How To Find The Best Name For Your Business

As a time to come-but-not-yet hugely successful startup, you desire a business concern name that grabs the attending of all who hear it and holds on with a tight grip. But choosing a company name is a common obstacle for new entrepreneurs.

In this article, we'll show yous how to come up with some catchy business name ideas for your new venture by brainstorming and making sure it'due south:

Original
Future-proof
User-friendly
Available (in some form)
Lovable

Gear up? Permit'south delve into these qualities and wait at tips to get you lot through the business name creation process.

(You lot can also bank check out our quick video below!)

i. Make it original

Being original can be scary (and hard) to do, but information technology's essential when naming your business — don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd!

A gazillion apps have names like Tinder, Grindr, Flickr, and Tumblr, so accept that your Stark-family-themed Game of Thrones app chosen Wintr will only go lost in the shuffle.

As a new startup, your name needs to compel people to sit up and accept detect rather than wait upwardly, look down, and forget you always existed.

To generate a boatload of options to work with, don't edit yourself during the brainstorming procedure — information technology'southward all virtually a gratuitous flow of ideas and imagination.

Explore keywords. Twinword has an awesome free keyword tool that can help you notice inspiration for your name. If you type a keyword related to your business into its search field, it'll give y'all a graph of all of the other words related to it. Burn down away!
Consult books. Use a hard re-create of a dictionary for inspiration, or even one of your favorite novels. Flip through the pages and write downward words that resonate with yous, even if they're not direct related to your business.
Play it up. Another way to achieve originality is with some deliciously fun wordplay. Have a wait at these examples of companies with clever titles and call back almost what you could come up upward with for your make identity. It's a good thought starter! Examples: Melon Cauli (fruit and vegetable shop), Sole Homo (shoe repairs), Spoon Me (frozen yogurt make), and Sensibill (receipt direction software).

ii. Make it future-proof

One affair you lot don't desire to practice is create a proper name that sabotages your time to come expansion plans or limits your achieve.

Let's say, for example, that your company makes women's shoes, merely yous think you'll eventually try to crack the male person marketplace. Having a name like Goddess Heels by Fiona wouldn't be helpful.

1 way to future-proof your name — and go out of the singular "this is the production we brand or thing we offer" headspace — is to retrieve about your company's story, values, and central differentiators equally you lot brainstorm.

Get cogitating. How would y'all draw your company to others? What are you trying to accomplish? What feelings do you desire to evoke in your customers? Do sure adjectives come up to mind when you call back about your business? What do you lot practice differently? Take hold of a slice of newspaper and a pen and start writing it all down.
Consider your offering. If you're a service-based business, having your service offering in the proper name can be helpful as a suffix (e.grand. Scaling Upward Blueprint).
Go on information technology simple. A concern name shouldn't be a mashup of words trying to accomplish also many things — it needs to feel good and evoke positive emotions and associations in you and your future customers.
Aim for easy spelling. Simple make names are easier to spell—a huge plus when relying on online customers to remember your business and look you lot up or refer you!

three. Make it user-friendly

You lot have the first-round listing of original business name ideas — now what? Information technology's of import to choose a name that'due south like shooting fish in a barrel to say, spell, and type into Google — even if it'due south a made-upwardly word.

Many people aren't great spellers, and every bit of the time of writing this post, there's no "Did you mean to write this?" organisation in place for mistyped URLs in browser windows.

Choosing a name that helps people observe you quickly can put you ahead of the game. And remember: if customers tin can't notice you, they'll end upwardly finding someone else!

Impose creative constraints. As yous get deeper into brainstorming, limit yourself to coming upwardly with names with just 1 discussion or two syllables — it'll help you focus on coming up with punchier name ideas. Other constraints to endeavour? Coming up with only alliterative names (hullo, Squarespace and PayPal), or only ones that brainstorm with verbs (e.yard. Dropbox, Shopify).
Examination in different mediums. To see how your name ideas look and sound, put them into a logo pattern, say them out loud in a chat (or to yourself in the mirror), and draft them in an email signature. Making your ideas feel real will help you determine if they connect!
Become feedback. Ask a few trusted friends or family members to weigh in on your proper noun ideas. If you say a name and they immediately look confused or barrage yous with questions, you lot may desire to rethink its user-friendliness.
Check for language translation. The final thing you want is to name your business something that translates poorly in another language. Do a quick Google search to make sure you aren't naming your make later on a trunk part or something crude.

Try out a concern name in a logo blueprint for free!

4. Make sure it'due south available (in some form)

Once you have a business name idea (or a few) that y'all're happy with, information technology's time to do some earthworks. For SEO and legitimacy purposes, you want the name in your website URL, then cheque if information technology's bachelor in .com form.

If not, you tin choose from about a hundred options from .net to . co.uk to .tv — but again, a .com URL tin can give your business an air of legitimacy and bring in more traffic.

The skillful news? Being creative volition pay dividends because the more original your name, the more than probable information technology is to be available equally a web accost.

