What's in a name?

One of the big announcements here at NBAA yesterday was the naming of Embraer's new light jet and very light jet as the Phenom 300 and Phenom (See Flight Evening news on www.flightinternational.com). Now it gave the editors on Flight Evening News an easy headline - Phenom-enal - but where did the name come from? Embraer boss Mauricio Botelho says the name reflects the quality of the aircraft's design, but designating aircraft today is a tough challenge: you either go down the rather boring but safe number route (Embraer 170, Boeing 787, Gulfstream 550, Airbus A380...which normally relate to some aspect of the aircraft's size, sequence in terms of product lines etc) or you have to think of a name: Avanti, Javelin, Eclipse or whatever. It's harder in business aviation, because, like cars, you are trying to convey an image, a lifestyle choice with the moniker, and most of the obvious ones from the animal kingdom - Hawk, Falcon, Puma - are taken already. I used to work in the automotive sector and the classic attempts by the Japanese manufacturers in particular to give their models global, English-sounding names as they began to break into the world market in a big way in the 1970s and 1980s was a constant source of amusement. To some Japanese marketing director the Nissan Cedric van no doubt conveyed a macho, no-nonsense appeal to the builders' merchants and plumbers who were its target market. Today, things are much more sophisticated and the Japanese and everyone else (including Embraer) employ international brand consultants and market researchers to come up with this sort of stuff. Still, someone told me that in Vietnam, Phenom means something very different. Perhaps someone familiar with the language can help.