’ll be everywhere. Traditional ones, like Yankee Candle’s basalm & cedar or peppermint pinwheels, are still around, of course. But Zinzin’s finely tuned naming noses sniffed out some doozies. So, let’s follow the holiday scented trail of this candle naming trend — will it wax or wane?

November 15, 2022 By Zinzin

Robin Hood: A brand name for the ages

‘Tis the season of giving, so we turn our naming spotlight on the one, the only, the legend: Robin Hood. This name is immediately synonymous with a heroic outlaw who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Aside from his affinity for Lincoln green tights, what Zinzin finds most extraordinary is how this character from ancient English folklore has endured in company and product naming well into modern times.

November 4, 2022 By Ali Sell

American brand names & Indigenous cultures: changing the narrative

The FX Series Reservation Dogs is changing the narrative.

Zinzin believes that language is alive and on the move. It’s like a living, breathing organism – always changing, morphing, evolving. Cultures change too, and names come and go over time. But some don’t. Why has one naming practice, in particular — brands named after different Indigenous cultures — lasted so long in America? And how is it changing? Let’s take a look at some American brand names derived from Indigenous peoples and cultures.

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