Names selected for this list were based on their uniqueness within the credit union industry. In other words, there is only one credit union using that name (”Beehive” is the only exception.) Other criteria included:

• Each reflects something phonetically interesting and/or thematically evocative.
• Each name is memorable, and lends itself to a URL that’s easy to recall.
• Searching Google for these names is likely to yield the correct result in the top 2-5 results, especially when paired with the term “credit union.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST

For many credit unions, expanding their charters is a common growth strategy. Often, a credit union’s first reflex after getting a community charter is to add the word “community” to its name.

The reasoning goes something like this: “Our community charter should fuel future growth. The only problem is, people don’t know they can join. We need a way to say, ‘We’re open to everyone!’”

The solution: ‘[Fill-in-the-Blank] Community Credit Union.’ The word “community” represents a “community charter,” and everyone knows a community charters are “open to the community,” right?

Wrong.

Reality check: Industry insiders often make the mistake of crediting the general public with more knowledge about credit unions than they actually have. We forget that Joe Average struggles to grasp the basic concepts of “joining” and “membership,” much less subtler credit union terminology, like “shares” or “CUDL.”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the word “community.” There are plenty of successful credit unions incorporating “community” into their names. Just don’t be fooled into thinking the word “community” will help the general public realize they can join.

Over 500 credit unions have slipped the word “community” in their names – that’s one out of every 16. Yet after changing names, many are still frustrated by stagnant member growth. This is most prevalent among credit unions who retain their main sponsor’s name — for instance, turning ‘Company Employees Credit Union’ to ‘Company Community Credit Union.’ It seems logical, because this formula preserves heritage in the old name.

The big problem is that no matter how many times you say “everyone can join,” people just can’t get past the ‘Company’ name. They understandably assume that only employees of the Company can join. Research bears this out over and over.

Bottom line: You can’t just tack a word like “community” onto your name and hope it works. Supporting a community charter takes good old-fashioned marketing muscle.

Most credit unions with newly-minted community charters don’t have brands that are ready for primetime.

If you’re going to go through the process and expense of changing your credit union’s name, embrace the opportunity to truly rebrand your identity.

Even if you choose a new name with a safe, geographical reference like Oregon Community Credit Union or Utah Community Credit Union, your credit union is probably due for a fresh, overall makeover.

Federally chartered credit union have a few more options with their names than their state chartered counterparts.

The huge number of federal banks and federal agencies using the word ‘Federal’ in their name creates a layer of credibility or added security. Credit unions bearing the ‘Federal’ moniker are (intentionally or unintentionally) suggesting that their brand is backed by some connection to the U.S. Federal Government. (Of course, in the case of federal credit unions insured by the NCUA, this is essentially true.)

For federal credit unions, the word ‘Federal’ is almost like a middle name, wedged in between their first name and the common ‘Credit Union’ surname. Some credit unions choose to emphasize their middle name, others downplay it.

The most common way for federal credit unions to treat their federal status is to tuck “Federal Credit Union” under their main name:

Other credit unions embrace their federal status by elevating the word ‘Federal’ up to the same size and level of importance as their main name.

This treatment encourages staff and the general public to see and say the name differently, as in the following examples where the ‘Credit Union’ surname was dropped altogether.

Federal credit unions can also abbreviate their names, like ‘Bay Fed’ and ‘USA Fed,’ to make them more casual and friendly while still preserving the strength and stability implied by the ‘Federal’ brand.

Many federal credit unions can use the abbreviated ‘fed’ in their website domains. This can make it much easier to obtain a short, relevant and intuitive URL, even when you have a common word in your name such as ‘Bay.’

• http://bayfed.com
• http://www.usfed.org
• https://www.penfed.org

On one extreme end of the spectrum, there are credit unions who have dropped not only ‘Federal’ from their logos, but ‘Credit Union’ as well.

Some would argue that it’s a mistake to shed ‘Credit Union’ from their names, saying you should embrace the credit union difference because that is what makes you unique. It is certainly what makes you unique from banks, but not from other credit unions. When you are a credit union like Allegacy and ENT with billions in assets, you’re not only big enough to have your own brand (one with a shorter name), you’re big enough to support it with the right amount of advertising.

Bottom line: Your name may always be ‘ABC Federal Credit Union,’ but how you choose to treat your logo and refer to yourself is a strategic decision. As a federal credit union, you have options.

One of the biggest benefits federally chartered credit unions enjoy with respect to naming is that they can change names much easier than state chartered credit unions because federal credit unions are exempt from any state laws and DFI requirements to hold member votes to get name changes approved.

