--- title: "Brand Naming Examples: Google, LEGO, IKEA and What to Copy | Mandato Blog" description: "Three real brand naming examples, Google, LEGO and IKEA, how each name was made, and how to check your own name before you use it." url: https://mandato.agency/blog/brand-naming-examples/ last_updated: 2026-10-25 language: en --- Blog · Brand Naming Agency # How Google, LEGO and IKEA Got Their Names, and What That Teaches You By [Mohd Suhail](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohd-suhail-0077951b6/) · 25 October 2026 · 6 min read ![Cover image for How Google, LEGO and IKEA Got Their Names, and What That Teaches You](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/cover.jpg) Looking for brand naming examples before you name your own business? This guide looks at how three famous brand names were made, Google, LEGO and IKEA, using what each company says on its own website, and the method you can copy from each one. Each example uses a different way to build a name. One plays on a word, one shortens a phrase, and one joins initials. After the examples, you will see how to check that a name is free to use before you print it on anything. ## What makes a good brand name A name is the part of your brand people say out loud. It sits next to your logo, your colours and your voice, so it is usually chosen early in a [brand strategy project](https://mandato.agency/branding-agency/brand-strategy/), before the design work starts. A good name tends to be: - **Easy to say and spell:** people should be able to type it after hearing it once. - **Short:** it fits on a sign, an app icon and a social profile. - **Distinct:** it doesn't sound like another business that sells the same kind of thing. - **Open to grow:** it still works if you add new products or move to new countries. - **Free to use:** nobody else has a trademark for it in your field. Most names fall into a few types. Some describe what you do. Some are made-up words. Some borrow a real word with a new meaning. Others are built from initials or from a phrase in another language. The three examples below cover three of these types. ![Google's results for brand naming examples, led by an AI Overview that shows famous brand logos and sorts brand names into types, starting with descriptive names.](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/google-results.jpg) Searchers want real names sorted by the way they were built. Screenshot: [Google Search, results for "brand naming examples"](https://www.google.com/search?q=brand+naming+examples&hl=en&gl=us&pws=0), taken 25 October 2026. ## Example 1: Google (a play on a big number) [Google's own story page](https://about.google/our-story/) says the company started at Stanford University in 1995, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin met. Their first search engine was called Backrub. It was then renamed Google, and the page explains that the name was a play on the mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google Inc. was officially born in August 1998, the same page says. The name tells a short story. A huge number hints at the huge amount of information the search engine wanted to organise. It is also short, easy to say and unlike anything else in search at the time. **What to copy:** look for a word linked to the idea behind your business, then bend its spelling or meaning until it becomes your own. A name that hints at your purpose is easier to remember than a plain description. ![Google's Our story page, which tells how Larry Page and Sergey Brin built a search engine called Backrub and then renamed it Google.](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/google-our-story.jpg) Google tells its own naming story on its About pages. Screenshot: [Google, Our story](https://about.google/our-story/), taken 25 October 2026. ## Example 2: LEGO (two words from another language) [The LEGO Group's history page](https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the-lego-group-history) says the company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. It explains that the name LEGO is a shortened form of two Danish words, "leg godt", which mean "play well". The name holds the brand's promise, but in only four letters. People outside Denmark don't need to know the Danish words to say it. Over time, the name has come to stand for the toy bricks themselves. **What to copy:** write down the promise of your brand in a few words, then try shortening it, or try the same words in a language that matters to you or your founders. Say every result out loud, and check that it sounds right in the countries where you plan to sell. ![A three-step diagram showing how the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning play well, was shortened into the four-letter brand name LEGO.](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/lego-name-flow.png) LEGO packs its brand promise into four letters. Source: [The LEGO Group, The LEGO Group History](https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the-lego-group-history). ## Example 3: IKEA (initials and the places behind them) IKEA's page on [the meaning of the IKEA name and logo](https://www.ikea.com/ph/en/this-is-ikea/about-us/the-ikea-logo-history-and-design-pub55d85f50/) breaks the name down letter by letter. I is for Ingvar, the founder's first name. K is for Kamprad, his last name. E is for Elmtaryd, the farm where he grew up. A is for Agunnaryd, his home parish in Småland, Sweden. [The story of IKEA](https://www.ikea.com/global/en/our-business/how-we-work/story-of-ikea/) adds that IKEA was first registered as a trading company on 28 July 1943, when Ingvar was 17 years old. **What to copy:** initials can make a short name with a personal story behind it. The trick is that the letters must still be easy to say as a word. IKEA works because it reads as one word, not as four separate letters. ![IKEA's page on its logo and name, open at the Meaning section, which says what each of the four letters in IKEA stands for.](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/ikea-name-meaning.jpg) Each letter of IKEA stands for a name or a place. Screenshot: [IKEA, The IKEA logo, history and design](https://www.ikea.com/ph/en/this-is-ikea/about-us/the-ikea-logo-history-and-design-pub55d85f50/), taken 25 October 2026. ## Three ways to build a name, side by side The three examples use three different methods: - **Google** changed a real word that matched its idea. - **LEGO** shortened a phrase that holds the brand's promise. - **IKEA** joined the initials of the founder and the places he came from. All three names are short, easy to say and have a story the company still tells today. None of them describes the product directly. That leaves room to grow, which matters when a business moves into new products or new markets. If you are naming a new company, our notes on [branding for a new startup](https://mandato.agency/branding-agency/startup-branding/) cover what to decide before you choose. A name also has to work with the rest of the brand. Once