8 Tips for Naming Your Business

There are so many things to think about when you are starting a business. What type of business do you want to start? What market are you going to serve? Where are you going to source your products if you are selling products? What about your website? The list goes on and on. It’s almost easy to forget to decide on a name – but a name can make or break your business.

You need to put some serious thought into what to name your company because names are incredibly powerful. John Wayne was born as Marion Morrison, after all. But somewhere along the way, he figured out that his success would be easier to reach if his name was different. Fortunately, you don’t have to start with a bad business name. You can choose instead to name your business something that will embody what you do, who you are and appeal to your desired audience.

Consider the following tips for naming your business. You can take some or all of them and apply them to your situation to come up with a name that will sell your business.

Naming Your Business – 8 Tips Worth Remembering

1. Say the name out loud

Word of mouth advertising is the best kind there is – but your business needs to fit within normal, comfortable speech, or you are going to hear it a lot less than you like. Some business names just roll off of the tongue, like Coca-Cola or Amazon. Others are so difficult to say that people are afraid to mispronounce them so they avoid even trying. You want your business name to be easy to say aloud.

2. Make your name mean something

You can name your business anything, which can be a little overwhelming if you think about it too much. But a good business name is far from random. It needs to mean something to those who read it or say it. Popeye’s Chicken tells you right away that they are in the chicken business. If it was Popeye’s Louisiana Flavors you wouldn’t know if it was a spice store, a sandwich shop or a restaurant. Since you know what your business is selling, it should not be too difficult to center your name around the subject so that everyone knows what you are in business for.

3. Don’t make your name unnecessarily complicated or difficult to read

There have been some truly bizarre business names to come on the scene, particularly in the 2000s. Take Flickr for example. Very few people saw that name and knew how to pronounce it. They still managed to occupy an important space in online photo storage – but they also had significant financial backing. For the average small business owner, such a convoluted name is not going to be helpful. Stick to a name that will be easy to read and understand.

4. Make sure the name can grow with your business

Sometimes small businesses make the mistake of choosing a name that is so specific that when they grow and expand, they have to change their name to accommodate their new situation – which risks alienating your current customers or making them forget you altogether. If Amazon had gone with a more limiting name like “Buy Books Online” they would have severely limited their potential for growth. Instead, they went with a name that could encompass any product they chose to sell.

5. Search for your new business name on the internet before you finalize your decision

It only takes a minute to type in your potential business name and hit enter. The results you get will tell you whether another business is already using the name you picked. If there are other businesses using the name, you will probably be better off picking a different one. However, there are situations where you can still go with a name used by someone else – like if they are in another part of the world. But if you can find a different name you like you should go with the new one.

6. Search the Secretary of State database to make sure no one else in the state is using the name

You can go onto your state’s website to search through the records of the Secretary of State to see if another business is using the name you want. Some LLC formation services will do this step for you before helping you form your corporation. You need to check with the Secretary of State for two reasons. First, if a business in your state is using the same name or a similar name, it is in your best interest to choose a different one. There is too much chance that you could run into complications using the same name they are using. Second, you may not even be able to register the name with the Secretary of State if it is too similar to one already registered.

7. Ask around to see what other people think of the name

Just because you think the name is amazing doesn’t mean that others will. It would probably be easiest to create a list of several names you like and run them by people you trust – and even people you don’t normally interact with. The more feedback you can get, the better you will know how others respond to the name. Ideally, you should check with your target market to verify whether people in the right market segment like the name.

8. Pick a name you like

It is going to take a while before your business builds up a fan base. Until that happens, you are going to be the main advocate for your company. It will be easier for you to get excited about your business – and therefore talk to everyone about it – if you like the name. If you don’t like the name, you may hesitate to say it or mention all the hard work you are doing.