How to come up with a business name

What is a business name?

When Shakespeare wrote “that which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet,” he wasn’t wrong, but he also wasn’t trying to stand out in business.

Your business name or company name is your brand name, and your business identity. It impacts how easy it is for customers to find you in the first place , and how easily they remember you next time they need your service or product.

Common types of business name

Your business name and brand name appears on official documents, invoices, website, packaging, and signage. The format of your business name will depend on the form of your business. Business name registration regulations vary by country, which we'll discuss later.

• If you’re a sole trader, you can use your name, eg, William Shakespeare
• Depending on your business structure you may need to add a suffix, eg, Shakespeare Ltd/Co/Corp/Inc
• You can trade under a different name, for instance if Shakespeare’s business is rose growing, he could register Shakespeare Rose Growers Ltd for administrative purposes and also trade as Sweet Roses
• You can use a descriptive name (Shakespeare’s Rose Garden) or location (Shakespeare’s Stratford Roses)
• Wordplay, compound words, alliteration, or anagrams (SweetScents of Stratford) can help you stand out

How to come up with a good business name

A good business name is memorable, distinctive, easy to write and say, and future-proof. The key to crafting one is simple: know your business.

What to consider when coming up with a business name

To begin, consider these 10 golden rules for a business name:

1. Is it available?
2. Is it too like other business names in your industry?
3. Does it reflect your business structure?
4. Does it meet regulations?
5. Does it exemplify your brand?
6. Does it stand out from your competition?
7. Is it easy to remember, spell, pronounce, and type?
8. Does it look good as a logo, a URL, and an email address?
9. Could it be misunderstood or cause offence?
10. Is it future proof?

Consider the type of name that will best distinguish your business in the market. Do you want your business name to be more about what you do (eg, Rose Creations), or what your customers want from you (eg, Flower Sales)?

A name like Stratford Rose Sales will be more optimal for search but doesn’t suggest anything special. It also limits the business to one product, meaning it’s not future-proofed. On the other hand, a business called A Rose By Any Other Name might appeal to customers looking for something special, but doesn’t say precisely what it is. The choice depends on your market and marketing strategy, as well as your long term business plan. Search engines and social media are important, but if your business is more niche, you may want to reflect that in your business name.

Business name brainstorming

Prepare some time, paper and pen (or pad), and creativity fuel, like coffee (am) or a glass of wine (pm) along with brain food (both). Invite wordy friends for a brainstorming session to come up with a unique business name. You can use a mood board approach, collecting images, ideas, and quotes associated with your business to stimulate your imagination, an app, a piece of paper – whatever works for you.

Begin by defining your business. Write down:

• The ‘origin story’ of your business
• What makes your business unique
• Your business and brand values
• Your customer demographics
• How you want your business and brand to be perceived
• How you describe your industry and your work

Write down some cultural touchpoints:

• Popular song, movie or book titles, stories, myths or other cultural names or ideas that relate to your business or your own identity
• Names you like, such as family or friend names, pet names
• Other business names, company names or brand names you like

Using these notes, let your imagination run free:

• Break out the thesaurus and dictionary and look up your words, you might find a synonym that works better
• Plug your words into an AI-powered business name generator, for example WIX and Shopify, or Looka
• Use an SEO keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Moz Keyword Explorer, Twinword or Semrush
• Look at patterns of catchy and unique business names
• Condense or use compound words, aiming for five syllables or fewer
• Compound words can be effective (eg, Airbnb, PayPal)
• Acronyms when done right are easy to remember and say (eg, IBM, IKEA)
• Inject some fun through alliteration and wordplay (eg, Krispy Kreme)
• There’s nothing stopping you from making up a word, or intentionally misspelling one (not to toot our own horn, but, for eg, Xero)

Check your business names and get some feedback

Once you have a shortlist of good business names, search them on business name, trade mark and domain name registers (see below) along with a Google search. You don’t want to settle on a name only to discover someone else already has!

Run your business names through a language translator or ask someone if you’re uncertain. You don’t want to set your heart on Rosa Morta only to discover it means Dead Rose in Italian (unless you’re in the composting business).

Ask trusted friends, family, and colleagues for feedback on your shortlist. Ask for their favourite, and why. Which name would they remember without writing it down? Which one would they click on during a search for your goods or services?

What restrictions are there on business names?

Specific laws govern business names, varying by country. Typically, a business name must not be identical or misleading, nor imply an association with government, financial organisations, or charities, nor be offensive or obscene or likely to cause offence.

Sole traders, partnerships and companies may have different regulations. For example, sole traders operating under their legal name may not require registration, whereas company names must reflect the liability of members and the company status, typically indicated by suffixes like 'Proprietary Limited' or ‘Ltd’.

In the UK, sole traders trading under their own name don’t need to register it. However, there are regulations for sole trader names, and you may need permission for restricted words. Find out more at the sole traders page on the Gov.uk website. Similar rules apply for partnerships. For company names, the name usually must end in Limited or Ltd (Cyfyngedig or Cyf in Wales) and follow regulations.

Checking the availability of your business name

If you think you might expand into other global markets in future, search those countries as well as the country in which you’re registering your business name. Check for domain names, and search on social media for businesses or individuals using the name.

You can use GoDaddy to check domains globally. Namechk can search for social media names across a few platforms, or manually search on the platforms you intend to use for your business.

The Gov.uk website has a company name availability checker and trade mark search.

Should you register a trade mark?

Trade marks enable you to prevent others from mimicking your brand identity. If you’re planning to dedicate substantial resources towards making your brand well known, a trade mark may prove a valuable safeguard.

Navigating the legalities of trade marks can be a thorny business, especially if you venture into overseas markets and discover a business there is using a similar name to yours. It’s best to seek advice from a legal professional well versed in this area of law.

At the very least, use trade mark registries (and search engines) to check that no one already has a trade mark for your business name. It’s an easy way to save yourself a lot of hassle.