Kerry Dairy Ireland will henceforth be known as Kinisla. It sounds odd to these ears, but new words, and it is a new word, take a while to bed in.

‘Kin’ refers to kinship or fellowship.

Cynics might point to the Irish crime drama series of the same name. Kin, of course, is also part of the word ‘kingdom’, but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. Isla comes from island, and will be pronounced like the name, where the ‘s’ is silent, as in Isla Fisher. Mispronunciation could result in the co-op initially being called something approaching Kinsella.

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The new name follows in a long line of rebrands of Irish agri-business companies and co-ops, mostly required through restructuring. Off the top of my head, I can think of Glanbia, Tirlán, Aurivo, Bord Bia, Ornua, and the most recent before this week, ArraTipp.

Most of them led to some head-scratching and/or ridicule at the time of announcement, all have now become part of the vernacular. Glanbia, the new name for the post-merger of Avonmore and Waterford Group, was initially derided.

Loosely translated as ‘clean food’, it begged the question whether anyone had ever suggested there was dirty food being produced. When Glanbia Co-op bought the Irish business entirely back from Glanbia plc, Tirlán was the name change that resulted.

Again, there were questions. Where had the first fada disappeared to? Was ‘full country’ the direct translation, an unfortunate reference as opposition rises in some quarters to the level of inward migration Ireland is experiencing. The answer was that Tirlán referred to a land of abundance, which Ireland surely is.

There certainly are an abundance of name changes, as the Irish Dairy Board became Ornua; another dropped fada from ‘new gold’. When the Irish Food Board was formed following the merger of Córas Beostoic agus Feola (the Irish Meat and Livestock Board) and the food promotion activities of An Bord Tráchtála (the Irish Trade Board), the literal approach was taken, and Bord Bia, the food board, was born.

Arrabawn and Tipperary co-op’s merger resulted in the recognisable ArraTipp, although it sounds like someone’s grandmother cajoling the hurlers into doing a little better. Ballyclough and Mitchelstown’s decided to plump for Dairygold when they merged, while the four west Cork co-ops adopted the barony name, Carbery, for their umbrella, and have never looked back.

Connacht Gold looked to the Roman Empire and Ovid rather than Cúchulainn and Peig Sayers when renaming itself.

Aurivo is derived from the Latin for listening auris and life vivo. It was explained as the co-op listening to its members and giving life to rural communities. Perhaps we should take our hats off to Lakeland, which made no name change when the LacPatrick merger took place. A little constancy in a world of constant change.