Naming your business could be extremely easy to difficult task depending on how you see things. There are multiple ways to get creative company names and ideas. A catchy business name is very important for the business itself. It could define the far future of your company too. Usually there are three ways to get your hands on creative company names.
- You can use search the internet for naming services, tools and websites. Some of these websites are even available for free while some which have advanced features have premium subscription. Even if you don’t find creative company names there, you’ll get worthy ideas.
- You can hire professional firm for the naming process; however in most of the cases small businesses don’t do that because of the obvious reason. It could be expensive and if you cannot afford spending thousands of dollars on finding a creative name then move to the third option.
- You can brainstorm yourself and get creative business names and ideas. However you’d be checking everything manually like the domain name availability and business name availability.
How companies got creative business names?
We know naming process is a frustrating and time consuming part of the whole business plan, big organizations know it too and that’s why they hire naming firms to complete the job for them. However this is not always the case as many companies got their names from founders’ name while some got it by pure luck. Nissan is a popular automobile manufacturer in the world but the company didn’t start with the name Nissan. Almost 100 years ago it was started by three people and they named the company DAR Motorcar.
Later the company was acquired by another company name Nippon Sangyo and the word Nissan came from as a mixture of both words. Of course Nissan is way better than DAT Motorcar and it is also brandable name. Nissan is not the only automobile company with an interesting story. Volkswagen was named by Adolf Hitler who wanted to build a car for common people. The car was named “Volkswagen” that means “People’s Car” in English language. Although the use of foreign language could put you in an awkward position because it is kind of unpredictable but Volkswagen managed to remain on top because of the catchy name.
Gamers all over the globe know what an Xbox is. This is one of the most popular gaming consoles ever made. This console and brand is owned by Microsoft and back in early 2000s, DirectX was the most popular and widely used graphic software. The engineering team from Microsoft designed and developed a compatible hardware and they named it DirectX Box. Later the company named that gaming console Xbox that is not only more catchy than original name DirectX Box but also brandable.
Spotify is a popular music streaming service that has more than 100 million users in more than 50 countries. The company was founded in Sweden and that’s why many people assume that Spotify is a Swedish word but actually it is a totally made up word. However it wasn’t the naming team or anyone else who deliberately suggested that name, Co-founders Daniel and Martin were suggesting different names and one of them misunderstood a name that was Spotify. That’s how they named a company with millions of users.
AT&T ruled the telecommunication industry in USA for more than 100 years. It was Graham Bell who founded this company and he named it American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Yes, it is the same Graham Bell who invented telephone. The name of this company was shortened years later to AT&T because the old name was boring and lengthy.
Make sure the business name is yours
Finding creative business names is one thing and making sure that name is available and yours is another thing. Obviously you don’t want to participate in a costly legal battle. In order to make sure the business name is yours and available for registration, you have to comply without local laws and authorities. Usually the registration process could take few days but this wait is better than regretting your decision later. There are many companies who fought legal battles over business names as well as on brand names.
In 2011, Apple launched its new cloud service named iCloud. Few days later they received a lawsuit from another company named iCloud Communication. Apple not only copied their name but Apple’s iCloud service is quite similar to what iCloud Communication was offering to its users. The details about this legal battle are not public but Apple did solve this issue in less than three months. Similar thing happened with Microsoft SkyDrive and later the company renamed its product to OneDrive. Another example is Facebook feature Timeline that was challenged by another company with similar name.
How to make creative business names catchy?
There isn’t a secret formula to make creative business names catchy or attractive but there are some tips, tricks and guideline that help you get on the right track.
- First of all, make sure the name is short and easily memorable. If your customers or visitors cannot remember a name then they cannot possibly recommend it to other people.
- The business name you select has to be interesting; Minnesota Minerals and Mining Company changed its name to 3M that is interesting enough.
- If it is a made up word then make sure it is not awkward to pronounce and if it is a real word in another language then make sure it does not have unpleasant meaning in native language of your target audience.
- Most importantly, make sure the name you have selected is available and no other business or company holds right to that name.
- Regardless of your business is directly related to business or not, grab the relevant domain name too because you might need that in future. Consider it a small investment for the future.