What's in a Name?


The inspiration for the Tymbrel name was synergy-defined.

In today’s saturated business environment, it's tough to come up with a strong brand name, particularly one that resonates with the intent of the business… and has the .com domain available.

We spent a number of months playing with words, researching and talking about our ideas, but nothing stuck.

Then, we read a book – The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell. And we found a word that felt really good – timbrel.

A timbrel was an ancient instrument, similar to today’s tambourines. It was used primarily by women, often for celebratory purposes – songs of rejoicing, songs of victory, songs of celebration.

Historically, the timbrel was also associated with the higher good, the truth for all.

We liked both the history and the sound of the word. Which brought us to the next bit.

In music there is a similar word – timbre – also known as tone color or tone quality. In simple terms, timbre is what makes a particular musical sound different from another, even when they have the same pitch and loudness.

For example, it is the difference between a guitar and a piano playing the same note, at the same loudness. In both cases, it is a 'C' note, but the different timbres are telling you whether it is a guitar or a piano.

And, that got us to thinking.

Our platform gives your agency and your clients a ‘voice’. That voice (or website) is built on the same technological foundation, but for every project, every client, every website, the timbre of the voice is different.

Online, for example, a ‘call-to-action’ for a business that sells t-shirts is definitely different than one that sells high-end cars. But, in the end, they are both still a ‘call-to-action’. It’s the timbre of each that is different.

We understand software to manage website content is already out there, already playing the CMS note, we just didn’t like the timbre of any of them.

With Tymbrel, we decided to play a new and unique note.

We developed a website management platform with a different 'note' – a different tone and colour – than what was already being played, and that has made all the difference for our clients.

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