Where do the names of prescription drugs come from?

Prescription drugs often have unusual names. Motrin, Rogaine, Cipro, Prozac, Ventolin, Viagra...none of these sound like ordinary words. If you notice, even new drug companies follow this trend, using exotic, made-up names in an attempt to convey a feeling about the company.

At least part of the reason for this is the U.S. trademark system. Almost any normal word is already trademarked. Therefore, a company ends up having to invent a new word to get a trademark. The same thing happens with Internet domain names. When naming a new drug today, a corporation must choose a word that is available as a unique domain name and is unique in online search engines.

Uniqueness to search engines is actually getting to be extremely important. When making up a name, it is desirable to the company if the person searching for information will find Internet pages that deal only with that company's product. This way, people will find information about your company or your product much more easily.