Curacao, Schloß Nymphenburg, Thuringia - mehr als nur Orte : über die Verwendung von Ortsnamen in Markennamen

Toponyms not only identify places, they may also gain considerable economical relevance as (part of) brand names such as Curacao for a liqueur or Löwenbräu München for a beer. Consumers are supposed to transfer the positive associations evoked by such place names onto the product. In this paper, a collection of 345 German brand names registered between 1894 and 1994 and containing a toponym are analysed with respect to the motivation for including this particular place name, to the way it is linguistically integrated in the brand name and to the interrelation between these two features. The chronological evolution of the motivations and the influence of the respective product classes are analysed as well. It is shown that toponyms are a highly efficient instrument for the creation of brand names, handled with great precision by their creators, as well as a mirror of the sociocultural, economical, and even political history of the society the respective brand names are designed for