How to Name Your Business So It Doesn't Sound Stupid in 5 Years
Naming your business is your first, and arguably most important, marketing decision.
Get it right, and you build a foundation for a powerful brand. Get it wrong, and you’re strapping an anchor to your company before it learns to swim.
Most founders get it wrong.
They fall into the trap of “creative paralysis,” wasting months searching for a lightning bolt of inspiration, a “perfect” name that’s clever, cool, and revolutionary all at once.
This quest for genius almost always ends in a terrible choice born from desperation.
Let's be clear: the perfect name doesn't exist. But a name that works is entirely achievable.
The solution isn't more creativity. It's a “Pragmatic Filter”—a systematic process of elimination that values clarity and availability over fleeting cleverness. This guide will walk you through the process, from brainstorming to the final, unskippable legal checks.
- Use a pragmatic, systematic naming process focused on clarity, availability, and future-proofing rather than chasing cleverness.
- Define your core identity, audience, and 5–10 year vision before brainstorming to ensure alignment and avoid restrictive names.
- Apply a ruthless filter: spellable, meaningful, available (domain/trademark/socials), memorable, and checked for translations.
- Vet legally and digitally (.com, trademarks, social handles), then test aloud and with target customers before finalising.
Before You Name Your Business, Answer These 3 Questions
Jumping straight into brainstorming is like building a house without a blueprint. Before thinking about words, you need to lay the strategic foundation. It’s not the sexy part but the part that matters.
Who Are You, Really? (Your Core Identity)
What do you actually do or sell? Answer this in the simplest terms possible. Strip away the corporate jargon and marketing fluff.
If you sell comfortable shoes, your identity is “comfortable shoes,” not “empowering personal journeys through innovative footwear solutions.” That fluff is for a marketing campaign later. Your name must be grounded in your offer's simple truth.
Being honest about this upfront prevents you from choosing a name wildly disconnected from your business.
Who Are You Talking To? (Your Audience)
Who is handing you money for your product or service? A name that resonates with corporate lawyers will likely fall flat with teenage skateboarders.
Consider their vocabulary, their values, and their frame of reference. A name loaded with niche industry jargon is a terrible idea if your customers aren't in that industry. Likewise, an inside joke only you and your co-founder find hilarious is a fast track to obscurity.
The name isn't for you. It's for them.
What's Your Long-Term Plan? (Your Future-Proofing)
A name that’s too specific can corner you. If you call your business “Dublin Web Design,” you’ve created a massive headache for yourself when you want to offer services in Cork or expand into branding.
Think about your 5- to 10-year vision. Will the name still make sense if you add new products, serve new markets, or pivot your model?
This is why Jeff Bezos named his company “Amazon” (suggesting vastness) and not “OnlineBooks.com.” He was planning for a jungle, not just a bookshelf.
The 4 Types of Business Names: A Cheat Sheet
Nearly every effective business name on the planet falls into one of four categories. Understanding them gives you a framework for your brainstorming.
1. The Descriptive Name (The “Says-What-It-Does” Name). These names are straightforward and leave little to the imagination. They tell the customer exactly what the business does.
- Pros: Instantly clear, great for search engine optimisation (SEO).
- Cons: Can be generic, difficult to trademark, and may lack personality.
- Examples: General Motors, The Weather Channel, Pizza Hut.
2. The Evocative Name (The “Suggests-a-Feeling” Name). These names use metaphor and suggestion to hint at a benefit or brand story. They don't describe the what; they suggest the why.
- Pros: Highly memorable, can build a strong emotional connection.
- Cons: Can be ambiguous if your marketing isn't strong enough to connect the dots for the consumer.
- Examples: Nike (the Greek goddess of victory), Patagonia (evokes rugged adventure), Amazon (suggests a massive, diverse ecosystem).
3. The Abstract Name (The “Made-Up” Name). These are invented words. They have no intrinsic meaning until you give them one through branding and marketing.
- Pros: Distinctive, highly protectable, and serves as a genuine blank slate.
- Cons: Requires a significant marketing budget to build meaning and recognition.
- Examples: Kodak, Rolex, Google, Purple.
4. The Acronym (The “Shortcut” Name) These names are abbreviations of longer, often descriptive phrases. They are typically earned over time and are not chosen from day one.
- Pros: Short, easy to recall once they are established.
- Cons: Completely meaningless to new customers and lacks any personality.
- Examples: IBM (International Business Machines), KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), HSBC (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation).
