A name should represent your company, your employees and the product its manufacturing. Of course, you can't just arbitrarily name your company.

When I think of "SilverFox Software" I see a company that produces games like Solitaire, Chess, etc... Slow games meant for old men (my dad plays Solitaire all day).
The second thing that bothers me about this name is the word Software right there. You're not making just any Software like Microsoft, you're making games. Your speciality is games. You should change that. A word like "studio" fits perfectly. A studio isn't a big place, but its connotations are various.

It is said that products coming out of a studio are often carefully polished and refined. Whenever an imperfection is found, the technicians will spend hours to fix it, until the product is perfect. Someone seeing that name should feel that. The feeling is important.

When I see SilverFox, the feelings aren't that great. Sounds boring too. It's like calling a heavy metal band "geezer".

A name should be short and simple.

Good examples are id software, 3drealms, epic games.

Choosing the right name for a company is a big step. I've had to do so a number of times, and each time is no less daunting a task as the one before. When you do finally decide on a name, you will also go though a natural process of acceptance, much like when you buy a car or make any other "big" or "life" decision. This process includes a reassurance stage -- you want to be reassured that you made the right decision. I'm getting the impression that this is the stage you're in now.

The first number of replies to your initial post are all very good, and very accurate. Simple is good. Descriptive is nice, but not necessary. Simple is good.

A couple of people have pointed out impressions the name gives, the post just above mine being the most graphic. It is all in the perception the name gives the reader/listener. More importantly, it is in the method in which you present that image. I tend to agree more with the earlier posts, specifically with what Vaipa- , Oluseyi, and Obscure had to say. "SilverFox" can have several connotations. Without knowing anything else about the company behind it other than its name, the image I am presented with is sly, cunning, slick, smooth, agile.... But everyone will have their own image, based on life experiences, as noted by iostream_corp. (His likening it to Solitaire isn't a bad thing, either...think about it...who DOESN'T play it?!? Again...perspective.)

Obscure covered my initial response to your question. While a good name is important, what's even more important is your branding. He makes a good case about the logo...the visual mark of your company. Simple, recognizable, easily reproducable. Consider branding as a broader concept, though. It's not the logo you're trying to brand into the consumer, it's the mental image and "warm fuzzy" people should get when they see the logo or hear the name of the company. Careful and aggressive marketing will be key in this. Put that logo on EVERYTHING!!! Repetition. Again...simplicity, also!

Again, iostream_corp hit another important aspect of the name. Going back to image, I agree with him on this point: "Software" gives me a "bland, generic" image of the company. "Stuidio", "Entertainment", or any number of descriptives would do much better in my mind. Don't be afraid to use unexpected or often overlooked resources. The phone book is a great place to start. See what others are using...while you might think it's being "the same", consider this: If it works, stick with it! http://www.m-w.com is an excellent source for researching names. The dictionary is handy for researching the roots and histories of common words, and is an excellent source of inspiration. The thesaurus is perfect for finding alternatives you might not have otherwise considered. Try a couple random name generators, too. You never know what you'll come up with. There's no rule that says you have to use a real word to name your company! (My current/most recent company name is a made-up word! The added benefit to this is...your .com is available! :))

Hope this helps.
Good luck on the new company!

Quote: Original post by iostream_corp
A name should represent your company, your employees and the product its manufacturing. Of course, you can't just arbitrarily name your company.

When I think of "SilverFox Software" I see a company that produces games like Solitaire, Chess, etc... Slow games meant for old men (my dad plays Solitaire all day).
The second thing that bothers me about this name is the word Software right there. You're not making just any Software like Microsoft, you're making games. Your speciality is games. You should change that.A name should be short and simple.

Good examples are id software, 3drealms, epic games.

What about ID Software that you mentioned?They also make games and they are one of the best in the world.Isnt it a contradiction?

You can put software title of course, since all games are softwares.There is nothing wrong with that.Also i think the longness, thickness, thinness etc is totally irrelevant for the name to be cool.Look at Black Isle studios (quite long when compared with Silverfox),Westwood studios (not a very cool name), but they are all successful companies that produced great work till today (well they dont exist today but this is a different subject of course).If you do a great job, no matter how long is your company name, it will be popular and we will memorize it.Even the public will create a shorter name to spell it easier (e.g MMORPG)No matter how cool is your company name, if you suck nobody will remember you.Just decide a name that is ok with you,the rest will depend on your success.(I found silverfox cool by the way).

hmm makes me wonder.

We recently got a name for our game programming group ( hopefully a company in the future but we will see )

Evokian-Studios

How does that sound to you guys ( not to mean to high jack thread but just wondering )


SilverFox Software sounds like quick networking software or somthink the like
SilverFox studios would be better.

One important point to point out since thise are very global matters mostly. Many diffrent countries imagine diffrent stuff for words.

