The insurance company Aviva Life Insurance (recently started in India) has a name that has made me cringe every time I see its advertisements. A- is a standard prefix for without, and viva is a form of the latin vivere, meaning “(to) live”. Viva also connotes vitality in common English usage. Taken together, Aviva sounds like it means “without living” and by association, “without vitality” and “without life”. Just the sort of cheery notion a life insurance company should be spreading.

Aviva (their old name was CGNU Plc) actually has a webpage saying that their new name resonated positively “among 15,000 customers in 15 countries, being associated with life, vitality and living well.” I wonder which 15 countries they polled, and, more importantly, who their brand manager was.