By Richard D. Harroch
Brainstorm until you find a meaningful and memorable business name.
Finding the right name for your startup can have a significant impact on your success. The wrong name can do worse than fail to connect with customers, it can actually result in insurmountable business and legal hurdles. In contrast, a clear, powerful name for your startup business can be extremely helpful in your marketing and branding efforts.
Here are 13 helpful suggestions on how to come up with a winning name for your business:
1. Avoid hard-to-spell names
You don’t want potential customers getting confused about how to find your business online. (I never understood why “Flickr” was pushed as the name for the photo-sharing site.) You want to avoid having to continually correct the misspelled version of your name. Keep it simple. Customers are more likely to remember simple names that are easy to spell and easy to pronounce.
2. Don’t pick a name that could be limiting as your business grows
Picking too narrow of a name may cause you problems down the road. Imagine if Jeff Bezos had picked the name “OnlineBooks” instead of “Amazon
3. Conduct a thorough Internet search
Once you have determined a name you like, do a web search on the name. More often than not, you will find that someone else is already using that business name. While that won’t be a total showstopper, it should give you pause.
4. Get the .com domain name
My strong preference is to secure the “.com” domain name rather than alternatives such as .net, .org, .biz, or other possible domain extensions. Customers tend to associate a .com name with a more established business. Undoubtedly, someone will already own your desired .com name, but many domain owners are willing to sell their name for the right price.
Think of acquiring the .com name you want as a business investment. You can check on the availability of a domain name on sites such as GoDaddy.com or NetworkSolutions.com, and if the domain name is taken, you can often track down the owner of the domain name and see if they are willing to sell it by using the “WHOIS” tool at GoDaddy
Also make sure to grab your desired business name on popular social media sites such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.
5. Use a name that conveys meaning
Ideally, you want the business name to convey something meaningful and positive related to your business. Can people instantly get what your business is about? While meaningless names like “Google
Some examples of clear, simple, and intriguing domain names include Canny.com, Recuperate.com, Resemble.com, Afire.com, Substantiate.com, Trounce.com, and Administer.com (all names I happen to own). A domain name like “OnlineTickets.com” is genius as it conveys the meaning of the business and is helpful for search engine optimization purposes.
6. Conduct a trademark search
Do a search at USPTO.gov to get an idea about whether you can get a trademark or service mark for the name. Then decide if you should trademark the name.
7. Conduct a Secretary of State search
Since you will likely want to structure your business as a corporation or LLC, you should do a search of the Secretary of State’s records to make sure your name won’t be confusingly similar to a business name that’s already registered. If it is too similar to an existing name, the Secretary of State may not allow you to register it. Your corporate lawyer can help you conduct this kind of search. (See “15 Major Legal Mistakes Made by Startups”).
8. Assess if the name is catchy
Obviously, you don’t want a boring name for your business, but you also don’t want to choose something that’s too “out there.” You want your employees to be able to say where they work without hesitation, and you want your name to resonate with your target audience. Names like “Computer Services, Inc.” are generic and boring, and it is also difficult to get the domain name for business names like these.
9. Get feedback on the name
Come up with 5 or 10 names and then run them by friends, family members, and trusted colleagues. Get feedback from your target audience as well. And make sure that the name doesn’t have any negative connotations.
10. Make sure the name sounds good when said out loud
Sometimes names seem fine on paper, but sound awful when said aloud. And make sure people aren’t confused about how it’s spelled when said aloud.
11. Use resources available for brainstorming names
There are a number of sites that can help you brainstorm names, including:
- VisualThesaurus.com (gives you a visual around a keyword)
- Shopify Business Name Generator (generates business name ideas and checks domain availability simultaneously)
- NameMesh (provides a startup company name generator)
- Naminum.com (allows you to generate names based on a theme)
- Namelix.com (generates short brandable business names with artificial intelligence)
There are even name branding experts and gurus. A Google search will easily find a number of them.
12. Make sure you are personally happy with the name
You as the business owner will have to live with your startup business’ name for a long time, so make sure you are happy with it and believe it will resonate with your customers. Take the time to get it right from the start.
13. Avoid long names
Long names can be problematic. They will be difficult for customers to remember, and the url for your domain name may end up being very long. Some social media sites may have limits on the number of characters you can use in a name.
More articles from AllBusiness.com:
- The Complete 35-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business
- 17 Tips for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business
- A Guide to Investor Pitch Decks for Startup Fundraising
Copyright © by Richard D. Harroch. All Rights Reserved
About the Author
Richard D. Harroch was a Managing Director and Global Head of M&A at VantagePoint Capital Partners, a venture capital fund in the San Francisco area. His focus is on Internet, digital media, and software companies, and he was the founder of several Internet companies. His articles have appeared online in Forbes, Fortune, MSN, Yahoo, FoxBusiness, and AllBusiness.com. Richard is the author of several books on startups and entrepreneurship as well as the co-author of Poker for Dummies and a Wall Street Journal-bestselling book on small business. He is the co-author of a 1,500-page book by Bloomberg, Mergers and Acquisitions of Privately Held Companies: Analysis, Forms and Agreements. He was also a corporate and M&A partner at the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, with experience in startups, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital. He has been involved in over 200 M&A transactions and 250 startup financings. He can be reached through LinkedIn.
Read all of Richard Harroch's articles on AllBusiness.com.
