4.06.2017

what's in a name

For years we have wanted to have our own horse related brand name. You know, something like " _________ Appaloosas" or " _________ Quarter Horses". We got as far as deciding we did not want to designate one specific breed, so that left us with this for a name " _________ " !!!!

Without being in the horse business, and no relatable physical location of our own, naming ourselves didn't really make sense. The whole idea got put on hold. No fun logo designing for me, and no embroidered matchy-matchy apparel for us. Bummer!!


Now that we have land, the whole naming idea has since resurfaced. For some reason, coming up with our name is my job. Guess that's the price you pay for being dubbed "the creative one"!  I've been doing a lot of thinking, googling, observing - and I still can't figure a name out!!


We decided to wait, something will stand out with the land. Right??! If you've read earlier land posts, you know at least one unusual prickly thing. 


There is ton's of info on how to name, naming generators, tips on naming, and ways to come up with variations on the internet. 


I looked into how to create branding combinations (as in ranch brands), the history of the town, the native americans that were here before us and unusual features in the area. I even looked into words in spanish (my heritage). There are nearby roads with really cool names, and a nearby creek, that would have made great horse property names. We ended up with a boring plain road name, and no creek. Sigh.

This is what I learned about the name game:

Ideally you want a combination of two or three of these things: an adjective, an attribute, and type of place. A descriptor of sorts. Who you are, what you do or where you are. 


Some things we've discover about our land, mixed together with a few of our intentions:

Possible adjectives: Wild, Windy, Rolling, Sandy


Possible attributes: Pines, Cactus, Oaks, Horse related words


Possible type of place: Farm, Ranch, Homestead


The names we've liked so far, are all taken. Go figure. I won't bore you with my long "taken" list. I really liked "Wild Cactus Ranch" but it is a pretty prominent bucking bull breeding ranch in Texas. We are not really wild, nor into cactus. Guess it's just not for us. 


My hubby doesn't like warm & fuzzy names, doesn't want to use our last name, or my studio name, and isn't into cute or funny names. Who is the difficult one now?? Ha ha!!  

What's in a name?? A lot of indecision. So much that I wrote this post five months ago, and never published it. The name topic has resurfaced at home, and in blogger land. 


Farm names are very visible at Horse Fair, which is in two weeks. It will be a constant reminder of our lack of nameability. There are things we look at and leave saying "when we have our ranch name"...we do have a few contenders, none that we all like. Maybe something will come out eventually, that feels right, or maybe we shall remain nameless.


where I stand
76/365 ~ photo challenge

8 comments:

Shirley said...

We are Diamond Lazy H Quarter Horses- our brand and a tip of the hat to what used to be a business for me, raising quarter horses.
Find a name that speaks to your soul- since you don't have a brand or a former name for your property. Maybe Rambler's Rest, Harmony Ranch, something along that line. It will come to you!

aurora said...

I sure hope so...I don't want to pick a name just to have one, but it may end up that way. The challenge is finding what speaks to both us of. Nice suggestions :)

Grey Horse Matters said...

I'm terrible at naming things. Just ask my kids. My daughter named our farm Glenshee Farm , she took the name from a place in Scotland where the first ancestors were found in her genealogy search. I'd never have thought of that.

Maybe with the pines you could do something like Whispering Pines , Majestic Pines or Tall Oaks to describe the trees.There was a farm around here called Lone Pine Farm that went under. I'm no help, but I'm sure something will come to you one day and you'll say That's It! Until then try and stay "Relatively Stable"!

aurora said...

I am not very good at naming things either (hence the post) there is something so final about it. Whispering Pines was one of my first & favorite names, apparently a lot of other people like it too. The trees are definitely a very special part of the land, where the cactus are a novelty. More like a nuisance. Unless people are from the area, no one believes they grow wild on our property. We will figure something out eventually, until then I'll try to "Stay Tuned"!

Mrs Shoes said...

Relatively Stable' hahaha, that's a name for you right there!
I think the right name will come to you, if you force it then you may never be quite satisfied with it.

C-ingspots said...

Our little farm/ranchette has always been called "C-ing Spots Appaloosas". Of course, we aren't all Appaloosas anymore, but there's still spots to be seen. :) And our horse shoer's place is called "Distracted Acres". Don't try too hard, something will come to you.

aurora said...

If only I couldn't try too hard Lorie, I am my own worst enemy!!

Sherry Sikstrom said...

I was hoping I would think of something to suggest, but total blank! No help at all. I am sure it will come to you when you least expect it. I know mine was easy simply because the area we live in is the old site of Fern Valley School, and a few other links to the name. I scooped the name because luckily my dad registered Fern Valley farms years ago and here at least has proprietary rights to similar names (and he let me do it )