The Naming Process: A 4-Step Framework for a Name That Works
You can begin the actual naming process now that the foundation is set. Follow these four steps methodically. This is a funnel, not a firework display.
Step 1: The Brainstorm (Quantity Over Quality)
Your goal here is volume. Forget about finding the “one.” Aim for a raw list of 50-100 names, no matter how bad some seem. Bad ideas often lead to good ones.
- Use a Thesaurus: Look up keywords related to your core identity and audience.
- Mind Map: Start with your core concept and branch out with related words and ideas.
- Steal Like an Artist: Look at names from entirely different industries. What patterns do you see?
- Use Name Generators (Carefully): Tools like Shopify's Business Name Generator can be helpful for mashing keywords together to spark ideas. But treat their output as raw material, not as a final answer. Relying on them to do the work for you is a colossal mistake.
Step 2: The Cull (Applying the Pragmatic Filter)
This is where you transform your messy longlist into a powerful shortlist. Be ruthless. Run every single name from Step 1 through this simple filter. Does the name feel right? Is it:
- Spellable: Can a customer spell it correctly after hearing it once over the phone? If not, kill it. This is where cutesy, deliberate misspellings like “Fotogr” die a well-deserved death.
- Meaningful: Does it align with the identity, audience, and future you defined earlier? Does it sound right for your industry?
- Available: Can you own the name legally and online? (More on this in the next step). A name you can't own is just a word.
- Rememberable: Is it distinctive? Does it stick in the mind or sound like three other companies in your space? Avoid the generic verb trap: “Thrive,” “Evolve,” “Synergise.”
- Translatable: Run it through Google Translate. You must know if your brilliant name means something offensive or ridiculous in a primary language.
By the end of this step, your list of 100 should be down to 5-10 strong contenders.
Step 3: The Vet (The Unskippable Legal & Digital Due Diligence)
This is the most crucial step in the entire process. Skipping it is like buying a house without checking the title. It’s a gamble you can't afford to lose. For your top 5 contenders, you must do the following:
- The Domain Name Check: The .com domain is still king. It's what people type by default. If the .com for your name is taken, you should seriously consider moving on. Settling for a .co, .biz, or .io creates unnecessary friction unless you are in a specific industry (like tech for .io) where it's a standard convention.
- The Trademark Search: You must check if the name is already trademarked in your class of goods or services.
- In the US, use the USPTO's TESS database.
- In the UK, use the UK IPO's search service.
- This is a preliminary check. Before you invest a single penny, consult a trademark lawyer. It is a small cost that can save hundreds of thousands in a forced rebrand.
- The Social Media Handle Check: Is the name available on the platforms that matter to your business? Having @YourBrandName on Instagram, X, and Facebook is far better than being stuck with @Your_Brand_Name_123.
- The “Google It” Test: Search for your name in quotation marks. What appears? Are you competing with a famous person, a major brand, a band, or worse, something with a negative connotation? If the first page of search results is already crowded, your battle for visibility will be a steep, expensive climb.
Step 4: The Test (Get Out of Your Own Head)
Once a name has survived the vetting process, it's time for a final reality check.
- Say it out loud. How does it sound? Is it easy to pronounce? Does it flow well?
- Ask for feedback. Present your top 2-3 names to a small group (5-10 people) of your ideal customers. Don't ask your friends or mum; they like you too much to be objective. Ask simple questions: “What comes to mind when you hear this name?” and “How would you spell it?”
- Visualise it. Mock up how the name looks in a simple logo or on a business card. Some words look great on paper but feel awkward and unbalanced as a design.
The Hall of Shame: 3 Naming Mistakes That Will Sink Your Brand
Watching trends and avoiding common pitfalls is as important as the creative process. Here are three catastrophic mistakes to steer clear of.
Mistake #1: The Trendy Trap (The “-ify” or “.io” Plague)
Names that lean on current trends—like adding “-ify” or “-ly” to the end of a word, or using a .io domain just to seem “techy”—will date your company instantly. What seems cool and modern today will look like a relic in three years.
This also includes the deliberate misspelling phenomenon. Yes, it worked for massive brands like Lyft and Fiverr, but they had tens of millions in venture capital to burn on marketing to teach customers their mistake. You don't. Stick to words people know how to spell.
Mistake #2: The Committee Camel (Naming by Committee)
A camel is a horse designed by a committee. When you try to find a name that makes everyone on the team happy, you inevitably land on the blandest, safest, and most forgettable option.
