How to choose a business name

A name is one of the few decisions in a new business that is expensive to undo. You can change your prices, your logo or your office without anyone much noticing; change your name and you lose the search rankings, the word of mouth and the customers who were just starting to remember it. It is worth an afternoon of care.

This checklist is for judging names you already have, whether you thought of them yourself or found them with synym. Run each of your favourites through it. Most will fail something; that’s the point.

Can people say it, spell it and remember it?

The telephone test. Say the name to someone over the phone, or into a voice assistant, and ask them to type it. If they ask “how do you spell that?”, you’ll be answering that question for years. Silent letters, doubled consonants and creative spellings (Kwik, Lyte) all cost you here.

The radio test. Hear it once, without seeing it written, and try to find it online. Names that sound like a common word but are spelled differently send people to someone else.

Length. Shorter is usually better, but not at any cost: a clear nine-letter name beats an awkward five-letter one. As a rough guide, two or three syllables is comfortable for most people to say and remember.

Stress and rhythm. Say it in a sentence: “I bought it from ___.” “Have you tried ___?” A name that trips people up in a sentence won’t be passed on.

Does it fit the business, now and later?

Not too narrow. A name made of your town and your product is clear today, but awkward when you open in a second town or start selling something else. Names that suggest a quality (speed, care, craft) rather than a product or place give you room to grow.

Not too vague. At the other end, an invented word with no hint of meaning could belong to any business at all, and needs a lot of marketing before it means you. That’s not fatal, as plenty of famous brands started as empty words, but it’s a cost.

The right tone. A law firm and a children’s toy shop want different things. Read the name next to your competitors’ names: does it sit comfortably among them, or stand out in the way you want?

Does it mean something unfortunate somewhere?

If you might sell abroad, check the name in the main languages of your customers. A word that is pleasant in English can be rude, silly or a competitor’s name elsewhere. Search the name in quotes, try it in an online translator in both directions, and ask a native speaker if you can. Check how it might be split, too: run together, two innocent words can read as something else entirely.

Is it free to use?

This is where most good names fall.

• Trade marks. Search the registers where you’ll trade for the same name and similar ones in your line of business. synym checks for identical marks in the US and EU registers; our trade mark basics guide explains how to look for similar ones, and why that matters more.
• Company names. Check your country’s company register: Companies House in the UK, Zefix in Switzerland, the Handelsregister in Germany, the state registries in the US. A company with a similar name in the same trade is a warning sign even without a trade mark.
• Domain names. The .com matters even if you plan to use another ending, because people will guess it. Our domain endings guide goes through the choices.
• Social media. Check the handles on the platforms your customers use. A slight variation (getname, namehq) is normal, but if someone in your trade already has the name everywhere, think again.
• Search results. Search the name. If the first page is full of a well-known product, you’ll struggle to be found and might be accused of riding on its reputation.

Do other people like it?

Your own judgement is biased: you know what the name is meant to mean. Show a shortlist of three to five names to people who resemble your customers, without explaining them, and ask what kind of business each suggests. Watch for the first reaction rather than the considered one. Don’t ask “do you like it?”, since people are polite; ask “what do you think this company does?” and “how would you spell it?”.

A short list to finish with

Before you commit, a good name should pass all of these:

1. People can spell it after hearing it once.
2. It suits the business you want to be in five years, not just today.
3. It means nothing unfortunate in your customers’ languages.
4. No live trade mark in your trade is the same or confusingly similar.
5. The .com, or a domain you’re happy with, is available.
6. You can get usable social media handles.
7. A few people who don’t know you guessed roughly what the business does.

Then decide. Every name feels strange for a few weeks; it’s the business behind it that makes it feel right. When you have, see what to do once you’ve chosen.