Kodak is perhaps one of the best examples of a coined brand name. It was registered as a trademark in 1888, having first been used in 1887 as the name of a camera. I personally like the name because it is easy to pronounce with the same strong consonant at the beginning and the ending of the word and with pleasant vowel sounds in between. Since 1888, the name has been applied to hundreds of products produced by the Eastman Kodak Company. In 1920, Samuel Crowther of SYSTEM Magazine quoted George Eastman's explanation of the name's development: "I devised the name myself...the letter "K" had been a favorite with me -- it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter...It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with "K." The word, 'Kodak' is the result."
I list Kodak as one of the seven brand names I admire in the blog post, Seven Absolutely Brilliant Brand Names. Here is another blog post on brand naming.
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