Coming up with a good business name is often the most exciting part of any new venture. It’s that quintessential, epiphanic moment that hits you while you’re grabbing a beer with friends or while you’re scrubbing up in the shower. Of course it’s great when it just comes to you, but the creative process is seldom so convenient. Sometimes, you really need to work at and grind on the proverbial drawing board.
In the interest of making the coining of your next business name that much easier, I’ve taken the liberty of compiling 7 creative business naming tips that you can use for your next startup or side hustle. Let’s get to it.
1. Create a word map
Get out your sketchbook or legal pad and across the top, write down a few words or phrases that relate to your business idea. From there, continue down the page–writing the first words that come to mind based on your root words. In example, “storage”, “box”, “folded paper”... and so forth. Eventually, you’ll have a page full of words that relate to your business. Look for correlations and places where you can combine words to either form a compound word, or combine two or more words together to form a memorable, fictional name.
2. Take inspiration from a foreign language
Maybe all of the obvious names that relate to your business are taken. No problem! Consider taking inspiration from antiquated or foreign languages. If your business will primarily operate in the English-speaking market, for example, then it will almost function as more of a fictional name and you’ll have better luck when you go to buy your domain name or register your trademark. Consider combining two words together to create a fictional name, even if those words are from two separate languages. That’s what we did with Alaeris; we combined a Spanish word with a Swahili word to create one short, snappy, and memorable fictional name that would be easier to build a digital presence around.
3. Talk about it with your friends
Sometimes you need to get the brainstorming process out of your head and into the open. Whether you’re explicitly talking about the name or you’re just conveying your business idea, vocalizing the brainstorming work can be a great catalyst for that aforementioned epiphanic moment. Whether it comes from a friends’ suggestion or you stumble onto that “a-ha” moment mid-sentence, this can be a great way to brainstorm while having fun in the process.
4. Use a misspelling of a common word
If your plan is to use a simple, industry-specific word for your business name, then chances are you’ll be sorely disappointed. In all likelihood, it will be taken. And if it isn’t taken, the domain name will certainly be taken, or cost a small fortune. So, consider using a misspelled version of a word that relates to your business. Think about “Lyft”; it’s a short, memorable name that relates directly to what the business does with the only caveat being that it’s spelled incorrectly with a “y” instead of an “i”. This is a trendy way to ideate a business name, and it gives you a better chance of securing the associated digital properties. One consideration is that this method doesn’t work as well if you’ll be relying heavily on SEO or word-of-mouth marketing at the offset. Also, if another company has the correct spelling of the word for their name, it’s best to steer clear.
5. Create a mood board
In addition to being an integral aspect of your branding process, creating a mood board can also be a great tool for brainstorming a business name. I like to start with a masonry-style grid in Figma and pull photos from Google or from my camera roll that pertain to the mood I want to strike. Similarly to the word map suggestion that I mentioned earlier, looking at a bunch of visual materials that relate to your business idea simultaneously can be a great way to spark that “a-ha” moment and land on that name that “just feels right”.
6. Start by designing a logo
This may sound like I’m suggesting that you drive the car before filling it with gas, but sometimes the same will come to you through the process of developing an icon or mark that relates to your business idea. Obviously, this won’t work if you were planning on a purely text-based logo. But if you start designing something based on your mood board, word map, or other business description, that imagery may yield inspiration for your name. Yes, this is a bit of a backwards suggestion in terms of process, but it may just be crazy enough to work!
7. Use an unrelated word
If you’ve exhausted the drawing board with potential names that relate to your business, consider using a completely unrelated word–-whether it be conceived by you or randomly generated. Look at GoDaddy. Their name has nothing to do with the services that they offer. But it’s memorable, and they were able to build a brand and some very successful marketing campaigns around it. If you’re not confined to names that match your industry or service, then resolving to choose an unrelated, random name can be a really liberating feeling. Plus, you’ll have more flexibility from the get-go to ensure that web domains and social handles are available. Ultimately, the name is a very small part of your overall brand strategy, so if you go this route, just make sure the name that you land on is snappy, memorable, and easy to sound-out/spell.
Coming up with a business name should be a fun and exciting journey, so hopefully these tips will bring some structure back to your brainstorming and enable you to enjoy the process. And not to cap this blog post off with a shameless plug, but once you do decide on your name, Tom Smith can help bring it to life! Also, feel free to share this post with anyone you know who’s got a great idea for a side-hustle or startup. Cheers!.