A name is usually chosen by a small group, in one language, in one city. If the business sells across India or abroad, the name will be spoken by people with different first languages, typed on different keyboards and searched in different ways.
Many naming projects test only with the team and a few friends, who share the same language and context. Those people are the least likely to spot a problem that will matter elsewhere.
Check the meaning
A neutral word in one language can be awkward, rude or comic in another. Before a shortlist is final, ask native speakers of each relevant language what the name sounds like and suggests.
Across India that may mean several regional languages, not only Hindi and English. Abroad, it means the languages of each export market.
Check the sound
Some sounds do not exist in every language, and people substitute the nearest one they know. A name that depends on such a sound may be spoken several ways and remembered in none. Ask people from each market to read it once and say it aloud.
Listen too for names that sound close to an existing brand in that market when spoken. Two names can look very different on paper and still be confused on a phone call.
Check the spelling
A name heard in a conversation or on the radio still has to be typed into a search bar. If there are several reasonable spellings, customers will find a competitor or nothing. Say the name to someone and ask them to type it.
Check how the name survives in email and web addresses as well. Spaces, accents and special characters are lost there, and what remains has to still make sense.
Check how it looks in other scripts
If the name will appear in Devanagari, Tamil, Arabic or another script on packaging or signage, write it out early. Some names transliterate cleanly, while others become long or ambiguous. It is far easier to learn this during naming than during packaging design.
Check what it becomes when shortened
People shorten names they use often. A long name may be cut to initials or a nickname, and the short form can carry its own meaning in another language.
Ask what customers in each market would naturally call the brand after a few weeks. If the likely short form is awkward, it is better to know now. Sometimes it is better still to choose the short form deliberately.
