All watches tell time, and some do a whole lot more. But the name of the brand can convey a distinction that sets its timepieces apart.

“A name is often the first impression someone has with a product,” Diane Beecher, chief executive and senior strategist at the Washington, D.C.-based Brand Consultancy, wrote in an email, “so it’s important that it lean into the personality of the product, the functional or emotional attributes of the product, or align with a product portfolio to create trust.”

“Naming,” she noted, “is equal parts strategy and creative and a critical component in building the reputation of the brand.”

A number of brands based their names on places, apparently hoping that some of the allure would rub off.

Oris watches, for example, were named for a brook near the company’s factory in Hölstein, Switzerland. “I like that we are named after a creek, which by its nature is always moving yet staying the same,” Rolf Studer, the co-chief executive, wrote in an email. “It gives the name Oris a certain bit of eternity.”

He also noted that, 119 years ago, the founders chose a name that “can be pronounced in most languages, and doesn’t mean something different in any other language. Plus it’s a fun-sounding name! In fact, there is a river closer to the manufacture by the name of Frenke, and I may be biased but Oris is a much nicer sound.”