A word about the name Lyfthelm

I’ve been asked if the name “Lyfthelm” means anything. I’m happy to say it does: it’s an Old English word meaning “cloud”. As it happens it also means “mist”, but I chose it because of the cloud association.

I’m a firm believer in cloud computing. I experienced the benefits of the cloud first-hand, long before the term was coined. I became an early adopter of Amazon’s cloud services when they were first made available in the early 2000s – when they were simply called web services – and I’ve used them consistently since. Cloud computing is an important part of how we deliver Lyfthelm’s mobile e-commerce applications.

So cloud is the main reason why Lyfthelm Limited gained the name that it did. I also thought that “lyft”, which is the Old English word for air, and “helm”, which means protection or covering, were both strong and positive words.

Most of all, the name simply felt right. Lyft may be unfamiliar but “lift” is generally a good thing, whether you’re flying an aeroplane, taking someone in your car, or just need perking up. And to helm is to take control or to steer a course. Hence the suggestion of a yacht’s sails in our logo. So whichever way one looks at it, Lyfthelm seems to be an upbeat name with depth and meaning.

And finally, and most prosaically, the Lyfthelm.com domain name was available. Mundane as it may seem, that’s a vital consideration for anyone naming a business in this day and age.