Stuck in naming purgatory? Learning how to come up with a business name can feel like an impossible feat. It needs to be catchy, memorable, and accurately reflect your small business brand.
Our guide breaks down the top 18 tips for creating a business name that is as unique and memorable as the goods or services you sell. Plus, we share the next steps you need to take after you find your perfect match.
Jump to:
1. Use a business name generator | 2. Use your own name
3. Consider using foreign words | 4. Look at other business names in your industry
5. Keep it simple | 6. Make it easy to pronounce
7. Represent your brand | 8. Base it on your story
9. Make it memorable | 10. Be unique
11. Ensure it is culturally appropriate | 12. Make use of acronyms and abbreviations
13. Consider a symbol | 14. Choose a compound name
15. Get creative with spelling | 16. Embrace wordplay
17. Brain dump | 18. Get feedback on your company name
If all else fails and you’re feeling stuck, you can turn to an online business name generator to help you come up with some catchy business names.
A few popular ones include:
Not only can tools like this spark some creative business name ideas, but they can also help eliminate some stress in the process.
Most generators let you input keywords related to your industry or product. This helps tailor suggestions to your niche and gives you a more relevant starting point.
When thinking about being unique and true to your brand, what better way to do so than with your own name? By using your name as your business name, you are tying yourself to your company’s core competencies, therefore instilling confidence in your customers.
However, keep in mind that using your name as a business name implies that you are the face of your business, at least for a while, and you may eventually grow large enough to have an instantly recognizable name, such as McDonald’s.
If you decide to use your own name, make sure it’s easy to spell and pronounce—or try using a nickname if you have one. This will make it easier for future customers to look up your business later down the line.
If nothing in the English language is feeling like a good fit for your brand name, consider using foreign words, but be sure to remain sensitive when choosing words outside of the English language. This can provide a catchy business name that remains memorable, plus it can make you stand out against your competitors. Just make sure that the name you choose makes sense for your type of business and the market you’re targeting, especially if you’re planning on growing your business.
No matter the language, your business name should still evoke some meaning, so make sure you’re choosing a word (or words) that align with your business values.
Drawing inspiration from other businesses in your industry can help you land on a name of your own. Not only does it help you find what names to avoid, but it also helps you uncover creative industry trends and themes that you can incorporate into your name.
Try inputting “INDUSTRY business names” in Google, or utilize Google Maps and other directories to find businesses to pull inspiration from.
Sometimes, the best choice for a new business name is the most simplistic. This eliminates any confusion for your potential customers and clarifies your business to new customers. Even if you are explaining your offerings, remember to make it unforgettable so customers will ask for your business by name.
Avoid hard-to-spell names or something that your target audience may not understand.
At the end of the day, a good business name is one that’s easy to find and remember, so keep searchability in mind when thinking of a creative name for your small business.
You don’t want your customers to struggle trying to figure out how to talk about your business to others. While you do have room to be creative and unique, consider the customer and any word-of-mouth advertising they might do. You might inadvertently turn away potential customers if they can’t pronounce your business name.
You’ll also want to make sure your business name is one that customers can pronounce correctly. Often, names with unique spelling can be tricky to pronounce. For example, Teva can be pronounced tee-vah or teh-va.
Practice saying your potential business name aloud to make sure it rolls off the tongue, and get feedback from family and friends to make sure they don’t have trouble with pronunciation.
Your brand identity carries a lot of weight when naming your business, so make sure you think about what sort of image you want your name to portray. For example, an upscale business name should imply that your business is more high-quality, while a rustic name should imply that your business is more homey.
Make a list of brand attributes that resonate with your business and your target market to see if any words stand out to help you get the creative juices flowing.
If you’re feeling particularly in tune with the story behind your business, choose a name that reflects this. Not only can this demonstrate your personal achievements, but it also can help relate your business back to your customer or user’s experience. Many customers do business with companies they can relate to, making this an optimal route to take.
Write out your business’ story and history, like why you started it and where you see it in the future. This can help spark creative thinking and lead you to that perfect business name.
You want your business name to resonate with your target audience. One way to do this is to look at the competition within your industry and see what makes them memorable (or not). Use this information to consider how your brand can stand out above the rest to stay memorable for your potential customers.
Make a list of businesses you admire in your industry and study their brand names to determine what factors make them stand out from the rest.
Generic small business names can be appealing because they often check the “memorable” and “easy to pronounce” boxes. But ultimately, a good business name should be as unique as the business itself. Dedicate considerable time and effort when choosing a unique business name to make sure it fits the bill.
Avoid generic words and words that don’t align with your brand’s identity.
When your business caters to a specific culture, or you want to expand internationally, cultural sensitivity becomes paramount in your name selection. Research the cultural nuances of your language or that of your target audience, avoiding words with unintended negative connotations.
Consider the cultural significance of symbols or imagery you might want to incorporate into your logo as well. Tread carefully with appropriation. Don't exploit sacred symbols or terms from a culture you're not a part of. Aim for respectful inspiration, not insensitive imitation.
