The Best Business Names Let’s Begin With B

It’s said that the best business names start with the letter “B.”  But, you don’t have to take our word for it.  Recently we came across a great article which promotes the virtue of “B” based business names.  First have a read and we’ll share our thoughts on the matter below.

*Be sure to check out the bottom of the article for some updated thoughts from the Brandings team.

Bbbbbbbbbelieve it or not, the best business names begin with “B.”  Well, that’s according to naming expert Susan Purcell anyway.  Susan Purcell, states that Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes weren’t just memorable because of their bright brilliant brushwork.  Instead, Ms. Purcell states, the success is at least partly based on the bold choice of a “B” based business name.  As we’ll discuss, “B” based names grab attention.

That got our team thinking, how many businesses or products can you think of that start with the letter “B?”  We came up with quite a few.  At least six of the top 100 companies in the US last year (2009) start with “B” and there are even more products.

Why so many “B” based business names and product you may ask?  One reason may be, that people may project feelings of “trust and dependability” onto “B” based names.  Furthermore, the letter “B” is an explosive which tends to be more memorable but, more on that later in the blog.

However, you don’t just have to take it from the Team at Brandings, check out the article blow and decide for yourself.  Also, start looking around you and see how many “B” based names there are.  We suggest you Blog about it, on your BlackBerry from the local, Bed, Bath & Beyond!

Bold washing powder, Bounty kitchen towels, Brillo scourers, Bosch, Breville and Braun appliances, a Britax water filter and a Bodum cafe.  So many things in the kitchen, the hub of the home, begin with the letter B.

The Best Business and Brand Names Beginning With the Letter ‘B’

The companies probably don’t realize it, but the letter B is very appropriate for household appliances and other goods.  In its earliest incarnation B was synonymous with ‘house.’ Our (Latin) alphabet adapted the Greek letter beta, but the ancient Greeks got the letter from the Phoenician alphabet, where it was called beth. Beth means ‘house’ in Semitic languages (Bethlehem literally means ‘house of bread’ and bethel means ‘house of God’).

The Phoenician alphabet developed from Egyptian hieroglyphs.  And, the ancient Egyptian symbol for house was a rectangle with an opening representing the door or K37 entrance. Over time, the straight lines of three sides of the rectangle, gradually softened into curves.  Later, the line depicting the door gradually split the shape into two.  This results in the capital B we know today. Much later, Roman scribes began missing off the top section of the capital B to give a lower case b.

Washing powder and other kitchen products are pretty ordinary items, and B is a pretty ordinary letter.  However, it begins six of the top 100 brands of 2009 according to data from Interbrand (BMW, Budweiser, BlackBerry, BP, Burger King and Burberry).  About six per cent of ordinary English words begin with the letter B, so it is neither over- nor under-represented in the list.

B often signifies second-rank, as in B-movie, B-road and B list.  But, research studies have found that consumers are more likely to see products beginning with B as trusty and dependable. B is an plosive consonant, a reference to the way the letter is articulated. 

When letter B is articulated, air builds up in the mouth and is then released forcefully all at once. You cannot make the sound B last for a long time, as you can the sounds M or S (which are not plosives). Plosives are generally considered powerful sounds and in a 2003 paper in the Journal of Advertising, academics Lowrey, Shrum and Dubitsky discovered that brand names beginning with a plosive consonant were more memorable.

Better “B” Based Business Names:

To get to the bottom of “strong letters” some members of Brandings Team have reading books on Phonetics.  According to the dictionary, Phonetics is “the system of speech sounds of a language or group of languages.”  One concept that stuck with our team is, some letters need more air to be vocalize than others.  The letter “B” is one of those letters which needs more air than most.

The letter “B” is literally bursts out of the mouth with air emanating straight from the lungs.

This is relevant to our blog in that, the letters which need this extra air, are considered strong letters.  This appearance or believe of strength is than transferred onto the business or product starting with said letter.

Our team would love to hear your thoughts on the matter of strong verse week letters.  Do you believe that the best business names start with “B?”  Do you believe that “B” based business names sound strong?  Heck, we’d love to hear from you even if you disagree.   Love them or hate them, either way, let us know by posting your thoughts below.

Lastly, we’d love to hear any comments you might have on this or any other “Blog” for that matter.  We’ll also gladly take your ideas for future blog subjects.  Sometimes our team runs out of topics to discuss, and suggestions from our readers, spark our writing imaginations!

Please also let us know if you are interested in any of the available business names starting with b.