How to Come Up with a Brand Name? 9 Helpful Tips

When you start a new business, one of the most important steps is to come up with a catchy company brand name. If you give your company a poorly thought-out name, it can become a marketing nightmare for you. It is difficult to change an existing brand name, especially when you already have a track record.

Choosing a good brand name is not as simple as coming up with a random phrase or choosing one that sounds catchy. A good company name should convey the essence of the product or service it sells. Brand names should serve to remind your associates why you do things the way you do. Every memorable brand has a name that easily comes to mind.

A well-chosen brand name makes it easier to market, sell and raise awareness of your brand, especially, when it’s used in your online flipbook. So, whether you’re a startup business owner looking for the perfect name for your company or a designer looking for a name for a product you’re producing, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to come up with a brand name for your company or new product, how to find brand name ideas that speak to potential customers and what brand names are useful.

What makes a good brand name?

The brand name is a key issue when creating a company or new products. A well-chosen, memorable brand name determines the first impression you will make on consumers, as well as sets you apart from the competition. It is difficult to have a universal suggestion for every company since everyone has a different naming strategy. However, there are a few guidelines that a brand name should have.

A good brand name is evocative. It must entice potential customers to discover more about your product or service and should elicit a favorable emotional response from them. If the customer thinks “what does it mean” and wants to learn more about your company name then it’s a good brand name. For example, Goodreads, Aleve, and SpaceX are great brand names that are associated with the product they’re offering.

A brand name needs to be easy to say and can include attractive elements such as alliteration or wordplay to increase its appeal. For example, Flickr is going out of favor – why? Because it’s not a good business name for a photography service. Netflix, on the other hand, is very popular because the company name is easy to remember.

A strong brand should be able to differentiate itself from the competition, whether this is achieved with a tune or by using a metaphor. Make sure your brand name is recognizable – among technology brands like Intel, Akron, and Nexgen came the simple and memorable name Apple.

Since effective brand names are short and easy to remember, it can also make sense to use an acronym when naming a product or service with a long title. Some acronyms like IKEA or KFC are already household names that build brand identity.

 

How to come up with a unique business name? 9 useful tips

 

 

Think about what are your company’s goals

Start by defining your company’s identity and goals. This will help you stand out from the competition. Think about what the purpose of your company’s existence is, what your brand stands for, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and who you are targeting with your brand. If you want to target young entrepreneurs maybe name the company a little loosely, like PayPal. If your target is businessmen, maybe more serious brand names like Venmo would be better.

 

Think about both your current customers and other competitors

It’s important to choose a name that connects with both your target demographic and the people who work in your industry. Consider who you will be competing with and avoid the same name as some competing company. Consider reviews and surveys from potential customers. If consumers rave about how pleasant it is to use your product and work with your staff, there’s no point in choosing a fancy brand name – consider emphasizing the customer service aspect and words like You, Serve, Help, Friend. The brand naming process is for your customers, not you!

 

Create your own mash-ups

Using a portmanteau is one of the most fun ways to come up with fantastic business name ideas. Simply choose two or three words that have a lot of value to both you and your company and combine them. YouTube, Netflix, WhatsApp – all these great business name ideas combine two words into one. If you have a video game store downtown GameCenter immediately comes to mind.

 

Appeal to mythology or history

Companies like Mars, Nike, Hermes, and Pandora all refer to Greek mythology. You can find many different brand name ideas in books, history, and legends. Read a little about mythical characters, you may find something in myth or history for your business name.

You don’t have to constantly refer to European mythology, for example, the well-known airline Garuda is named after the mythical fiery bird. This way you can emphasize the history of your country and origin.

 

Use foreign terms

Using a language that is not your native tongue is another great naming strategy for inventing a catchy business name. This can make your company look exotic and intriguing to potential consumers. For example, maybe you use a French name for a beauty salon or an Arabic name for a coffee roasting house. Latin, which is the basis of many European languages, is a good choice.

 

Use your name

You can use your name – companies like Bosch or Siemens are named after their founders. You can take a more creative approach – for example, Amstrad is a made-up word that used to stand for Alan Michael Sugar Trading company. Also, use nicknames – if people have called you Crick since forever you have a ready-made company name right away. You can use names of places or family members important to you, like Amazon or Fabia.

 

Show a history of movies

The naming process of creating company names can be a great opportunity to show the brand story of your business. If your company’s history is interesting and fascinating, you may want to reflect it in your company name, like Kentucky Fried Chicken. On the other hand, company owner Kiichiro Toyoda very often had his name misspelled by foreigners so he changed the company’s name to Toyota, creating a very memorable brand.

