It can be very tough creating new names for new entities and ideas, especially if you need to find that perfect name to increase the customer appeal of a novel product. Naturally, familiar names and rhyming combinations tend to be the go-to picks because of their accessibility and how memorable they can be when crafted well.
However, one naming convention that boasts a very special form of appeal is the portmanteau. Getting it right can immediately relay the premise of this original entity and get some recognition for creating a clever name. While acronyms tend to be associated with modern word creation, there’s certainly a modern art to the portmanteau.
What is the Pulling Power of the Portmanteau?
There’s nothing quite as catchy for a new word or brand name as a well-constructed portmanteau. You take two words, push them together, and come out with a new word that instantly showcases the mashup. All of the best portmanteaus instantly tell you what the entity is based on the recognisable parts of the new word.
Artistry is required to deploy a good portmanteau, though. It’s usually down to slicing the first part of one word onto the second part of the other. Both of these parts need to be distinct enough within their own original words to still be recognisable or inferable when bound together in the portmanteau.
As is described by Lewis Carroll on the word “slithy”, there are two meanings packed into this one word, here being “lithe” and “slimy”. It’s also notable that ‘portmanteau’ itself is a portmanteau from the French ‘porter’ (to carry) and ‘manteau’ (cloak).
Then, there’s the almost immeasurable or unquantifiable need to create a portmanteau that has a certain ring to it. The term needs to sound natural and, preferably, be fun to say. If it’s an awkward blend or one that has too many syllables, it likely won’t stick as you’d hope it should.
Portmanteaus the Modern Way
You rarely need to look far to spot commonplace words that are portmanteaus. In the business world, some have landed so well that they’ve forged categories all of their own. This is even the case in the storied sector of casino gaming. The game selection has been relatively unchanged for centuries, but now, you can go online to play slingo.
Slingo combines the gameplay of slots with the format of bingo. The term, as you’d likely assume from the outset, takes “sl-“ from “slots” and –“ingo” from “bingo,” which are the two more recognisable elements of those well-known terms for this sector. To flip the artistry here, clearly, “blots” wouldn’t work or have as much appeal.
Around this very recent portmanteau creation, you’ll find many other day-to-day workings landing very well. Motel, smog, brunch, workaholic, mockumentary, docuseries, podcast, glamping, hangry, vlog, and webinar all perfectly capture exactly what the entity is and have moulded a portmanteau that fits well within our lexicon.
The portmanteau is the holy grail of creating a name for a new product or entity. Where this new thing is a combination of other things – as most innovative creations tend to be – then a portmanteau should be the first port of call.
