Name That Business Round 1: Vote Names Off the Island (and maybe some new names on)

Dana Hunter

All right. It’s hammer time!

Today’s the last day I shall be at ye olde daye jobbe. Tomorrow, due to a technicality, I’m not self-employed. Then we’re going to Oregon for the weekend. And when I get back, I shall be working for the worst boss in the world:

Image shows a younger Misha standing upright with her front paws clutching a red sofa, mouth wide open and eyes glowing with rage.
Rage Cat aka Misha

And the second-worst:

Image shows me in a black cowboy hat, black sunglasses, and black jacket, leaning against a limestone wall and kissing a rock hammer.
Love my hammer! Photo Credit: Amanda Reese. Hammer credit: George Wiman.

And that means I shall have to have a business name. It will mostly be for the non-writing bits: the rocky gifts based on geologic puns, the endless stuff with my images upon it,

Now, some of you have already made suggestions. Some of you made lots of suggestions. Now it’s time for you to pit those suggestions against each other. Ruthlessly eliminate those which don’t meet your incredibly high standards. And, if new ones pop into your head, give ’em to me. This is an elimination round, but the competition is not yet exclusive!

All right, here’s the list. Cast your votes for the ones that make it to Round 2!
1. Tequila is the Bedrock

2. Rock On

3. The Rock and the Hard Place

4. The Rock and the Soft Place

5. Vucanovia, the Place for All Things Eruptive

6. Gneiss Schist

7. The World is Made of Rock

8. Tectónica

9. Sierra Madre

10. Las Entrañas de la Tierra (Earth’s Entrails)

11. Xisto

12. Granito

13. Marble

14. Pinatubo

15. Lava

16. Quartzo

17. Feldspato y Mica (the composition of granite)

18. Subducción

19. La Presea Azul

20. Thinking Outside the Rox

21. Thinking Inside the Rox

22. A Stone’s Throw…

23. Richter Sales

24. Kitties Rock!

25. Dana Rocks (or Dana’s Rocks)

26. Hunterite Accretions

27. Tequila Rocks

28. Dana Hunter

29. Sewing Unconformity

30. Geology Rocks!

31. Geoveras

32. Hunter on the Rocks

33. Lodestones

34. En Tequila Es Verdad

35. Sedimentary Sentiments

Image shows a penguin diving off an ice shelf, with a bunch of other penguins behind, appearing to push it into the sea. The caption reads, "Suvivor votes yet another off the island."

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Name That Business Round 1: Vote Names Off the Island (and maybe some new names on)

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19 thoughts on “Name That Business Round 1: Vote Names Off the Island (and maybe some new names on)”

  1. Peter the Mediocre
    1

    Of the ones in the list, I like “The Rock and the Soft Place” best, but “Sedimental Journey” and “It’s All Dana’s Fault” seem like possibilities.

    I hope you have a great time and make a gazillion dollars in the process.

  2. hexidecima
    2

    as a geologist, I personally like Gneiss Schist. But so many can’t even imagine how to pronounce it.

    I also like The rock and the soft place.

  3. Trebuchet
    3

    Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (An old Jayne Mansfield movie)

    Of those on the list, I think I’d just stick with your established brand, ETEV.

  6. coragyps
    6

    Gneiss Schist is far and away the best, but, like hexidecima says….

    And as much as I like to use Spanish salted into my English, I kind of agree with whoever suggested minimizing its use in a business name. If you were in Santa Fe or Mission, Texas that might be different – but you’re not.

  9. Trebuchet
    9

    I Lava Kitties?

    OK, responding to the original request, I’m voting the following off the island. Or iceberg.
    1. Tequila is the Bedrock

    3. The Rock and the Hard Place

    5. Vucanovia, the Place for All Things Eruptive

    8. Tectónica
    9. Sierra Madre
    10. Las Entrañas de la Tierra (Earth’s Entrails)
    11. Xisto
    12. Granito
    13. Marble
    14. Pinatubo
    17. Feldspato y Mica (the composition of granite)
    18. Subducción
    19. La Presea Azul
    26. Hunterite Accretions
    29. Sewing Unconformity
    33. Lodestones

    Note: I’ve probably messed this up. It’s surprisingly difficult to paste in a list and then delete only the items you like!

  10. Lithified Detritus
    10

    I like Tectónica, as well as Gneiss Schist, while recognizing the pronunciation issues with the latter. For reasons mentioned by others, I would steer clear of too much Spanish, and I would also caution against anything lengthy, or too clever, as you will get tired of it.

  12. movablebooklady
    12

    I like Dana Rocks because it has many meanings for “rocks,” as in “hard geologic things” but also “does many things in a spectacular way.” It also gets your first name out there regularly.

    What about “Hunter of Rocks”?

    I also like Tectonica (too lazy to do the accent), though many won’t understand it; it just has a nice mouth feel (umami).

    Best of luck all round.

    Lindig (of Lin Digs Books haha)

  13. sirhc58
    13

    As the nominator of #6, Gneiss Schist, you know where my sympathies lie. However I’d like to throw some love to:

    4. The Rock and the Soft Place

    26. Hunterite Accretions

    30. Geology Rocks!

    35. Sedimentary Sentiments

    Actually, all the suggestions were very good and inspiring. You’ve got a tough job, Dana! :D

  14. mzann
    14

    I personally like gniess schists. I wanted to suggest Rock Hunter but I guess I’m too late for that. Have you checked these names out to make sure you can use them ie they’re not copyrighted ? I think I’ve seen Rock On before with other things.
    I’ve been thinking of you today and hoping all is going well for you. Good luck on everything. You rock !!!

  15. katybe
    15

    I like

    5. Vucanovia, the Place for All Things Eruptive (mostly because of the strapline)

    16. Quartzo (because it also conjures up quarto, which will make it more suitable for selling your non-geological writings too)

    20. Thinking Outside the Rox (because I can’t resist a bad pun, and this one’s comprehensible to non-geologists too, so you’ll be able to capture beginners easier and suck them into more complicated geology puns later)

    22. A Stone’s Throw… (simple and catchy, as long as it’s not so simple and catchy that it’s been done before)

    29. Sewing Unconformity (I like this, but if you want the geology to be the main focus, and you don’t want two brands, it may not work to attract your key customers)

    30. Geology Rocks! (also catchy, will be great when this leads to your own tv show)

    32. Hunter on the Rocks (keeps the boozy sense of ETEV, without the linguistic barriers for selling, while also identifying you and your main business – clever)

    35. Sedimentary Sentiments (alliteration makes me happy, what can I say?!)

  16. Subtract Hominem, a product of Nauseam
    16

    8. Tectónica
    11. Xisto
    16. Quartzo
    18. Subducción
    19. La Presea Azul
    20. Thinking Outside the Rox
    22. A Stone’s Throw…
    25. Dana Rocks (or Dana’s Rocks)
    26. Hunterite Accretions
    28. Dana Hunter
    31. Geoveras
    32. Hunter on the Rocks
    33. Lodestones
    34. En Tequila Es Verdad
    35. Sedimentary Sentiments

  18. Peter B
    18

    I assume whatever name is selected will be the name on the store sign. Thus it should be short and easy to say and remember. Someone reporting a nearby fire should be able to say the store name after calling 911.

    2. Rock On
    22. A Stone’s Throw…
    23. Richter Sales
    30. Geology Rocks!
    32. Hunter on the Rocks
    Dana Hunter Proprietor (On store sign this is the second line)

    Of the 5 I like 30 and 32 somewhat more than the first 3.

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