Background:

As namers, we often are naturally biased to putting too much emphasis on the name itself, rather than its logo and usage in branding. As linguists, we carefully analyze a name to see how it will sound on the phone and how people will read it from the email, long before they possibly see it in use. But this time, we are forced to show how common words can become classy, and classy words can be come average, simply through their usage.

Of course, this all ties to branding, since a brand is a promise of an experience. And anyone who has visited a Restoration Hardware store knows they have taken home fittings and furnishings and made them very classy. So by extension, their brand name becomes classy. Even though from a traditional English language point of view their name alone is not as classy as Ace Hardware say. And we all know Ace Hardware is also a good name, but they are hardly classy Aces. Two hardware companies. Two common names. Two very different brand positions. A win win for all.

See more details at Restoration Hardware.