A Beginner`s Guide to Choosing a Brand Name (2024)

Choosing a name is an important step in developing a brand. Customers will initially encounter your brand via its name, so it's important that it's easy to understand, sticks in their minds, and conveys something about your company's services, values or culture. The brand name will appear on your advertisements, marketing activities and services. One way to set yourself out is with a memorable name.

Here are my top ten suggestions to help you focus and remember when brainstorming brand names:

1. First, consider who you're writing for so you can choose a name that will appeal to them. Think about how to best communicate with your target audience in terms of language and tone.
2. Check Google Translate to see whether the brand name you've settled on has any strange connotations in other languages. Also search Google.
3. The brand's identity should be reflected in the name you choose. Ask yourself: ”Will people remember this name?”, “Does it tell what my brand, product or service is without me explaining it?”
4. Keep it short so that people can easily recall it. Names that are both short and memorable are more successful.
5. Make sure your name is simple to pronounce and spell. Don't risk being misunderstood by your audience by employing jargon or too technical language.
6. See whether the domain (url) name and social media handles with that name are available before settling on it.
7. Search engine optimization (SEO) and keywords: Think about using keywords in your brand name and URL to boost your website's visibility in search results. This is a broader topic about which I’ll write later.  I know it is not often that easy to find those available names, and if possible pick a name that makes use of relevant keywords about your product or services. 
8. Think long-term. Make sure the brand name you choose can adapt as your company, product or service does. For example, let’s say you are thinking of a name for your clothing company which will sell t-shirts. You found a name “XYZ T-Shirts”. In the long-term, if you want to sell jackets too, this name can be limiting. You might want to consider “XYZ Clothing” or a broader name, so it can stay relevant when you add new products to sell in the future.
9. Check to ensure that your chosen name is not already trademarked in your country or globally. Additionally, make sure your chosen name is not offensive or discriminatory to any group of people. You may want to consult with a legal professional to ensure that your brand name is legally sound.
10. Think about the feelings you want your brand name to inspire. For example do you want it to be creative, humorous or business like?

Tip: Once you make your shortlist, I recommend to proactively ask a few friends or colleagues for feedback. Remember to keep it very simple. Just before launching the name, brand, logo for my website as a solopreneur,  I had a super - mini sounding board of a few people I trusted and respected from different cultural and professional backgrounds than mine. I asked them to give me constructive critism. It took about 30 - 40 minutes in total for hearing/reading the feedback and these valuable inputs gave me the opportunity to to do some tweaks along the way. 

Where can I check online to get some ideas for a brand name?

Depending on your budget and objectives, generally speaking, the ideal way would be to work with an agency or professionals who are experts in this area. However, zillions of online resources are available if you're searching for a minimum viable product (MVP) approach at a lower cost. For example, if you would like to test an idea for your start-up before launch, if you are a solopreneur who has limited resources or working in a big corporate company and the brand will be only used internally for internal communication purposes, you can consider this route. Here are six websites worth exploring more:

1. NameMesh
2. Looka
3. Hatchful
4. Namelix
5. 99designs
6. Namelix

Choosing the right name for your brand is a critical and time-consuming step towards your digital product or brand journey. By considering these ten factors, you can choose a name that is memorable, catchy, and professional.

I hope this blog post helps you for one of the important steps towards building your dream online business or project and helps you focus, simplify and save time. Remember “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” (Lao Tzu) You`ve got this!