GERALDO, PHILIP K.

GERALDO, PHILIP K. sounds like a law-firm or consultancy name, with the personal identity left front and center instead of hidden behind a slogan. By our assessment, that gives it dignity and a certain trustworthiness, which is exactly why professional services keep using this kind of naming. The cost is clarity: without outside context, the name does not tell a stranger what line of work is actually on offer. In practice it is formal, a little stiff, and very dependent on the person’s reputation to carry meaning. It sits in the classic surname-led lane rather than the modern descriptive-brand lane, and the office door is doing more of the talking than the name itself.