# Naming Taxonomy Reference (11 Types)

Shared reference used by Phase 2 (classifying competitor names + declaring
no-go zones) and Phase 3 (generating candidates across types). Kept in one
place so both phases see identical definitions.

| # | Type | Definition | Examples |
|---|------|------------|----------|
| 1 | Descriptive | Literally describes function | Hotels.com, Whole Foods |
| 2 | Suggestive / Evocative | Evokes feeling, not literal | Netflix, Gatorade, Amazon |
| 3 | Invented / Coined | Pure new word | Kodak, Xerox, Häagen-Dazs |
| 4 | Metaphorical | Borrowed concept | Apple, Nike, Impossible Foods |
| 5 | Real word out of context | Existing word, new category | Orange (telecom), Square, BlackBerry |
| 6 | Compound | Two words joined | Facebook, YouTube, DoorDash |
| 7 | Portmanteau | Fragments fused | Pinterest, Instagram, Microsoft |
| 8 | Greek / Latin root | Classical morphemes | Pentium, Vercel, Verizon |
| 9 | Founder | Person's name | Ford, Disney |
| 10 | Acronym | Initial letters | IBM, BBC, 3M |
| 11 | Misspelled / Truncated | Deliberate variant | Lyft, Flickr, Tumblr |

## Notes on classification

- A name may blend types (e.g. Vercel = Greek/Latin root + invented). Pick
  the dominant type for taxonomy tallies; annotate secondary type in notes.
- Founder and Acronym are almost never generated from scratch in Phase 3 —
  include only if the brief explicitly calls for them.