#1) Employees - 1,553
#2) Community - 526
#3) County - 323
#4) Schools - 279
#5) West - 214
#6) Teachers - 214
#7) City - 199
#8) Postal - 183
#9) First - 179
#10) North - 170

Connection to employees reflected in names

• 1-in-6 credit unions have the word ‘Employee’ in their name
• Over 600 credit unions have ‘School,’ ‘Teachers’ or ‘Educators’ in their name
• 183 have ‘Postal’ in their name
• 157 credit unions have ‘Municipal’ in their name
• 110 credit unions have ‘Health’ in their name
• 108 credit unions have ‘Fire’ in their name
• 73 credit unions have ‘Police’ in their name

‘Community’

• 1-in-16 credit unions use the word ‘Community’ in their name
• 48 credit union names start with ‘Community’
• 10 credit unions share the name ‘Community Credit Union’
• There are 4 ‘Community Choice’ CUs and four others named ‘Community First’

Who’s Number One?

• 161 credit unions use the word ‘One’ or number ‘1’
• 220 credit unions use the word ‘First’ or ‘1st’
• ‘First’ is the first word in 116 credit unions’ name; 25 others us ‘1st’ elsewhere in their names

Geography & Topography

• 393 credit unions use ‘County,’ 199 use ‘City,’141 use ‘State’
• About 100 credit unions use either ‘America,’ ‘American,’ ‘US’ or ‘USA’
• ‘West’ beats ‘East,’ 214 to 100
• ‘North’ beats ‘South,’ 170 to 131
• ‘Pacific’ beats ‘Atlantic,’ 40 to 16
• 141 credit unions use the word ‘Valley’
• 92 use ‘River’
• 68 use ‘Lake’
• 52 use ‘Coast’
• 40 use ‘Hill’
• 39 use ‘Rock’
• 37 use ‘Mountain’

‘Credit Union’ first

• 30 credit unions shun convention by putting ‘Credit Union’ in front of their name instead of at the end, such as the 7 credit unions who share ‘Credit Union One.’

Bottom line: You don’t have to change your credit union’s name just because it contains a commonly-used word. But if you’re going to change the name to something new, you should avoid these words. Using words that are this ubiquitous don’t distinguish you in any way, and they carry significant trademark risks.

Want the full list?
If you’d like the full list of words commonly used by credit unions in their names and the frequency with which they occur, shoot me an email.

‘Genisys’ comes from combining ‘General Motors’ and ‘Unisys,’ the credit unions’ two main employer groups.

Two Michigan-based credit unions, USA and T&C Federal, expect to complete the largest credit union merger in the state’s history later this year. They will be adopting Genisys Credit Union as their new moniker.

It is one of those rare “merger of equals” in the credit union industry. T&C has $611 million in assets, about 65,000 members and 178 employees. USA has $609 million, about 64,000 members and 140 employees. There probably has never been a merger of two credit unions this similar.

T&C’s members will have to vote to approve the merger. In this letter to T&C members, the credit union says it is “hoping for a 100 percent approval rate,” but in an interview, T&C CEO Dianne Addington was more realistic: “Our goal is to get 80 to 85 percent approval.”

The credit union will be operating under USA’s state charter, so its members are not required to approve the merger.

The choice to go with the Genisys name may present some problems. There is already a federally registered trademark for GeniSys Credit Union Payment Solutions from another Michigan-based company, CUCorp, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michigan Credit Union League whose use of the trademark dates back as far as 1999.

The CEOs of both credit unions are members of the MCUL, and one is on the board of directors, so maybe everything is kosher?

But wait… There’s also a Genisys Financial Corporation in San Diego, and Genesis Employees’ Credit Union in Ohio.

There’s also all the following Genisys-something-or-others, but they won’t have any real legal grounds to stop Genisys Credit Union from moving forward because they are in different sectors or different industries altogether:

Some people think a company with a registered trademark can make a federal case against anyone else trying to use that name — in any industry. It’s a common misconception. The truth is that a toothbrush manufacturer can’t sue a credit union if the credit union picked the toothbrush manufacturer’s name. The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) holds to the standard that “a reasonable person would need to be confused,” and reasonable people don’t confuse their credit union with their toothbrush.

There is a federal trademark filed under the USPTO’s “financial services” category (International Class 36) for the word Genesis (all by itself). The trademark is registered to an insurance company. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office can consider phonetic similarities, such as Genesis and Genisys, when evaluating whether a company’s trade name infringes on a registered mark. The fact that the insurance company has the word Genesis all by itself is important.

Bottom Line: There doesn’t appear to be anyone with the Genisys name offering B2C financial services, specifically in Michigan, so the credit union’s new name will probably be safe.

Both credit unions are publishing identical information to their members, with special pages linked off their respective home pages (here and here).

The credit unions have arguably done a good job communicating with members about the merger and name change. Here’s all the materials they have available:

• Press release (Word document)
  
• Brochure (PDF)
  
• Merger letter (Word document)
• Member FAQ (PDF)

The credit union’s press release says the name honors the heritage of their respective memberships:

“The name comes straight out of our roots. ‘Gen’ from General Motors members who started T&C and ‘isys’ from Unisys members who form the foundation of USA. We are not forgetting who we are or where we came from.”