Gather input, but the final decision must rest with one person or a tiny group of founders. Democracy is a terrible tool for creative and strategic decisions.
Mistake #3: The “Too Clever” Curse (Confusing is Not Smart)
If you have to explain your name, it's a bad name. Puns, obscure metaphors, or overly abstract concepts create confusion, not curiosity. Clarity is the ultimate goal.
The most recent, high-profile example of this is the rebranding of Twitter to X. An army of marketers and billions of dollars couldn't stop the confusion. They voluntarily destroyed over 15 years of global brand equity—the word “tweet” had become a universally understood verb—for a generic, meaningless letter. It's a textbook case of confusing cleverness with strategic sense.
Hello, My Name Is Awesome
Your brand name is terrible. It's confusing, forgettable, and killing your business before it starts. This book is the fix. It’s the ultimate playbook from a pro naming consultant, giving you the system to create a name that actually works. Stop sounding like a drunken Scrabble game.
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You've Got a Name. Now What?
Choosing a name isn't the finish line. It's the starting block. A name is a word until you infuse it with meaning, story, and a powerful visual identity.
The name is the foundational piece of your brand. The next step is to build a professional logo and brand identity that brings that name to life, communicates your value, and connects with your audience. A great name with a terrible logo is a massive wasted opportunity.
Navigating this entire journey can be complex. If you're looking for a partner to help you through the process, from validating your name to designing a world-class identity, Inkbot Design's brand naming services are built for that.
Conclusion
Stop searching for the perfect name. It’s a myth that will keep you stuck.
Instead, start the process of elimination. Brainstorm widely, then cull that list ruthlessly with the pragmatic filter. Vet the survivors with paranoid diligence. Test them in the real world.
Your best name isn't the one you “find.” It's the one that's left standing after you’ve systematically destroyed all the bad ones.
Frequently Asked Questions About Naming a Business
What makes a business name good?
A good business name is easy to spell, pronounce, and remember. It aligns with your brand's core identity, is legally and digitally available (trademark, .com domain, social handles), and is flexible for future growth.
Should I use my own name for my business?
Using your name can build personal brand equity, which is great for consultants, artists, or professionals. However, it can make the business harder to sell in the future and may limit its perceived scale.
How important is having the .com domain?
For most businesses, the .com domain is still critically important. It's the default expectation for customers and carries the most authority. While other extensions (.co, .ai, .io) are becoming more common in specific niches, the .com should always be your first choice.
Can I change my business name later?
Yes, but rebranding is an expensive, complex, and risky process. It involves changing your legal name, logo, website, marketing materials, and, most importantly, re-educating your customers. It's far better to invest the time to get the name right from the start.
How much does it cost to trademark a business name?
The cost to trademark a name varies depending on your country and the complexity of the application. It typically involves government filing fees (a few hundred dollars/pounds) and, highly recommended, fees for a trademark lawyer to conduct a proper search and file the application correctly.
Should I use a business name generator?
Business name generators are helpful for one thing: sparking initial ideas during the brainstorming phase. They are not a solution in themselves. Use them to get a long list of keyword combinations, then immediately begin the human-led process of filtering and vetting.
What is a DBA or “Doing Business As”?
A DBA (or “trading as” in the UK) is a fictitious name that allows you to operate your business under a name different from your legal one (e.g., your personal name for a sole proprietorship). It does not, however, offer any trademark protection.
How can I check if a business name is taken?
Domain Registrars: Use sites like GoDaddy or Namecheap to see if the .com domain is available.
Trademark Databases: Search the USPTO (US) or UK IPO (UK) databases.
Social Media Platforms: Manually search for your desired handle on Instagram, Facebook, X, etc.
Google Search: Do a simple search to see who uses the name.
Is it okay if my business name is long?
Shorter names are generally better because they are easier to remember and type. If your name is long and descriptive, like “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” be prepared for customers to shorten it to an acronym like “KFC eventually.”
What's the difference between a descriptive and an evocative name?
A descriptive name says exactly what you do (e.g., “Houston Plumbing Services”). An evocative name suggests a feeling, benefit, or idea related to what you do (e.g., “Flow,” suggesting ease and efficiency for a plumbing service). Evocative names are generally easier to trademark and build a unique brand around.
Your name is just the beginning. A powerful brand needs a visual identity that brings your story to life. If you’re ready to move from a great name to an unforgettable brand, see how our brand naming and identity services work at Inkbot Design, or request a quote to discuss your project.
