What’s in a name?

How important was a name for our new company? How would we find a name that expressed our true character? With so many names out there, it was important to us that we crafted a name that was competitive and helped us stand out from the crowd. A name that would serve to give us an advantageous position and help us stand out in an increasingly competitive textile ecosystem in an aggressive market. 

When thinking about a naming of any kind, whether plant, fish, heterocyclic compounds or those based on kinship circles or even government number naming systems like national identity cards in Kenya, I often hark back to a phrase by William Shakespeare. In “Romeo and Juliet” there is a famous query, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (2.1.85-86). Here, he alludes to fact that a name given to that which is appealing, is but a name and will not affect the appeal it radiates. However, we beg to differ and trust that names hold a lot more than we frequently credit them. They can exude a notable part of an entity’s social identity.

We wanted a name that passed the scrutiny of Africaness, hoping that after careful inspection by the various publics who would interact with it, like the Africans of yore, laid bare before the village for scrutiny at birth, our name would be found to pass the test and be declared African enough.  

We opted to follow industry advise. The name we picked was to be distinctive, easy to spell and phonetic, hence easy to pronounce. A name that resonated with its target audience, who had distinct requirements when it comes to that which was acceptable to them. Unfortunately, all did not go as planned. We did not have the luxury of time or money to assess ideals. How could we really know if our name was… decent, respectable, suitable? We elected to go with our gut feelings. We figured that with our combined experience, we could make a semi-educated guess, and with lots of luck, it just may suffice. 

Having already decided that our design ethic would be dictated by that which was African, we naturally went with an African name. Since our base of origin was East Africa, we chose to use Swahili which is a hybrid East African language evolved from a blend of Bantu and other languages from around the Indian Ocean. That worked for our local and international outlook. The name would also be recognised throughout the African Region as Swahili has since spread to the rest of Africa. We then decided to go descriptive, engineering a name that described what we intended to do. The experience and look we intended to deliver. This name had to carry us if we chose to diversify within the industry, as such, we could not be too specific. It also had to be as short as possible and roll of the tongue when spoken by an African. We clearly understood that though we could not cater to all citizens of the planet earth as far as pronunciations went, however, we would endeavour to avoid using tongue twisters.