 

Change the spelling

To generate more interest in your brand name, consider changing the spelling of a popular term by adding or deleting letters, or even rewriting the entire phrase. It is then easy to reserve the name and find good domain names for your company. For example, Arby’s fast food is a pronounced RB for Raffel Brothers. Google’s name comes from the mathematical term googol – one and a hundred zeros.

 

Pick a random word from the dictionary

If you can’t find your company’s name, you can use a business name generator. Twitter could have been called Twitch (today that’s occupied by another social network) but that got a bad rap. The company founder, Jack Dorsey looked in the dictionary and found the word ‘twitter’ next to it – a perfect fit for the new service. Memorable brand name ideas can be created due to free associations or simple brainstorming.

 

The best brand name ideas

 

Use a proverb, idiom, or oft-used phrase

We say we despise phrases, but the truth is that our brains have a natural tendency to prefer things we’ve heard about. Moreover, not all frequent brand names or cliches can be categorized as annoying platitudes. Consider a name like True Blue or American Foods.

 

Try using alliteration or rhymes in your writing

Another simple brand naming strategy you can use to quickly generate a memorable and logically consistent company name is to use alliteration or rhymes. They sound fun and are easy to say. Consider companies such as Hobby Lobby and Soundscape.

 

Reach for onomatopoeias

Words that sound just like a sound? These can be perfect for use in a business name. In addition, the use of these terms can often help define the type of business you have. Imagine using the word “drip” for a coffee shop or “munch” for a restaurant.

 

Remember the importance of context

When you consider the name of the company in the right setting, the power of brand names name becomes much more obvious. It is very important to first identify the goals, objectives, and advantages of the project. Cancer is a sign that may seem good to an astrologer, but what does it mean when applied to medicine? Brand naming must be viewed according to your industry and experience.

 

Don’t be too obscure

When it comes to choosing a business name, you should avoid esoteric metaphors that only a few people in your target audience would be able to easily recall. Who among you knows that the Scamander River in the Iliad was the location of Troy?

 

Check if the URL is available

The domain availability of the business name is the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs when coming up with a brilliant name. Check if the URL you can use to promote your excellent product is still available before you decide on your company name.

 

9 Effective brand names examples

 

Amazon

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon to be a massive bookstore where you could get anything. Amazon is the largest river and Bezos planned to have the biggest store in the world. The logo shows that you can get everything here, from A to Z.

 

Blackberry

The keyboard buttons of the phone looked like blackberry fruit, so it was a perfect fit for a phone whose keyboard was the winning feature. The alliteration helped design the logo.

 

Mercedes

Mercedes is a rare female name. The joke goes “Why did Germans name their best car Mercedes? Because no one would buy a car named Hildegarde.” Jokes aside, brand names based on some personal names are always great but might be overused.

 

Kodak

The founder of the company wanted it to start and end with a tough sound. Kodak is a made-up word that fits the brand.

 

Tesla

Electricity is practically inseparable from Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla, the man credited with inventing the induction motor and alternating-current (AC) power transmission, provided the inspiration for the name Tesla Motors. It’s a perfect business name for the electric car company.

 

Virgin

Virgin Record is one of the most memorable brand name ideas – since the founders were completely new to the business, it was a perfect business name for them.

 

IKEA

This name comes from the name of the founder Ingvar Kamprad – he blended his name with Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, which is the official name for his hometown. Now IKEA is a powerful brand and a word on its own.

 

Coca Cola

This iconic brand started out as a health tonic made of coca plant leaves (the same you make cocaine from!) and cola nuts. But it’s easy to pronounce and memorable.

 

Pepsi

Like Coca-Cola, Pepsi also started out as a health tonic. Its name comes from the digestive enzyme – pepsin. It was believed that the drink was good for digestion.

 

A summary

Each product line has its own name. Many people also think that the names of these companies have played a big role in their success. This is not unlikely because a brand is the basis of a company’s identity.

To build a strong brand identity, one of the most important steps is to come up with some fantastic brand names. We hope our tips on how to come up with a brand name will help you come up with a name that is not only unique but also easy to say, remember and evokes positive feelings. The naming process starts when you want to create a company on your own.

Remember, however, that brand names by themselves are nothing more than strings of syllables. You must, using your own work, make it mean something to the user. Only then will the name come alive, acquiring meaning and value.

 

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