Naming seems simple: pick a word that sounds good. But naming is about building something people can recognize and trust. It is a balance between what matters to you and what makes sense to people who will use what you build.
We have delivered plenty of client work over the years. But our own products are where naming has mattered most. So far we have three, and each one taught us something different.
When the name is the message
Asetena Pa was our first. It is a media platform across lifestyle, tech, education, and opinion. We wanted a name that reflected what we were trying to do, so we settled on “Asetena Pa,” Twi (Akan) for “good living.”
Outside Ghana, it is just a sound. But the goal was never to stay inside one dialect. The goal was to take something local and turn it into a brand with meaning beyond a literal translation.
- Accepting the name would not be instantly understood by everyone
- Committing to build brand meaning over time
- Letting the work make the name memorable
Asetena Pa took us around three weeks. At the time that felt long. Looking back, it was quick.
The name becomes what you make of it.
Invisible is not an option
Sronu was harder.
In Ewe, the phrase behind “Sronu” means “to study” or “to learn.” Like Asetena Pa, it does not signal much unless you speak the language. For everyone else, it is a name they must remember.
We started with obvious options like “BECE Prep.” That describes the product, but names like that disappear in app stores. For Sronu, memorability had to be the center.
Invisible is not an option for some products.
It took more than a month of dead ends and trade-offs:
- Too generic - clear but forgettable
- Hard to pronounce - difficult to share by word of mouth
- Already taken - no usable domain or handles
- Not memorable enough - no clear identity
When we landed on Sronu, it was a quick consensus. It was pronounceable, available, and rooted in a local language without being limiting.
When the name is the front door
myPathway.app was simpler, and that is instructive too.
SHS students enter their WASSCE grades and the platform shows them the universities and programs they qualify for. The core concept was always “Pathway,” but top-level domains were unavailable. We ended up with mypathway.app.
For content platforms, a less-than-ideal domain is often manageable. People still discover through search. For a mobile app, the name is usually the front door.
For a mobile app, name is the front door.
What we know now
A name does not need to explain everything on day one. It needs to be pronounceable, memorable, and available enough to build on. Then the real work starts.
Asetena Pa is growing into a platform people return to. Sronu is growing into the JHS learning app we hoped to build. myPathway.app became more than a domain workaround. Future products will bring new constraints, but the target remains the same: meaningful, pronounceable, and memorable.
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