Names and Naming Stuff

I am going somewhere with this so give me a moment.

Safeway is one of the strangest company names I can think of. Does that name really lend itself to groceries? It does now.  If you had never heard of it, you could easily guess it had something to due with security or an actual safe.  Over time business names and brands create a new definition in your head. You don’t think how the words have changed and shouldn’t really make sense.  Next time you are out and about look at names that you never really questioned.

RE/MAX?  Really, that is the name they came up with?  Dave Liniger is a smart guy but that is just a horrible name.  I chose to work there in the past because of their name recognition, which is about the highest you can find.    The name was defined by what was seen everyday in yards across America.  Exit Realty, which isn’t as big, has just as an odd name.  As time goes on I won’t even think of the word itself, just the brand. 

Nike, which I would guess when it first came out, people had to be trained not to pronounce it like Mike.  I knew my mythology characters and never heard of Nike.  How about WalMart?  Though Paris Hilton is not very aware of the commoners and where they shop, she was right to guess that it had something to do with walls.  Kinko’s could really be something else besides a priniting company.  The Mayo Clinic seems to be an odd choice but well respected. 

Zillow.com and Trulia.com are odd names but once you go to the site, the site becomes the name.  If I ask if, “Do you know anyone named Wendy?”,  most people don’t – though everyone know Wendy’s restaurant.  The name becomes disconnected from the original meaning.  Which is sets up my point.

Renaming streets does not honor someone for longer than a year or so.  When someone says Martin Luther King Blvd, do you think of an amazing leader or see part of the street in your head?  Each time you drive down it do you think of him or where your are going?  How much of an honor is it when his name is reduced to MLK so news reporters can give quicker traffic reports?

If it is to be an honor, the signs should be a different style so as to stand out with an image of some sort put up every few blocks.  Otherwise, just like the names above, the name we meant to honor loses it’s original reverence on long streets that creates a different meaning.  Even JFK Airport lacks the reverence that I think they wanted.  It just has hurried travelers trying not to miss their planes and pay $5 for a McMuffin. 

So should they be renaming streets to honor someone?  Probably not.  Waste of money and waste of effort for their goal.  It should be limited to buildings and parks.  It should be places people go to by choice, not a route that is mindlessly driven to work or school. 

If you do think of everyone that has a street, building, or park named in their honor as you pass by or enter, I would like know that I am completely wrong.  I would be very happy if I was wrong actually. 

photo via  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mvjantzen/116196294/sizes/s/