you have a shortlist, sketch each one as [a simple logo you can test at small sizes](https://mandato.agency/branding-agency/logo-design/), and write it into the rules your team will follow, like the ones in our [real brand guidelines examples](https://mandato.agency/blog/brand-guidelines-examples/). ## Check the name before you fall in love with it A great name is no use if someone else already owns it. In the United States, the USPTO explains on its page about [likelihood of confusion](https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search/likelihood-confusion) that this is the most common reason it refuses to register a trademark. Two marks don't need to be identical to clash. They can be too similar in sound, look or meaning, or give a similar overall impression. The goods or services also count: they can be related if they are similar, compete with each other, are sold to the same buyers or are sold together. Before you settle on a name, check that: - No business in your field uses the same or a very similar name. - The trademark databases show no clash for your type of product or service. - The domain name and the social media handles are free, or close enough. - The name has no unwanted meaning in the languages of your main markets. ![The USPTO page on likelihood of confusion, which explains that similar marks for related goods or services are the most common reason a trademark is refused.](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/uspto-likelihood-of-confusion.jpg) Two names can clash even when they are not identical. Screenshot: [USPTO, Likelihood of confusion](https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search/likelihood-confusion), taken 25 October 2026. ## Search trademark databases in other countries If you plan to sell in more than one country, search beyond your home market. The [WIPO Global Brand Database](https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-brand-database) lets you search international trademarks registered through the Madrid System, along with trademarks from many national and regional offices. You can search by name, number, goods and services, or image similarity. WIPO added new national collections in 2026, including Paraguay in March and Peru in April. A free search is a first check, not legal advice. When a name passes your own searches, ask a trademark lawyer in your main markets to confirm it before you register the company, buy the domain and print the packaging. ![WIPO's Global Brand Database page, which lists the trademark collections it covers, including the Madrid System and national and regional offices.](https://mandato.agency/assets/img/blog/brand-naming-examples/wipo-global-brand-database.jpg) One free search covers trademarks from many countries. Screenshot: [WIPO, Global Brand Database](https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-brand-database), taken 25 October 2026. ## How to start your own shortlist Start with what your brand stands for, then write 30 to 50 names using the methods above: changed words, short phrases, foreign words and initials. Cut the list to five by saying each name out loud, typing it after hearing it once and seeing it on a phone screen. Check those five against trademark databases, domains and social handles, and keep the best two for a final test with real customers. Your name should match how the rest of the brand feels, from the [complete branding work](https://mandato.agency/branding-agency/) to the way one person presents themselves, as our [personal branding examples](https://mandato.agency/blog/personal-branding-examples/) show. If you would like help finding and testing a name that fits your brand, our [brand naming service](https://mandato.agency/branding-agency/naming/) can help. [Watch the video summary](https://mandato.agency/assets/video/blog/brand-naming-examples.mp4) Video summary: the six figures from this guide in 36 seconds, with no sound. Everything it shows is also written on this page. ## Frequently asked questions ### What are some good brand naming examples? Google, LEGO and IKEA are three well-known ones. Google plays on a word for a huge number, LEGO shortens the Danish words "leg godt" (play well), and IKEA joins the founder's initials with the names of his family farm and home parish. ### Where does the name Google come from? Google's own story page says the search engine was first called Backrub and was then renamed Google, as a play on the mathematical term for 1 followed by 100 zeros. ### What does LEGO mean? The LEGO Group says the name is a shortened form of the Danish words "leg godt", which mean "play well". The company was founded in 1932. ### What does IKEA stand for? IKEA says I is for Ingvar, K is for Kamprad, E is for Elmtaryd, the farm where he grew up, and A is for Agunnaryd, his home parish in Småland, Sweden. ### What are the main types of brand names? Common types include descriptive names, made-up words, real words given a new meaning, names built from initials, names from a founder, and names from another language. Many brands mix two of these. ### How long should a brand name be? There is no fixed rule, but short names are easier to say, spell and fit on signs and app icons. Google, LEGO and IKEA each have six letters or fewer. ### How do I check if a brand name is taken? Search for the name online, then search trademark databases such as the USPTO's in the US and the WIPO Global Brand Database for other countries. Also check domain names and social media handles. ### Can I use a name if a business in another field has it? Sometimes. The USPTO looks at both how similar the names are and how related the goods or services are. Ask a trademark lawyer before you rely on this. ### Should my brand name describe what I sell? It can help people understand you quickly, but it can make growth harder later. Google, LEGO and IKEA don't describe their products, which left room for them to grow. ### How many names should I come up with? Write a long list first, such as 30 to 50, then cut it down to five by saying, typing and checking each one. Test the best two with real customers before you decide. ## Sources - [Google: Our story](https://about.google/our-story/) - [The LEGO Group: The LEGO Group History](https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the-lego-group-history) - [IKEA: The IKEA logo, history and design](https://www.ikea.com/ph/en/this-is-ikea/about-us/the-ikea-logo-history-and-design-pub55d85f50/) - [IKEA: The story of IKEA](https://www.ikea.com/global/en/our-business/how-we-work/story-of-ikea/) - [USPTO: Likelihood of confusion (updated 30 November 2023)](https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search/likelihood-confusion) - [WIPO: Global Brand Database](https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-brand-database) [View this as a web story](https://mandato.agency/web-stories/brand-naming-examples/) Last updated: 25 October 2026 --- Mandato Agency · https://mandato.agency/blog/brand-naming-examples/ · hello@mandato.agency