By showing cultural awareness, you build trust and establish a positive brand image from the very beginning. This can potentially future-proof your business name.
An acronym or abbreviation might be best if you’re looking for an easy-to-remember and easy-to-pronounce name. This could be based on something meaningful like your initials or even the city where you started your business. Or it could be based on what your business stands for. For example, the abbreviation for the makeup company MAC stands for “Makeup Art Cosmetics.”
Think about words that describe your business and workshop an acronym. Make sure it’s catchy and not just a random jumble of letters.
While considering small business names, it might be beneficial to draw inspiration from a symbol. Just like Apple has a very recognizable symbol attached to its name, you want your small business name to stand out beyond just the name itself.
Draft up a business logo to get a feel for how it would look on your website, business cards, storefront signage, and products. This will help you determine whether it would be something that catches a potential customer's eye and is recognizable.
If an abbreviation doesn’t make sense as a viable option, think about a compound name. These can either be words that you feel describe your business or have another meaning to you. Many businesses go this route when there is more than one co-owner or co-founder. Snapchat, PayPal, and DoorDash are all great examples of compound business names that demonstrate what the business is all about.
Make a list of words that describe your business, then try matching different pairs of words together to see if anything rolls off the tongue.
As an entrepreneur, you don't need to invent a whole new word to name your business—you can just change the spelling of an existing word. For instance, you can change the traditional spelling of a word, replace a letter with a number, or add or remove letters. Tweaking this just enough will catch a potential customer's attention.
Consider getting feedback from a few friends and family to ensure the tweaks in spelling are still easy to pronounce correctly.
Wordplay can be a powerful tool for crafting a catchy and memorable business name.
Here's how to unlock the playful potential of puns and other literary devices:
Remember, balance is key. While wordplay can be fun, ensure your chosen name remains clear and reflects your brand identity.
A clever twist for your company name shouldn't come at the expense of confusing your audience about what you do.
Figuring out how to come up with a small business name can seem intimidating at first. How do you choose which direction to take? An initial brainstorming session could be helpful to do a brain dump of all of your ideas and get the creativity flowing.
List things like your passions, nicknames, core business values, things that inspire you, attributes that are important to you, and words that describe your business to uncover some potential words and phrases you could use in your small business name.
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write down every single word or phrase that comes to mind related to your business.
Choosing a company name can feel like a solitary task, but getting feedback is a vital step you shouldn't skip. Fresh eyes can reveal unintended meanings, pronunciation difficulties, or cultural insensitivity you might have missed in your initial excitement.
Feedback from a diverse group, including customers you’re trying to attract, helps ensure your name resonates with the people who matter most and accurately conveys your brand message.
By gathering feedback, you gain valuable insights that can prevent costly mistakes down the line.
A strong name will be easy to remember, accurately represent your products or services, and connect with your target market.
To jumpstart your creative process, here are some sample names that follow our tips above:
Keep in mind that this is just a starting point! Don't be afraid to experiment and combine these techniques to find a name that truly embodies your unique business.
Now that you’ve sifted through unique small business name ideas and landed on your favorite, it’s time to learn how to use it—and that’s still available for you to claim.
You’ve spent the time brainstorming and you’ve come up with one—or maybe even a few—potential names for your new business. So, what’s next? To ensure your business name ideas are the right fit, you’ll need to do a bit more legwork to make sure the name is free and clear for you to use without any extra headaches or hassles.
Here are a few places you should visit to check the availability of your desired business name:
You can spend hours brainstorming and coming up with what you think is the perfect name for your business, but the final test is seeing how others respond to it. Getting feedback on the name from family, friends, and your potential target audience can help you nail down the perfect business name.
Run a poll or survey with a small pool of your ideal customer base, and include a couple of your top business name ideas to see which one yields the most amount of votes.
If you’ve followed the tips above and have decided on a name for your small business, registering your business name is the next step to protect it and ensure other businesses don’t use it.
The four different ways to register and protect your business name are:
Check your state’s guidelines to see registering requirements for your type of business structure.
Now's your chance to leverage that carefully crafted name across all your marketing and advertising channels. Create a logo that complements your name and brand identity. Develop a consistent brand voice that reflects your name's personality. Launch a social media marketing calendar with your business name as the handle.
This initial rollout sets the stage for future brand recognition, so make it impactful!
While you might just be starting out in your new business, you want to ensure that it grows with you as you expand. With that in mind, ensure that the business name you choose is also capable of growth.
If you’re offering one product now, don’t forget that you might want to expand into a larger market later, and limiting name options won’t allow you to do so. Remember that while you’re trying to stand out from the competition, you don’t want to limit yourself.
Avoid using location-specific names if you plan to expand to other cities or states, names that target a specific demographic if you plan to broaden your customer base, and product-specific names if you plan to extend your offerings.
With a strategic approach and a touch of creativity, you've unlocked the secrets of how to come up with a business name. Remember, your company name is the foundation of your brand identity and marketing plan, so choose wisely.
As a solopreneur, spending time developing your business is the foundation to your success. With the help of automated tools like accounting software, you can have more time to focus on what matters most.
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