Greetings Athos

Quote: Original post by Athos
Evokian-Studios

How does that sound to you guys ( not to mean to high jack thread but just wondering )

Makes me wonder what you're trying to evoke. It rings of a Slavic origin. I'm thinking snowy winters for some reason, also. Dr. Evokian/Dr. Kavorkian?
I actually like it (sans the hyphen between the words).

But since you asked for initial impressions, those were my most immediate. Is it made-up, or does it actually mean/translate to something?

Quote: Original post by Athos
One important point to point out since thise are very global matters mostly. Many diffrent countries imagine diffrent stuff for words.

Being an international organization, myself, I agree with that entirely. Foreign words can make excellent names for compaines, too!

Another suggestion (keeping on topic for the thread) I forgot in my last post was...combine words.

Quote: Original post by Azazeltr
What about ID Software that you mentioned?They also make games and they are one of the best in the world.Isnt it a contradiction?

You're right. I did contradict myself there.

I like the "ID" part of the name, not the "software" part.

It describes the kind of game they produce:
id: noun: (psychoanalysis) primitive instincts and energies underlying all psychic activity

Did they choose this name before(?) making Wolfenstein and Doom? Their first game was "Commander Keen" if i'm not mistaken... hardly anything about primitive instincts there.

Also the success of a company isn't based solely on its name :)

I have to agree with Xorrin Aarikis that choosing a name for a company is like buying a car and you keep asking yourself for a while if you really made a good choice. The problem I have with the name is I didn't choose and get forced upon accepting it and even though I try the best I can to get used to it I simply don't like it. At first I told them it would be cool to come up with a short name that gave an explosive impression something that sounded technologic, computer oriented, out of this world kind of name that could easily identify itself to games or interactive computer software/digital art creation. I wasn't expecting to be told the name was gonna be one of a forest animal and couldnt say anything about it cause it was 3 on 1. But then again it's true that the name of a company does not necessarily have to be related to the field of expertise in which it will going to do business in which widened the possibilties in which I could search and suggest for a replacement or actually get to like the name better. As for the name suffixes such as "software", "studios", "interactive", "entertainment", I always prefered studios because it looks more like a multimedia/artistic way of defining a company in my opinion but I'm sure there are more that I don't know about that may be also good suggestions or ideas.

With this reply I'm realizing that i'm showing frustration about the fact I didn't get a chance to decide the official name and dont seem to get taken seriously as far as "company" decisions go ... so maybe I should start a thread called "The ever growing frustration of Avenyr" :P I shouldn't be whining like a bitch but I'm also getting off topic of my own thread. Anyways eventually I'm going to ask for info on how to maintain a parternship company with the Do's and the Don't's.

You're replies are all very interesting. Continue posting your opinions, reactions and I'm doing my best to read it every time I get a chance and reply as soon as I can. ^_^

Again, good luck on the company.

My advice, personally, is if you really don't have anymore say in the matter, and what's done is done, and that is that...find the positive in the name, and learn to like it at your own pace. Soon, you'll find yourself identifying with it, and you'll wonder how you ever disagreed.

HOWEVER... I urge a very strong warning. 1) Try not to dwell on it. 2) Be mature and calm with #3. 3) Make absolute certain that your partners understand why you're not happy with it. 4) Be honest with yourself...is it the name you don't like, or the terms at which it was reached? That is what you want to convey in #3.

And this brings us to your new topic...about do's and dont's in a company... DO make sure everyone understands (in a civil manner) how you all feel about company decisions. DONT "let it go"...or you will find yourself taking the back seat on everything. That alone can collapse a company quicker than investing all your money in a rock-painting venture to raise capital for a space mission.

I've owned 5 companies before Kaydelon. All of them were quite successful. I've helped numerious people start their own (sole's, llc's, and corp's). I've also watched a good number of those collapse over the littlest things. But the common thread in each was...they thought it would get better by itself. You have to be honest, firm, and fair. Know when to conceede. Know when to stand your ground. If you don't like something that happened, voice it. Just don't wait around forever for it to get better on its own.

</end rant and other off-topic ramblings....see you in another thread>

Originally, we started with

Ethereal Darkness Interactive

which we think is a cool name, however we have decided to lean more to

EDI Games since it sounds more professional and doesnt contain words that might turn off other people, so basically Ethereal Darkness Interactive is our in-house game development group, and EDIGames is our public face-plate.

I think your name should either have words in it that are associated with 'good' things by the majority of people, or at the very least have a neutral, or no-meaning, to most people, such as EDI Games

My opinion, and how we got our name, is to just start working on stuff and forget the name. Then one night while watching the Sci-Fi channel it will pop into your head (POW!) :) That is what we did, and we love our name and have for the last 5 years.