Marc Cross Brands™ — London & Global
Brand Naming Agency in London — Hospitality, F&B and Lifestyle Brands.
Distinctive, Memorable, Market-Ready
We create compelling brand names that stand out and stick, built to connect with your audience, define your category and grow with your brand.
The Brand Naming Process
Our approach turns your brand goals into distinctive, future-ready names — grounded in strategy, shaped by insight, and built to resonate for years to come.
-
We begin by defining your brand’s purpose, audience and naming criteria — setting a clear brief that aligns every name with your long-term vision.
-
We explore distinct naming territories that reflect your positioning, tone and ambition — from evocative and emotive to clear and functional.
-
Original, insight-led name options are developed — each crafted to be distinctive, meaningful, and aligned with your strategic direction.
-
Together, we evaluate and refine the strongest contenders — ensuring each name resonates creatively, commercially, and culturally.
-
Names are screened for domain availability, clarity, and potential cultural issues — so your brand can move forward with confidence.
-
Each name is brought to life through sample messaging and rationale — helping you see its potential across touchpoints and storytelling.
-
We offer clear advice on how to progress your chosen name through trademark screening and legal protection.
1. Discovery & Naming Territories
Every strong name begins with clarity. In this stage, we take the time to understand your brand’s story, audience and market before defining the strategic foundations behind the naming work. Through discovery, we identify the themes, values and verbal cues that will shape the creative direction. We also outline naming criteria so we are aligned on what the name should communicate and how it needs to work across different markets and touchpoints.
By grounding the process in strategy, we create clear territories to explore. These territories guide the creative approach, ensuring that every idea is purposeful, relevant and aligned with your long-term ambition.
2. Naming Exploration & Shortlist
With the direction set, we begin exploring a wide range of naming ideas. This stage includes creative brainstorming, linguistic exploration and structured ideation across multiple territories. The outcome is a curated longlist of names, each crafted with meaning, usability and brand fit in mind, accompanied by clear rationale.
Through collaborative refinement, we reduce the longlist to a focused shortlist. Each option is evaluated for clarity, tone, memorability and alignment with your brand strategy. The result is a shortlist of names that feel distinctive, ownable and capable of supporting your brand as it grows.
3. Viability Checks & Selection
A strong name must work both creatively and practically. Before final selection, we carry out early-stage checks to assess viability. These include preliminary trademark screening, domain availability, social handle checks, linguistic considerations and competitor reviews. This helps highlight potential risks and ensures the name can be used confidently across key markets.
We also share examples of how the name can appear in messaging or brand language, helping you envision how it will live day to day. Once the name is chosen, we support you with next steps such as storytelling, tone of voice and how the name feeds into your visual identity.
“Marc didn’t just create a name, he captured a whole brand world. Wandr is short, memorable and perfectly reflects our spirit of travel and adventure. The process was thoughtful and strategic, and the name has already connected strongly with our team and customers in Dubai.”
Anki - Founder of Wandr
HOSPITALITY, F&B, RETAIL, BEAUTY, WELLNESS, FASHION, TECH.
HOSPITALITY, F&B, RETAIL, BEAUTY, WELLNESS, FASHION, TECH.
The Right Name Changes Everything.
Your name is the starting point for how people understand, remember and talk about your brand.
We help you find a name that feels distinctive, meaningful and built for the future.
Recent Brand Naming Projects:
Wandr — Building a Bold Wraps-to-Go Brand Identity in Dubai
A bold, punchy name capturing the spirit of travel, flavour and freedom. Created for Wandr, a new wraps‑to‑go concept in Dubai, this lifestyle‑driven QSR brand was designed to resonate with Gen Z and Millennial food lovers.
Brand Strategy & Positioning / Brand Naming / Visual Identity
Sipside — Brand Strategy, Naming & Visual Identity for a Coffee Shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Creating the name and visual identity for Sipside, a lifestyle-focused coffee shop in Jeddah crafted as a social hub for young locals and families. Inspired by the Red Sea and warm coastal vibes, the brand fuses relaxed energy with vibrant, story‑led design.
Brand Strategy & Positioning / Brand Naming / Visual Identity / Brand Messaging & Voice / Brand Experience
Mixala — Brand Strategy, Naming & Visual Identity for an Experimental Masala Chai Tea Concept
Mixala is a playful new masala chai brand blending culture, creativity, and bold flavour twists. We partnered with the founders from the ground up — shaping their strategy, name, identity and packaging to help turn a kitchen-table idea into a standout brand with national ambition.
Brand Strategy / Brand Naming / Visual Identity / Packaging Design
FineWise — Brand Strategy, Naming & Visual Identity for a London Tech Startup
We created the full brand for a London-based tech company transforming how road fines are managed through a smarter, real-time digital platform. Our work spanned strategy, naming, identity and digital design, resulting in an innovative, trustworthy brand ready to scale across the UK.
Brand Strategy & Positioning / Brand Naming / Visual Identity / App UX Design / Marketing Strategy
Book a Free 30-Min Brand Discovery Call
Fill in the form below and we’ll be in touch within 24 hours — or you can book instantly in the next step.
FAQs
I’m always happy to answer questions on the branding process during an introductory call - but in the meantime, here are answers to some of the ones I’m asked most often.
-
Our naming service covers strategic direction, territory development, longlist creation, shortlist refinement and early viability checks. You receive a set of names crafted with meaning, clarity and long-term usability in mind.
-
We begin by understanding your purpose, positioning and audience so the naming work is grounded in strategy. This ensures every option feels relevant, ownable and aligned with the story your brand wants to tell.
-
Most naming projects take between two and four weeks depending on scope and decision-making pace. The process is structured and collaborative, giving you clear visibility of progress at every stage.
-
Yes. Many clients come to us with an existing name that no longer fits their direction. We can refresh, refine or replace your name while protecting any equity you want to retain.
-
We offer two naming packages. The Core Package includes a longlist of around fifteen names and a refined shortlist of three, supported by early research and rationale. The Complete Package offers a longlist of around thirty names and a shortlist of five, along with deeper research to help you choose the strongest and most viable direction.
-
We carry out early-stage viability checks, including preliminary trademark screening, domain availability, social handles and similar name reviews. This helps highlight potential risks before you move to formal protection.
-
Our approach blends strategy, creativity and real-world practicality. We focus on names that sound good, read well and work across digital, verbal and international contexts, giving you a name that can scale with your brand.
-
We ask for any relevant background information, existing brand materials, future plans and preferences. If you do not have formal documents, our discovery session will uncover everything we need.
-
Yes. We can support you with brand story development, tone of voice and early messaging so the name is introduced clearly and confidently across your brand.
-
Yes. Although based in London, we work with brands across the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Europe and beyond. Our naming process is designed to support teams working across multiple markets.
Discover Our Branding Services
From strategy and naming to visual identity and consultancy, we help hospitality, F&B and lifestyle brands create distinctive identities that stand out in London and beyond.
