As a future (but not yet) hugely successful startup, you want a Business name that grabs the attention of all who hear it and holds on with a death grip. In this article, we’ll show you how to come up with the perfect catchy name for your new venture by brainstorming and asking yourself these five questions:

Is it original?
Is it future-proof?
Is it user-friendly?
Is it available?
Do I LOVE it?

You ready? Let’s delve into these questions and look at tips to get you through the business name creation process:

Is it original?

Being original can be scary (and hard) to do, but it’s essential when naming your business — don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd! A gazillion apps have names like Tinder, Grindr, Flickr, and Tumblr, so accept that your Stark-family-themed Game of Thrones app called Wintr will only get lost in the shuffle.

As a new startup, your name needs to compel people to sit up and take notice rather than look up, look down, and forget you ever existed. To generate a boatload of options to work with, don’t edit yourself during the brainstorming process — it’s all about a free flow of ideas and imagination.

Explore keywords. Twinword has an awesome free keyword tool that can help you find inspiration for your name. If you type a keyword related to your business into its search field, it’ll give you a graph of all of the other words related to it. Fire away!

Play it up. Another way to achieve originality is with some deliciously fun wordplay. Have a look at these examples of companies with clever titles and think about what you could come up with for your brand. It’s a good idea starter! Examples:Cash 22 (pawnbrokers)

• Melon Cauli (fruit and vegetable store)
• Sole Man (shoe repairs)
• Fireworks (candle making company)
• Spoon Me (frozen yogurt brand)

Consult books. Use a hard copy of a dictionary for inspiration, or even one of your favourite novels. Flip through the pages and write down words that resonate with you, even if they’re not directly related to your business.

Is it future-proof?

One thing you don’t want to do is create a name that sabotages your future expansion plans or limits your reach. Let’s say, for instance, that your company makes women’s shoes, but you think you’ll eventually try to crack the male market. Having a name like Goddess Heels by Fiona wouldn’t be helpful.

One way to future-proof your name — and get out of the singular “this is the product we make or thing we offer” headspace — is to think about your company’s story, values, and key differentiators as you brainstorm.

Get reflective. How would you describe your company to others? What are you trying to accomplish? What feelings do you want to evoke in your customers? What adjectives come to mind when you think about your business? What do you do differently? Grab a piece of paper and a pen and start writing it all down.

Consider your offering. If you’re a service-based business, having your service offering in the name can be helpful as a suffix (e.g. Scaling Upward Design).

Keep it simple. A business name shouldn’t be a mashup of words trying to accomplish too many things — it needs to feel good and evoke positive emotions and associations in you and your future customers.

Is it user-friendly?

You have a first-round list of original name ideas — now what? It’s important to choose a name that’s easy to say, spell, and type into Google — even if it’s a made-up word. Many people aren’t great spellers, and as of the time of writing this post, there’s no “Did you mean to write this?” system in place for mistyped URLs in browser windows.

Choosing a name that helps people find you quickly can put you ahead of the game. And remember: if customers can’t find you, they’ll end up finding someone else!

Impose creative constraints. As you get deeper into brainstorming, limit yourself to coming up with names with only one word or two syllables — it’ll help you focus on coming up with punchier name ideas. Other constraints to try? Coming up with only alliterative names (hello, Squarespace and PayPal), or only ones that begin with verbs (e.g. Dropbox, Shopify).

Test in different mediums. To see how your name ideas look and sound, put them into a logo design, say them out loud in a conversation (or to yourself in the mirror), and draft them in an email signature. Making your ideas feel real will help you determine if they connect!

Get feedback. Ask a few trusted friends or family members to weigh in on your name ideas. If you say a name and they immediately look confused or barrage you with questions, you may want to rethink its user-friendliness.

Is it available?

Once you have a business name idea (or a few) that you’re happy with, it’s time to do some digging. For SEO and legitimacy purposes, you want the name in your website URL, so check if it’s available in .com form. If not, you can choose from about a hundred options from .net to .co.uk to .tv — but again, a .com URL can give your business an air of legitimacy and bring in more traffic.

The good news? Being creative will pay dividends because the more original your name, the more likely it is to be available as a web address.

Check it. GoDaddy is a go-to tool for checking domain availability and letting you see your .com alternatives. Type your ideas in, hold your breath, and see if the names are taken (we hope not!). If they are, see what businesses or pages are at those addresses and take note. You can also do a trademark search — here are the resources for the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Don’t give up. If the domain is unavailable, you still have options. You can add a word at the start or end of your name — popular ones include “app,” “get,” and “hello.” If you’re a service-based industry, you can try adding your offering in the name. And if your business is limited by geography, a country-specific URL is still a great option (.ca, .uk) — just make sure whatever content is at the .com address doesn’t conflict with your business. It’s also a good idea to check the trademark in these instances.

Look at social handles. After checking the domain name, take a look at if the name you want is taken in social handles, particularly on the channels you plan to use to build your business. If the exact handle name is unavailable (a likely scenario), there are some easy fixes to try like adding a word or underscore. Again, check the content of handles that come up in your searches to see who else is using the name.

Do I LOVE it?

It goes without saying that you have to love your new business name and feel confident about putting it out into the world. That’s why we recommend brainstorming plenty of ideas and taking the time to mull them over before settling on a winner — don’t expect overnight success!

The last thing to remember: Companies rebrand all the time, but doing so costs time and money. Try your best to get the name right on the first attempt to ensure your business is off to a great start. Good luck!

The post How to Come Up with a Catchy and Creative Business Name appeared first on Logojoy.