The Lifespan of Corporate Names

The WSJ Startup Journal has a new piece by Joann S. Lubin on company names no longer owned by the persons of that name.

Executive-pay adviser Pearl Meyer spent 11 years building her name into a well-known brand before selling Pearl Meyer & Partners in 2000. Ms. Meyer planned to stay at the firm, and [agreed] that she wouldn't use Pearl, Meyer or her initials at another business. "The prospect of my leaving never occurred to me," she explains.
Founders and their descendants employ a variety of naming tactics when they go into business against their own name. British ad pioneers Maurice Saatchi and his brother, Charles, had to win a court battle to use their name at a new agency after being forced out of Saatchi & Saatchi, once the world's biggest agency.
The conundrum is surprisingly common at service firms, from finance to advertising and consulting. Founders often name companies after themselves...Often, though, the entrepreneurial bug strikes again. Snippets from WSJ "Names Liveth Forever..."