Often, when a company has landed on a name, they turn to outside experts to validate whether it’s the right long-term choice. That was the case with De Beers’ working name, Origin. Though the name had already gained strong internal support, the brand brought in River + Wolf to explore a broad creative landscape—a smart and strategic application of naming expertise.

We welcomed the opportunity, developing ideas around three core themes: earth, intimacy, and revelation - all, at the client's request, without any reference to De Beers or the De Beers Group. 

Knowing the high trademark risk associated with simple, one-word English names, we focused on invented and compound alternatives, ultimately generating over 30 moderate-risk contenders. These included Terraform, Wildheart, byNature, Deep Song, Origin Story, Lumador, Source Code, and Revelan - each capturing a unique facet of the brand’s mission.

In the end, however, as often is the case with a placeholder name the team returned to Origin. However, in the U.S., the name was already in common law use across multiple gem-related businesses, including those dealing in diamonds. And in India - another key market - names such as Origin Quartz, True Origin, and Pure Origin were already registered. 

To help clear a path for co-existence and strengthen legal defensibility, the addition of distinguishing words, in this case, “De Beers Group” would be necessary. The decision to pair "Origin" with "De Beers Group" was a wise choice, making it possible for the group to stay with an already much loved name.