Check information technology. GoDaddy is a go-to tool for checking domain availability and letting you see your .com alternatives. Type your ideas in, hold your breath, and come across if the names are taken (we promise not!). If they are, see what businesses or pages are at those addresses and accept notation. Y'all tin too do a trademark search — here are the resources for the U.South., Canada, and the U.Chiliad
Don't give up. If the domain is unavailable, you yet have options. Y'all tin add together a word at the kickoff or end of your name — pop ones include "app," "get," and "hello." If y'all're a service-based industry, you can attempt adding your offering in the proper name.
Expect at social handles. After checking the domain name, take a look at Namechk to see if the proper name you lot want is taken in social handles, particularly on the channels you plan to apply to build your business.

Tip: If your business is express by geography, a country-specific URL is withal a nifty pick (.ca, .uk) — just make sure the content at the .com accost doesn't conflict with your business.

If the exact handle name is unavailable (a likely scenario), there are some like shooting fish in a barrel fixes to try like adding a word or underscore. Once more, check the content of handles that come in your searches to see who else is using the name.

five. Make sure you LOVE it

Information technology goes without proverb that y'all accept to dear your new business name and feel confident nearly putting it out into the world. That'southward why nosotros recommend brainstorming plenty of ideas and taking the time to mull them over before settling on a winner — don't expect overnight success!

The final thing to remember: Companies rebrand all the time, but doing so costs time and money. Try your best to get the name correct on the beginning attempt to ensure your business is off to a great start.

What makes a adept business proper name?

In that location are a few central elements to a really catchy business name.

Evokes a feeling: Pottery Barn conveys a curation of rustic furniture through its proper name lonely. Endeavour to create a feeling through the use of imaginative and highly visual words.
Sounds proficient: A practiced business proper noun has a ring to information technology. Some names mix constants and vowels like Aritzia while others apply rhythm to create a sense of period similar Flora and Fauna. Before finalizing your brand name, say it out loud and use it in conversation and listen to how it rolls off the natural language. Aim for nether 5 syllables if you tin can!
Speaks to your audience: A strong company proper name will resonate with its market place. If yous own a tech company, y'all might desire to play off of words in your industry. BitBucket, 1Password, and CodeCov are all great examples of this.
Memorable: In the world of space scrolling, you can have a memorable product or flashy advertising, but it won't help your customer if they can't remember your brand name when they try to wait you up afterwards. What makes a business proper noun memorable? Information technology has rhythm or repetition, it's a petty abstruse or quirky, it'southward not too long, and of class— it looks proficient in a logo

5 Types of business organisation names to choose from

Somewhere in your brainstorming and researching, you'll need to cull the type of concern name you lot're after. Selecting one of these meridian five is a nifty place to get-go.

i. Acronyms & abbreviations

A popular choice for brands that want a short, well-baked business concern proper noun. Fun fact! IKEA is actually an acronym that combines the initials of the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, with the letters of the farm and village he grew up in, Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd.

In 1963, CVS was founded as "Consumer Value Store" and was later abbreviated. When brainstorming, look for some obvious names and words either most you lot or your product/service and come across if they course whatever interesting acronyms.

2. Real names

What amend way to honor the person doing all the work behind the scenes than naming your company later yourself! Using your name or a family name as your business proper noun is a archetype choice and certainly has longstanding power. Think of McDonald's or renowned design visitor Herman Miller.

Using your name as a business proper name is a great option for consultants and contractors. Simply it has its cons besides. Doing this insists that you lot are the face up of your brand at least for the outset few years while getting started. Information technology might too limit how you expand your concern down the road.

3. Affair of fact

A company name that goes the obvious route of addressing the business organisation' purpose creates firsthand clarity. With a name like Hamlet Juicery, Whole Foods, Pizza Hut, or Car2Go, information technology'southward hard to miss what these companies offer to their consumers.

This is a great option for entrepreneurs who aim for simplicity when naming their business organisation. And while they're non exactly the most heady or eye-catching, their staying power is undeniable.

4. Compounds

Create your own chemical compound word by merging 2 words you beloved together! The company name Panera is actually a compound of the words "pan" (meaning bread) and "era" (meaning historic period or fourth dimension). Put them together and you lot've got "age of breadstuff".

5. Made up discussion

Making upwards words is for big imaginations, only some of the biggest businesses out there are completely made-up words. Think Haagen-Dazs means something in Dutch? Recollect again. The American founders wanted to convey a worldly, artisanal feeling with their production.

Making up a word provides y'all the opportunity to create a fun and out-of-the-box business proper noun that is both memorable and unique. Consider your audience when making upwards a word every bit your business name. You want it to sound like something they'd be intrigued past and opt to acquire more about.

A great mode to generate a company proper name

Coming up with great business organization name ideas can accept up a surprising amount of your time. It's abrasive to become stuck at the showtime footstep of building your business, which is why using a business organisation proper name generator can be helpful.

Looka's business name generator

A preview of Looka'south Business organisation Proper noun Generator in activeness

Looka'south Business Name Generator comes up with tons of business proper noun ideas in seconds — and then lets you check the domain availability, social handles, and preview the proper name in a logo without having to leave the page.

Skeptical? We get it—y'all're picky! Which is why we generate business name ideas in a variety of means, including invented names, chemical compound words, and traditional names related to your industry. Y'all can filter results by proper noun length (character count) and get ideas for related terms correct under the search bar. It's completely free and will save you lot so much time.

p.s. Want to know more than almost building a brand? Cheque out our brand identity guide!