The letter I is about the fourth most common letter used in English. That is because of the common suffixes -ing and -ion and because of the very common words it, is and in. When it comes to beginning company names, I is not such a popular choice. Just three of the top one hundred brands of 2009 in a list compiled by Interbrand begin with I -- IBM, Intel and Ikea.
Those three names show the reason why names beginning I are not very popular -- pronunciation. The I of IBM is said like eye, the I of Intel is pronounced like the vowel sound in the middle of the word bit and in Swedish the I of Ikea is pronounced like the ee of green, but different countries pronounce the name differently.
Most European languages pronounce I the Swedish way (as in green or eat), but that is not the typical English pronunciation. Only words in English that have come from other languages, such as clique, pizza and piano, pronounce the I the European way. This means that non-English-speakers will pronounce the first syllable of names such as InWear or Ice Cool as een and eess. Will this be a problem for you? If so, don't choose a name beginning with I.
The capital letter I is the simplest of all letters; it can be written with just one downward stroke. For that reason, it can easily be confused with the number 1 or the lower-case L. From a distance it can sometimes be difficult to see the letter at all, especially if it comes next to a wide letter, such as M or W, which the eye tends to focus on.
An I at the beginning of your name can often suggest that you deal in internet products or are an online business: iPad, iPod, iVillage. If you are a traditional store or business, think twice about using a lower-case i at the beginning of your name.
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