New Credit Union Name or Pokemon Character?

Every month it seems that dozens of credit unions around the continent decide to shed their names and adopt newer, hipper, identities. The Financial Brand did a quick round up of some notable name changes, and it's interesting, to say the least. 

Almost all of the names sound incredibly Web 2.0. Let's play a game - from the list below, pick out which ones are credit union names and which ones are Pokemon! Ready? Here we go!

• Solarity
• Cinfed
• Aero
• Widget
• Nymeo
• Evolve 

Ready for the answer?  These are all credit union names!

These names are kind of goofy, but in all honesty, I prefer them all to any variation of ABCD First Federal Credit Union. These days you can be a member of a credit union on the opposite side of the state or country, with no connection to a specific community or area. I've been a member of a credit union that's nearest branch is over 300 miles away since 2009. 

I also feel that the "traditional" style of credit union naming feels, well - traditional. It's not exciting, it doesn't feel current. Not to say that your credit union should wake up tomorrow and rebrand itself to "Doritos Locos Tumblr FCU" (I mean, if you wanted to, I might consider opening an account), but change can be a good thing! 

Has your credit union recently rebranded, or are you going through a rebrand process at the moment? Are you completely sick of credit union names that sound like Japanese video game characters? Let us know in the comment section below! 

DeAndre

DeAndre Upshaw is a former Young & Free Texas Spokester. He's a marketing professional living in Dallas and a Beyonce enthusiast. DeAndre is the host and executive producer of The State of Awesome. Follow him on Twitter and check out his personal website.