You have made a decision to establish your own language school? Cool, congratulations 🙂 You certainly already have the vision, business plan and you implement it step by step. Or perhaps you are in the process of rebranding or opening a new branch? Regardless of what state you are currently at, eventually every owner faces the dilemma of choosing a perfect name for their language school.

And this is where we are often stuck for longer. Building and reinforcing a brand is an extremely important process, both for a new school and for one already present on the market for a long time. To distinguish yourself against the competition, it is extremely important to root the school’s image deeply in the awareness of the consumers. The elements of outmost significance here include among others a legible logo (we already wrote about designing the school’s logo here) and an easily recognizable name. This is why today we will go through 7 steps needed to create a perfect name for your language school 😉

1. Be original

Most people associate the process of selecting a school’s name with formality – and often quite an unpleasant one. But this is the name that people will associate your school with in the first place, so the selection is extremely important. A perfect name is one that is easily remembered and untypical enough to attract the attention of your potential students. A good example is the name „Curry Up”. As you can see, simplicity defends itself, both on the plate and in the naming. The name is a combination of the words „curry” (the name of an Indian dish) and the English expression „hurry up” („hurry!”). After all, the name „bistro” comes from the Russian „fast”. Clever!

2. You can make the first impression only once

Exactly! It is one thing to distinguish yourself, and to bring about a proper association is quite another matter. A well-chosen name should in itself bring good associations, without any need for explanations or clarifications. The basic aspect matters here: the name, motto, and logo should make up a coherent whole. If we use in the name a word that automatically brings a specific association (e.g. a lion = force and courage, a stork = maternity), we must be consistent. We do not combine a turtle with a brand that is supposed to be associated with dynamics or speed of learning. We can see a perfect use of this relationship on the example of an obstetrics center in India which is named „Stork Home”.

In the case of language schools, a perfect example is the Spanish language school named Langusta. The first part is an abbreviation from language and the second one is an inflection of the Spanish verb gustar meaning like. At the same time, they make up the name langoustine, (langusta in polish) a well-known crustacean which Spain is famous for. Win, win 🙂

3. Less is more

Another extremely important tip we should remember; it is not by coincidence that it found its way into the top three. We need to remember that the chosen name is going to stay with us for long, for better and for worse. It is very tempting to be guided by current trends and fashion. If this is perfectly OK in visual identification, the name should remain classic and timeless. We can see that on such examples as e.g. cult Pepsi name.

4. Think in long-term perspective

Think about the profile of the activities of your company today and what it might become in 5 years’ time. You take your first steps in the industry, so today you focus e.g. on online teaching. And this is perfectly alright! But think what if the courses successfully and the demand starts to grow. Perhaps you will extend your offer with stationary courses for companies? In such a situation rebranding may prove to be quite a bad idea. Not only you will change a name for the renown of which you have been working for so long, but you will also put yourself at risk of unnecessary expenses. There have been many such cases on record. Take an example of the well-known to everyone company named Drutex (the name comes from the Polish word for Wire), which presently sells windows and doors.

5. Less is more

Do not complicate life for yourself and others. If the top of the worst names includes those that bring about bad associations, they are closely followed by those we are unable to pronounce. If pronouncing is a problem, remembering the name will be an even bigger one. Using foreign-sounding words is perfectly OK. But we need to remember that potential students need to be able to pronounce the name without knowing a given language. We may derive inspiration from Sony. The name comes from the Latin word sonus, meaning sound. It was selected exactly because it can be easily pronounced in many languages. This is extremely important for schools whose students come from various countries.

6. Do not repeat

Try to avoid the most popular expressions used for the creation of names in your industry. If you come from a small town, where competition is relatively small and you operate locally, you can afford using popular expressions. But in bigger cities, there can be really a lot of English language schools starting with „British…”. Before you decide on a specific name, it is worthwhile checking whether there aren’t a few similar schools in your neighborhood. It would be a pity if another school with similar name took advantage of many years of your hard work.

A valuable tip! Remember to check whether a given name has not been already reserved as a trademark in the Patent Office (EPO/USPTO). You yourself may also take such step. This will help you to secure your brand and avoid unfair competition in the future.

7. Make haste slowly

At the moment when you opt for a specific name, give yourself some time so that the decision matures in your head. Analyze the selected name carefully in terms of phonetics and symbolism. Is this a name you want to identify your company with? Not always something that seems to us a good idea at a given moment, will prove to be one from the perspective of time. The best idea is to post the name in a visible place and familiarize yourself with it for a few days. Only then you will be certain it is the one and only 🙂

BONUS

Just for you, I prepared types of names with a detailed description of which one best matches the profile of your activities. Do not forget to check which name is perfect for you!






I hope that the above article will help you create the perfect name and inspired to be creative. If you remember some original brand or company name, let us know in the comments! 










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