What Is in a Name When Its Meaning Changes?
By Fiona van Iersel
Minerva Empowerment
Brand Management
11 July 2026

A brand name can stay exactly the same while its meaning changes around it. That is an awkward challenge for a service business: the owner may still hear the original intention, while a new customer hears something quite different.

Take the word “holistic.” One person may understand it as looking at the whole situation. Another may associate it with a particular kind of treatment or philosophy. Neither interpretation tells us reliably what a specific business actually provides. The name needs context.

An emotionally meaningful name creates another tension. Naming a practice after an animal that inspired its founder could provide a lovely story. But a stranger searching for help does not know that story yet. They first need to recognise that they have found the right category of service.

I like combining the two jobs: a distinctive name alongside a clear descriptor. The memorable element gives the brand a personality; words such as “veterinary rehabilitation” or “mobility and hydrotherapy” explain the offer. The founder story can then unfold after the customer arrives.

That is the balance I would test with people who have never encountered the business. What do they think it does? What would they search for? Which words reassure them, confuse them or suggest the wrong service?

The story creates memorability. Clear language reduces the work of understanding. A strong name should help both happen.

References

Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity.

Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building Strong Brands.