With the presidential inauguration only a few days away, we’re about to see how good Barack Obama’s personal brand name really is. Why wait? Here’s a preview.
The ultimate Web 2.0 name?
My full name is Jacob Share. That’s it. No middle name, no first initial for a name I don’t like, just Jacob Share. Nevertheless, a few people have already asked me “is that your real name?”
It’s been suggested to me that I’m using “Jacob Share” as a pseudonym because I’ve been on the Internet since 1994, and I wanted to capitalize on the word “share” as a result of the social media explosion we call Web 2.0 (where everyone’s sharing with everyone else).
Truthfully, it’s not a bad name to have, but why would I make up my own name?
Although “Jacob Share” truly is my birth name, there actually *are* solid reasons to have made it up.
How my personal name has helped brand me
My name:
- generates curiosity
- is easy to remember
- is easy to spell
- looks good – most people love symmetry and my name is a pair of 5-letter words
- isn’t very common, usually spelled ‘Sher’ or ‘Scher’
- is amenable to clever uses such as when naming my company Share Select Media
- has a favorable message – as a friend of mine likes to joke, “Jacob shares with his friends”
Together, all these factors mean one thing: with all the messages that it conveys, my name helps get me positive attention, which is the whole point of a good personal brand.
But there’s someone whose personal brand name is even better.
Much better.
A great personal brand name: Barack Hussein Obama Junior
Once you get past all the “is he or isn’t he Muslim” talk, you’ll see that President-elect Barack Obama has a terrific name for projecting goodwill on a global scale.
Here’s why:
Barack means ‘lightning’ in Hebrew and is a fairly common male Israeli first name, leading to an instant rapport with Israelis and many Jews. However, the real root of the name comes from Swahili and Arabic for “blessed”, leading to another rapport with Arabs and some Africans.
Hussein is a popular name in Shiite Muslim culture coming from the grandson of Mohammed, Hussein ibn Ali. This creates an instant connection with many Muslims.
Obama means “crooked, slightly bending“. Although not really positive or negative, coming from the African Dholuo language makes this name resonate with Africans.
Junior or II - this is great – either of these can be used when most appropriate. The use of Jr. is very American, so Obama can use the Jr. when he wants to emphasize his Americanness. But since a ‘Junior’ means there was a ‘Senior’, a ‘II’ (i.e. Obama the Second) can be used to describe Obama in cultures that have a history of monarchy such as in Europe, making Obama look almost regal for them and very fitting as the head of a nation.
Conclusion
Half the world can relate to Obama through his name alone. For a person who has been branded as a bridge-builder, this is an amazing tool to have.
Next Friday I’ll discuss what you can do to improve your own personal brand name.
Author:
Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.
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Jacob,
I think you might be interested in this piece from the New Yorker, published just after the election. This piece offers a different take on Barack Hussein Obama’s name, and poses it as a challenge that needed to be overcome since many people don’t examine the origins of a name closely at first glance–but they do look at the associations.
The New Yorker piece suggests that–as a candidate–Barack Obama had a lot to overcome with regard to associations with his name (that “Obama” rhymes with Osama not necessarily a positive), and that he did it by being himself, on brand, consistently. Isn’t that what personal branding can be all about?
@ Chandlee – I think you forgot the link. Care to share?
Your MessageYes, and thanks for pointing out the “missing link”:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/11/17/081117taco_talk_hertzberg
Thanks for the link Chandlee.
It’s true that Obama’s name was a challenge that needed to be overcome during the campaign (I hinted at that with the line about “Muslim talk”) and that’s done! Outward-facing, this is one powerful name.
And you’re right, of course- Obama was successful in building his brand because he was able to reinforce it so well.
But now the real work begins, so we’ll get to see if it was just marketing or true blue authenticity.
Jacob, great post and loved your take on Obama, and thanks for “sharing” (I’m sure you get that a zillion times a day) about your own name. Your parents were obviously prescient.
Glad you liked it, Wendy.
Actually, my parents only chose my first name which means “will follow” or “will hold fast”. The Share name in our case was a result of Island-type anglicization, except that it happened in Canada.
Jacob, interesting post. I’m not sure that having a name that comes from a particular African language means that the name would resonate with more than people from that tribe. For example, if someone was called Smith, which clearly has a meaning in English, would that mean that the name resonated with Europeans, given the majority don’t speak English (at least as a first language).
@Francis – a lot of people from India have the last name “Patel,” which is recognized and respected by that group. Look at Neil Patel for example.
I appreciate your insight, too, Francis. Both you and Jacob express interesting thoughts and ideas about names. I’m looking forward to next week’s post as he explores this subject further. As a U.S. born Filipina, I have a very traditional Filipino name that doesn’t even fit on my social security card. To make things easier, I “Americanize” my name by using my first name “Maria Elena” and my husband’s last name “Duron”. (even with all that many believe that “Elena” is my middle name – which it is not). In fact, in the Philippines “Maria” is such a common name that it is often abbreviated as “Ma.” so I would write my name as Ma.Elena Duron. Cultural difference are fascinating and something I enjoy exploring in articles that I write along with exploring further culture in the hyperconnected world. Thanks for your thoughtful comments and Jacob’s thought provoking post.
Thanks for sharing your naming thought process, Maria.
As someone who has lived and worked in 4 countries spanning 3 continents, I also find cultural differences fascinating. I’ll touch upon them again in next week’s article.
It’s a good point Francis, but in this case you need to consider the context. Of course Luo tribesmen love that Obama has a name in their language but other Africans know that it’s an African name too, something unusual in the US.
Comparing between Europe and Africa is always complex. As a result of the abuse they’ve taken for so long, many Africans still feel proud out of seeing something of theirs do well. And why shouldn’t they?
This is a wonderfully thought-provoking piece, Jacob.
I’m not sure what impact my own personal brand name has but, with the combination of an English first name and Italian last name, at least it’s unusual. And hopefully memorable.
I didn’t have anything to add here but I enjoyed reading this, and the threaded comments make it easier to follow the thoughtful discussion.
Bug: in this very field, it says “Your Message” which I have to manually select and delete unlike the Name/Email/URL. When we click in here, “Your Message” should disappear.
Have a delightfully personally branded day. ^_^
[...] most people, that group of words is simply their birth name. If your birth name is Barack Hussein Obama Jr. that might be good enough, but there are some cases where an improvement is desperately [...]