As a person, your name identifies you as a unique individual. When you introduce yourself with both your first and last name, it sets you apart from others who share the same first name. In social settings, after the initial introductions are completed, the naming convention usually reverts to your first name. It’s simple and easy to remember. But if you were sitting around a table, and everyone had the same first name, how would you set yourself apart?

Likewise, how would people react if you were to introduce yourself with a string of four or five names? Hi, I’m Alan Edward Daugton Walter Singles. Would they remember all of them? Would they get the order of the names correct if they were to introduce me to a potential client? Would their eyes glaze over, wondering when the names would end? And would one of the less conventional names stand out from the other more standard names?

A name is one of the most significant ways in which we identify companies, and it serves as a tent pole for the development of a corporate brand. If your law firm’s name is long and difficult to remember, it could diminish the overall value of your brand. If it sounds like other law firms, your brand may become muddled among the other similar firm names.

A Long Problem 

Long law firm names historically go back to the establishment of a firm by its founding partners. Being a founding partner meant your name went on the letterhead and was engraved on the glass doors. It was the brass ring for an attorney. It let people know you were prominent within the firm and in charge. No one messes with a named partner. When the receptionist would answer the phone, she would rattle off a laundry list of names before the caller could get a word in edgewise.

Today, times have changed. Single and double-name firms are in. Larger firms tend to be going to the single name where smaller firms often go to two names. And dropping the ampersand is a good idea as well. While the “&” often was used for a visual accent, it disrupts the flow of the firm name. Without it, the name becomes more cohesive and streamlined. This allows the visual brand of the firm to take prominence. And with the business world’s dependence on technology, a single or double-name firm is a necessity. Nobody wants to type in a long URL for your website, email address, or Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

In addition, a shorter name for the design of your law firm logo allows it to be remembered, recognized and used without visually reducing it into obscurity. One or two prominent names goes a lot further than a series of names that are all the same size and impossible to use in today’s digital world of social media and responsive website design.

Writing it Down 

Shortening a law firm name can be a difficult process for younger firms where the founding partners are still alive and practicing law. But ask yourself, when clients refer to your firm, do they stop after the first (or possibly second) name? Do the attorneys and staff refer to the law firm with an abbreviated name? Most often, I suspect the answer is “yes.”

To determine the best name for your firm, hire a brand specialist, someone who will talk to your clients and ask questions about your firm, how it is perceived and what sets you apart. This exercise can help you pave the way for your rebranding efforts, but before you adopt the first one or two names as the official firm name, you need to ask yourself:

• Are those names unique enough for a strong law firm brand?
• Is there another name out of the group that has more staying power or is more uncommon? 
• If you go with two names, what combination of the names will flow the best to become the front name of the firm? Is one long and one short, or are they both similar in length
  when stacked?

This is not about the importance of the attorneys whose names are in the group; it’s about creating a brand for the law firm’s identity and being competitive among other firms in your market area. It’s putting business before vanity. I can understand the positions of the named attorneys on the door. They worked hard and invested their hearts and souls into the firm. But putting egos aside, competing in today's law firm market requires putting the firm’s needs ahead of one’s own. It is the right thing to do so your firm can grow and compete to become a forerunner in your market area.

By streamlining the firm name, you develop a memorable visual identity. You move from a string of names to a brand represented by an impressionable word or noun. In the end, you will be elevating your firm’s presence within your market, thus allowing other aspects of your law firm branding to shine through. The rewards outweigh the sacrifice.