How to name your company

  • 10 minutes

Picking a good name for your company is a subjective exercise, but you can use simple criteria to identify potential names.

Good startup names have the following eight attributes:

  • Simple
  • Memorable
  • Easy to spell
  • Easy to say
  • Safe in other languages
  • Future-proof
  • Available as a .com domain
  • Free of infringements on existing trademarks

Let's go through each of these attributes and discuss why they're important.

Simple

A simple name is one that has as few characters and syllables as possible. The shorter the name, the easier it is for people to remember, say, and type.

As a guide, you should aim to have no more than three syllables and no more than 10 characters in your company name. Examples are Uber, Canva, Yammer, GitHub, Bing, Xero, Slack, and Stripe.

Memorable

One of the best ways to make your company name memorable is to invent a word.

Generally, it's best not to use a generic or descriptive term (such as travel, finance, photo, family, pet, store, groceries, or movie) because many other company names are probably using the same term. Using generic terms can make it hard for you to stand out. It can also affect your search engine ranking.

The best invented-word names tend to hint at what the company does without trying to describe it in literal terms.

Examples (ordered from the most indirect to most direct hints):

  • Trello (variation on trellis, a latticework structure)
  • X (short communication, like a letter)
  • Zoom (fast, seamless video communication)
  • Expedia (expeditions + encyclopedia)
  • Netflix (internet movies)

Easy to spell

You should choose a company name that people can spell, so that when they hear about your company, they can find it easily online.

If people have to guess the spelling of your company name, you're introducing unnecessary friction. Some of those users give up before they find you.

You can test this attribute objectively with another person. Say the name of your company and ask the person to write it down or enter it into a search engine. Do this test with 10 people and see how many of them correctly spell your company name the first time.

You should expect nine or (preferably) 10 out of 10 people to get it right the first time. Any less, and you should consider finding another name.

Easy to say

You should choose a company name that's easy to say. There are two parts to this test:

  • Can people pronounce it correctly?

    The correct pronunciation of your company name should be obvious. You want people to talk about your company. If they're unsure how to pronounce the name, they're less likely to say it for fear of sounding ignorant.

    You can test this attribute objectively. Show 10 people the name of your company written down and ask each one to read out the name. You want nine or (preferably) 10 out of 10 people to get it right the first time. You should also ask whether they had any doubt about how to pronounce it. If you find that some people are unsure how to pronounce your company name, you should probably change it.

  • Does saying it feel good?

    The name of your company should seem like a fit for the kind of business that you want to build. Over the life of your company, you're going to say the name many thousands of times, so it needs to feel right to you.

    Is your company's brand personality going to be conservative (for example, Cisco Systems) or quirky (for example, TikTok)? Think about brand personality not just from your perspective, but also from the perspective of your future users.

Safe in other languages

Some company and product names can turn out to be an insult in another language.

Research online to make sure that your preferred name doesn't translate to something offensive. You might also decide to test similar-sounding words with different spellings, and to check with people who speak the language of your target non-English-speaking markets.

Future-proof

A common pitfall in choosing company names is to settle on a name tied too closely to your current product or market.

When you name your company too narrowly, you run the risk of a name that no longer fits. Particularly, if you later add other products, pivot away from your current product entirely, or focus on other markets.

For example, Emily is building a product to streamline personal banking and decides to use words such as "bank" or "savings" in the company name. The name could be a problem in the future if Emily decides to launch a product to streamline investment portfolios.

Think about all the adjacent markets you might ultimately focus on. Does your preferred company name give you a reasonable degree of freedom to build other products or enter other markets?

Available as a .com domain

If you wanted to start a company called Microsoft today, you wouldn't be able to have the domain microsoft.com (for obvious reasons). Maybe you could use a domain hack and try to register microsoft.io, microso.ft, getmicrosoft.com, hellomicrosoft.com, microsoft-app.com, or some other variant. However, most people would agree that isn't a good strategy.

Many startup founders compromise the strength of their brand from the outset by choosing a name for which the domain <their-company-name>.com isn't available. It could be unavailable because someone registered it and is sitting on it, or (even worse) because an existing business is using that domain. Instead, they settle for an inferior domain such as <their-company-name>.io or .biz. Or, they use domain hacks like the examples cited earlier.

Apart from causing confusion among users and making it harder for them to find your company, this brand compromise signals weakness. As pointed out by Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham, startups that choose a marginal domain are often viewed as marginal companies.

If you're going to be a successful global company, you should have the domain <your-company-name>.com.

This view might seem inflexible, but experience suggests that a small investment of time up front pays off by allowing your company to start with a strong brand. Rather than starting with a suboptimal brand that you're forced to change later.

Not having <your-company-name>.com is unlikely to kill your company, but it does add friction by forcing potential customers to take extra time to find you online. As your company matures beyond the startup phase, not having the domain <your-company-name>.com can start to look highly conspicuous.

More importantly, the domain <your-company-name>.com should arguably be one of the key intellectual property assets of your business. The more successful your company becomes, the greater the risk you're taking by not owning this asset. While you're a small startup, whoever owns that domain is likely to happily sit on it. Maybe they'd accept a modest offer to sell it to you.

But let's say in a couple of years your company is growing fast, you raise a large funding round, and you get some great media coverage. At that point, you're exposed to the possibility that whoever owns <your-company-name>.com can try to take advantage of the situation by getting you to buy it from them at a high price.

So, before you commit to a name for your company, make sure you can have <your-company-name>.com. If it's available to register, you can do that straight away. If someone registers the domain and is sitting on it, you need to make an offer to buy it. Many domain registrars offer anonymous brokerage services, such as GoDaddy.

Consider registering several other domains at the same time, primarily to prevent opportunists from snapping them up. The main categories are:

  • Any common domain extensions that are available, such as <your-company-name>.com, .biz, and .io
  • Any potential misspellings of your company name
  • Any likely domain hacks, such as get-<your-company-name>.com
  • The relevant country/region-specific domain if you're located outside the United States

Last, if your company heavily relies on one or more social networks to reach users, you should check the availability of social handles. It could be highly undesirable to pick a company name and realize later that existing social media accounts are using that name.

Free of infringements on existing trademarks

A final step before you lock in a name for your company is to do a trademark search. A basic search of US trademarks is free. It gives you some confidence that you're not choosing a name that will lead to an expensive lawsuit in the future.

It's often a good idea to consult with a trademark attorney who can do a more robust search and advise you on any trademark issues.

Task: Evaluate your company name

Score your company name (or proposed name) out of eight by using the following score sheet.

If you score seven or eight, chances are your company name is a reasonable choice. If you score six or less, consider changing it.

If you decide that you should change your company name, the best time for the change is now. It's never easy, but the longer you wait, the more difficult and expensive it is.

Remember that the principles we discussed in this unit are a guide only. Some companies are successful despite breaking one or more of these principles.

Startup name: __________________________________

☐ Simple
☐ Memorable
☐ Easy to spell
☐ Easy to say
☐ Safe in other languages
☐ Future-proof
☐ Availability of a .com domain
☐ Free of infringements on existing trademarks

Score: ___ / 8