U.S. partner Caitlin Barrett is joined by Sophie Gay, a naming expert from France and the co-founder of We Are naming, to discuss the intricacies of brand naming in the French market:
They talk about:
- Sophie's journey into naming and the founding of her agency, Namibie.
- Four major naming trends in France
- The rise of French-English hybrid names and their impact on brand identity
- Exploration of French cultural references in naming and their significance.
- Sophie's favorite name, Swile
Plus Sophie stumps Caitlin with the tongue twister, “Les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches.”
Want to go deeper? Read Sophie’s report, What You Need To Know About Naming In France, along with all the other We Are Naming reports, right here: www.wearenaming.com/reports
About Sophie
Sophie has over 20 years of experience in naming. She worked for the first naming agency in Paris as a Director.
In 2016, she founded Namibie, an agency specializing in Branding applied to naming & identity.Among her clients, both French and international, are Saint-Gobain, EDF, Dacia, Valeo and many others in France & at an international scale.
In 2020, she launched We are Naming, a collective of naming experts operating in more than 10 countries.
Holder of a Master’s degree in Communication and Literature, as well as diplomas in Philosophy, Sophie is passionate about words, verbal expression, and languages in all their forms.
“Every naming project holds a mystery. You can never predict the brand that will be created. Our profession is always a challenge — that of bringing minds to converge at a single point: a name.”
About How the World Names
Building on our “What You Need to Know About Naming in…” reports, How the World Names is a limited-run interview series that dives deeper into what matters most when naming across borders. Each episode spotlights a We Are Naming partner’s home market, unpacking the linguistic quirks, cultural landscape, emerging naming styles, and practical insights that shape brand names around the globe. For more information, visit wearenaming.com.