It’s a good story, with good rationale.

The combined credit union will have $1.2 billion in assets and will rank as the fourth-largest in Michigan. The new entity will rank in the top 85 nationally in members and in the top 100 in assets.

T&C’s Addington will be the new Genisys CEO. USA’s CEO Mary McDonald will retire following a transition period.

Members of Alberta’s three largest credit unions have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a merger:

+ Servus [ 60 branches | 195,000 members | $4.75 billion | 900 employees ]
+ Community Savings [ 30 branches | 110,000 members | $2.5 billion | 640 employees ]
+ Common Wealth [ 15 branches | 52,000 members | $1.5 billion | 300 employees ]

The new $9 billion credit union will be the third largest in Canada, with almost 400,000 members, 2,000 employees and 100 branch locations.

But the merger leaves one big question: What will the name of the new organization be?

What do you think?

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The safe money is on ‘Servus’ because it represents over half the deal. When one of the organizations is much larger, it is usually their name that prevails. But it’s no sure thing.

As of now, the newly-merged entity hasn’t decided anything. According to this article, “The board will undertake a name selection and branding strategy review prior to registering the Articles of Incorporation November 1, 2008.”

It’s usually a little easier when only two firms merge. Quite often the two firms simply mashup their two names, like ‘AOL Time Warner.’ But you can’t do that here (’Servus Community Wealth Credit Union’).

Key Question: Will the credit union give members a voice and invite their participation in the selection of the new name?

Tip of the Hat: Three organizations merging at one time is rare. It almost never happens, and not just in the credit union industry — any industry. But if anyone anywhere can find a way to do it, it’s those affable Canadians.

“It’s very difficult to build a brand unless you have a good name.” – Laura Reis

Laura Reis, a co-author of “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding,” says, “Many credit unions are saddled with long, complicated, generic-sounding names. That makes it hard to compete with Bank of Americas.”

This advice and other naming insights appeared in the January 2008 edition of Credit Union Business.

“Powerful names are short and unique, easy to spell, easy to say and easy to pronounce.” – Laura Reis

Reis says credit unions should work to simplify their names if possible.

Also in the article Rico Bautista, SVP of Altier Credit Union (formerly SRP Credit Union) says his organization went through an extensive name-selection process to find something unique, memorable and trademarkable.

“You just don’t pick a name that you can’t trademark,” he says. “You have to go through that process to make sure you can protect the brand.”

The name Bautista’s credit union selected, ‘Altier,’ is what he calls “an empty vessel,” meaning it is non-descriptive. He says it’s “a combination of ‘altitude’ and ‘tier,’ and represents a commitment to move forward.”

Bottom Line: Great advice from both Bautista and Ries.

An employee of Maine State Credit Union says in his blog that “people should be able to see your credit union’s name and know if they are eligible for membership, without ever opening your membership brochure.” This is especially important, he adds, if you expand your field of membership.

So he takes issue with his employer’s choice to switch from ‘Maine State Employees Credit Union’ to ‘Maine State Credit Union’ when it got a community charter – in only two Maine counties:

“When we expanded our field of membership we dropped the ‘Employees’ from the name…who do we serve now? Looking at the name it would be easy to think we served the whole state, but I’d be wrong. We now serve the Kennebec and Somerset counties, but our name doesn’t tell me that. I have to search through the membership brochure to find out what towns are included in our coverage. I don’t like that.”

He also offers this advice: Credit unions shouldn’t drop the term “Credit Union” from their names (by replacing it with “Financial,” for instance). It robs them of a key point of distinction, he reasons.

Key Question: Do you know what your employees are saying about your organization online?

Bottom Line: Google Alerts. I found this post through my Google Alerts. If you set up the right Google Alerts, you can stay abreast of just about everything that concerns you and your organization. “Fine tuning” your Alerts to eliminate irrelevant garbage can be frustrating, however.

After inviting members to submit names, Canora Credit Union in Canada will become ‘Crossroads.’ According to an announcement from the credit union:

“‘Crossroads’ has a meaning that is both physical and philosophical. It represents those moments when one comes to a point where a path must be chosen that will have both large and small affects on one’s life.”

The credit union said the name change was necessary because it needed to “rebrand itself.” It went on to explain that “a new name will help the credit union continue to grow and prosper for years to come.

In its entry form for member suggestions, the credit union gave these instructions:

“Please keep in mind that the name will be the credit union’s primary brand name for years to come. It will be used to represent our services and professionalism to our members across Canada, and to attract new members in our communities and abroad, so the name should not be town specific. It must also be flexible enough to be used with additional services we may provide in upcoming years. We are a growing, developing organization, and our new name must be able to help take us into the future.”

A blog post from Market Insights on the Canora name change urges caution, saying that name changes are not the answer to everything, and that a financial institution needs to embrace the opportunity to revisit its brand as part of any renaming process.