In 1899, they used the name Brown Telephone Company. Brown is a good name - or at least UPS thinks it's good. In 1938, it became United Utilities. In 1972, it became United Telecommunications. In 1984, they became US Telephone. In 1986, they became US Sprint. In 1989, they became just plain Sprint. In 2006, they became Sprint-Nextel, and started calling themselves Embarq. Now, they're calling themselves, CenturyLink.

There are many reasons for changing your name. Many women - and some men - adopt a new surname when they marry, to reflect their changed circumstances. Native Americans typically had a number of names through their lives, as major events redefined how others saw them. Writers and actors adopt professional names, partly for marketing purposes - does "Marion Morrison" sound as manly as "John Wayne"? - and partly for reasons of privacy.

Paul Harvey Did It

Paul Harvey's real name was Paul Harvey Aurandt, the last name being unfamiliar and thus problematic for a radio performer, but his son goes by Paul Aurandt, as he is a writer. You can see his name in print, but on radio, if you hear "Aurandt", you might think "What was that last name?"

And sometimes you change your name when you're ashamed of it. Can you imagine the horrible life that Marina Oswald, wife of Lee Harvey Oswald, would have had under her original name? It wouldn't be fair to blame her for what her husband did, without her knowledge, consent, and assistance, though, would it?

When a company changes name, it can be because there's new ownership. Cindy Rowe is now Cindy Rowe Safelite, which in theory combined Cindy Rowe's reputation for quality service with Safelite's reputation as a major national brand. I wasn't impressed; perhaps they are just struggling to get their ducks in a row, but it appears to me that Safelite is milking the good will that Cindy Rowe built up.

Hiding From Your Crimes

But when a company comes up with an entirely new moniker entirely, doesn't that suggest that they're trying to hide from their past? I haven't done business with CenturyLink since the mid-1980s, and I don't intend to do business with them again. They almost merged with MCI, and that made sense to me; they are both companies with similar shaft-the-customer philosophies.

In a not-entirely-unrelated matter, I've decided I no longer want to do business with Blue Ball National Bank (a good bank with a fine reputation) which became Community Banks (a generic-sounding name and so-so commitment to serving the consumer) which became Susquehanna Bank (an anonymous name, with disdain for consumers.) When your bank joins the new-name-of-the-month club, beware!
Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
CenturyLink - Cindy Rowe - corporate names - Embarq - John Wayne - Marina Oswald - Sprint - Susquehanna Bank