Business Name Ideas
Choose Your Best Business Name

If you don't already have a few creative business name ideas in mind, you can check out this article with tips on how to brainstorm small business names

If you do have a list of good business names, and you're ready to narrow the list down to your final choice, here are 14 tips to help you in the task of selecting the right business name.

1. Many artists and designers use their own name as their company name. If you decide to use your own name in your business name, keep in mind that the image and success of your company will be directly tied to you and your image. It is possible that there may come a time in the development of your business when that is not what you want.

   It’s hard to have objectivity regarding the image your own name projects, so if using your own name is one of your business name ideas, consider whether it projects an image that is in line with your company’s image.
   
   

2. Descriptive names have the benefit of clearly defining your company’s product or service, but often descriptive business names are not unique business names. Customers often expect a more creative business name from artists and creative businesses. If you use a descriptive business name, watch that it isn’t too dull.
   
   
3. Brandable business names are typically unusual or altered words. They stand out from the crowd and are more likely to be available as a domain name if you decide to have a website. The strength of brandable names is that they are typically unique business names. They typically don't convey the nature of your product or service to your customer, but they can convey a strong company image.
   
   
4. Avoid being too narrow in naming your business. It’s fine to be a bit descriptive when creating a business name, but your business could easily outgrow its name if you define your company by a specific product or location.
   
   
5. Most experts agree that shorter, memorable, catchy business names that are not too trendy and fall earlier in the alphabet are ideal.
   
   
6. When selecting the right business name, consider how each of your business name ideas would appeal to the sensibilities of people in your target market.
   
   
7. Consider whether any of your business name ideas are difficult to pronounce. One of the ideas I considered for a business name was con fuoco (Italian musical term meaning ‘with fire’). I liked the meaning, but the obvious potential for big pronunciation and spelling issues with that name led me to drop it from my list pretty quickly.
   
   
8. Even if you’re not planning to build a website any time soon, check to see if the domain name is available. You never know when you’ll decide that your company needs a web presence. So many domain names are taken; you may need to use your company name plus a defining word like designs, studio, glass etc. to establish your domain name.

   If your chosen business name idea is available as an URL, you'd be wise to register that URL as soon as possible or run the risk of losing it to someone else.
   
   

9. Check a search engine for your top business name ideas to see what comes up. You may reconsider using the name if there are a lot of results for your name (i.e. it’s not very original) or if there is a similar business with the same or a similar name, particularly if they reach customers in the same geographic region as you will be targeting.
   
   Also, reconsider using the business name if there is a well known company using a similar name, even if their product is different from your own. If people already connect the name with the existing company’s product, connecting the name to your own products, could be an enormous challenge.
   
   Finally, when you search your top business name ideas, you might want to reconsider using it if it is being used in any other way that may have negative connotations to your customers. You are building an art based business, so you don't necessarily have to be squeaky clean if that doesn't suit your art and your customers. Just be sure to think through the possible different meanings of the business names you are considering and whether it fits well with your target customers.
   
   
10. Do your own free market research. Make a list of your top ten business name ideas and give it to as many people as you can. Tell them a little bit about your company and ask them to choose their top three favorite names from your list. Track all of the responses and rank your list of ten based on the results of your survey.
    
    This strategy is a great way to help you in selecting the right business name if you have too many catchy business names and choosing just one is a challenge. Try to give the surveys to people who generally fall within your target market and notice any trends as the results are returned.

    For example, when I used this strategy myself, I noticed a real difference in the business names preferred by people in their twenties vs. people in their thirties and forties. If you see trends like this, it can help you to focus your company name to appeal to your own targeted group of customers.
    
    Of course, you’re not bound to choose the top ranking name from your survey of business name ideas, but this process will help you to get some objective feedback on the business names that you are considering.
    
    

11. Do a formal business name search to determine whether your business name has already been registered. If someone else is using that name or a similar name, you’ll need to be very careful about using it yourself.

    Depending on your geographic location and the structure of your business, you may not be able to use the name. This is a situation where legal advice could prevent big potential problems in the future. Your business development office can assist you in doing your name search, and your lawyer can assist you if you have legal concerns or questions regarding the business name that you choose.
    
    

12. Live with it for a while. Before choosing a name and committing to registering the business name, use it for a while. Write it in any business documents that you're working on, like your business plan, for example. Say it. Tell your friends and family the new name. Imagine how it could look on your promotional materials. You're going to have to live with it for a long time, so live with it for at least a few days before you finalize your decision.
    
    
13. After selecting the right business name, you're finally ready to take a trip down to your local business development office to learn how to register your business name.
    
    
14. Don't waste all of your hard work. You now have a list of some pretty great words and phrases, as well as a sense of how your target market responds to several of those words and phrases. Hold on to your list of business name ideas. Names that didn't make the cut as a business name may become a great name for a product line that you develop in the future.