Eklavya v/s Ghost Rider

Last night I watched two movies. The first thing I noticed about them were their respective names. And then, I wondered which of the two names is better? (I can't help it, my hobby is analysing names.)

For this argument's sake, let's take our audience to be English-speaking. The people who don't speak Hindi and with little knowledge of Indian mythology will be unaware of the story of 'Eklavya'. For such people, 'Eklavya' will be little more than a strange sounding, hard to pronounce Indian name. For them, the name 'Ghost Rider' will win the day. For them, the story of 'Ghost Rider', the comic book hero will be an instant aid for brand recall. That said, 'Ghost Rider' will not make much of an impression on people from India. In fact, 'Eklavya' will triumph in the Indian mind for almost the same reasons 'Ghost Rider' will in Western minds. Both 'Ghost Rider' and 'Eklavya' are edgy, legendary characters in their respective societies. What does this little digscussion teach you about naming techniques? Simple. Keep the stories your target audience knows in mind and then think of a name that can draw on these stories.

Now let's assume for a moment, neither of the names had any back story. In such a scenario, which is the name that is likely to make a greater impression? Without a doubt, 'Eklavya'. Why? It's one word. It ends with an 'A'. It has a 'K'. It has a 'V'. It has stronger consonant sounds. Test it. It'll prove me right. The only thing 'Ghost Rider' has going for it is 'Ghost'. Sounds, stories, breaks...these are some of my faourite pings, when it comes to better brand names.

Incidentally, the above two movie names prove what I had to say about the seeming blandness of movie names. They don't have to be exciting. The stories these movies tell make for a far more intensive, packaged, rapid-fire brand experience than any of the things we conventionally know and buy as brands off store shelves.