The Name Game

TIMES STAFF WRITER

What’s in a name?

For public companies in California, it was Datathis Inc. or Datathat Inc. back in the 1980s, when virtually every garage-based high-tech company was seemingly sprouting into a major publicly held company.

In the feel-good ‘90s, try “For Better Living” or “Excite Inc.” There’s the bubbly “Affymetrix.” And don’t forget the friendly “Hello Direct Inc.” or helpful “Edify Corp.”

Here’s a lighter look at some of the names for California’s current crop of publicly held companies:

Most California sounding names:

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.

Aura Systems Inc.

Most Southern California sounding names:

Pico Products

Westwood One Inc.

Hollywood Park Inc.

L.A. Gear Inc.

Least insecure names:

Brilliant Digital Entertainment

Good Guys Inc.

Peerless Systems Corp.

Superior Industries Inc.

State of the Art Inc.

Hot Topic

Most insecure names

Failure Group Inc.

Zero Corp.

Most enthusiastic names:

Yahoo! Inc.

Yes! Entertainment Inc.

Most ambivalent name:

Guess? Inc.

Least ambiguous name:

Coherent Inc.

Friendliest name:

Hello Direct Inc.

Hold your head high name:

Dignity Partners Inc.

Names that sound most like characters in “Spartacus.”

Conceptus Inc.

Conductus Inc.

Documentum Inc.

Maxis Inc.

Film Roman

Name that sounds most like an old Mel Brooks movie:

The Producers Entertainment

Name that sounds most like the ad slogan for an old Sinatra Rat Pack movie:

Dames & Moore

Name that sounds most like a movie rated NC-17:

Excite Inc.

Names that sound lost:

Las Vegas Entertainment

Valley Forge Corp.

K-Swiss Inc.

Grand Havana Enterprises

Names that fail a computer spell check:

Read-Rite Corp.

Reddi Brake Supply Corp.

Align-Rite International

STAAR Surgical

Names that are hard to argue with:

For Better Living

Healthy Planet Products

Company that sounds ready to split in two:

SciClone Pharmaceuticals

Good names for Scrabble:

XXSYS (22 points)

Xiinx (19 points)

Xytronyx (28 points)

Xillinx (22 points)

Names that make you wonder why there’s no I2 Inc. or L2 Inc.

J2 Inc.

K2 Inc.

Names that add up to 151

3-D Systems

3Com

3DO

99 Cents Only Stores

WD-40 Co.

S3 Inc.

“Hi, I’ll be your waiter today” names. Garden Fresh Restaurant

Cheesecake Factory

Most likely to get voicemail when you call name:

On Assignment Inc.

Most outdated name three years from now:

20th Century Industries

Most in-shape names:

Triathlon Broadcasting Co.

Jenny Craig Inc.

Authentic Fitness Corp.

On a first-name basis:

Barry’s Jewelers Inc.

Jerry’s Famous Deli

Harvey Entertainment

Frederick’s of Hollywood

Craig Corp.

Name that comes from a 67-year-old teenager:

Dick Clark Productions

Most presidential name:

Kennedy-Wilson Inc.

Least presidential name:

Dole Food Co.

Company with the name everyone is most sick of:

Simpson Manufacturing Co.