How to Create the Perfect Brand Name

Your brand name should be unique, set you apart from your competitors, and be associated with your product or service. It should give potential clients an idea about your offerings’ benefits, purpose, and quality.

It should be easy to remember, pronounce, spell, and identify.

How do you find a catchy name? You could use a business name generating tool or approach a specialized branding services provider.

Different options are available depending on your branding needs and budget. At any rate, it’s not impossible to find the right brand name. All it takes is a little effort.

Factors Behind a Good Brand Name

There’s no 100% effective formula, but a few things to consider. Consumers tend to react to memorable, rhyming names like Kit Kat and Coca-Cola. Ideally, go with something distinctive but also meaningful. It should communicate the essence of your brand, create a positive emotional connection, and conjure an image.

The name should be easy to pronounce, interpret, spell, or search. It can be unusual, even strange, but it must be comprehensible.

The name should also stay relevant as your business grows. It needs to be adjusted according to various brand extensions and products.

Last but not least, it should be protectable and visual. You need to get the domain and trademark the name.

A business needs to communicate its name through design, including colors, logos, and icons.

Finding the Right Name

There is no shortage of services that suggest names, domains, and available URLs. They can help, but it’s best to select, research, and test the name purposefully. Going with an auto-generated name isn’t optimal.

Here are the steps to take if you’re ready to choose your brand name.

Understand Your Brand

Who are you as a brand, and what do you want to achieve with it? Ask yourself why you created your business, what the future looks like for you, how your business will achieve it, and your values. In other words, understand the principles guiding your behavior. Easier said than done, yes.

These factors have an impact on all your business-related activities, including the choice of a brand name.

Unique Selling Point

It’s important to know what makes your brand unique. This goes beyond the core of the brand. You are looking for the best name for you, not just a good name. Look at your competitors to grasp what makes you stand out.

Hold a Structured Brainstorming Session

This is the most fun part for some and the most painful for others. Gather your group and hold a brainstorming session. Providing guidelines for group work and limitations to consider is most effective, although perhaps not as enjoyable as giving creativity free rein.

You might begin the session with specific exercises or prompts. Start by writing down different words that describe your product or describe how people should feel when using it. You could do a free word association too.

Brand Name Categories

Brand names come in various categories: descriptive, personal, invented, acronym, metaphor, word combination, and more. Descriptive names are those describing your activity or product. General Motors is an example.

Personal names are those based on a real or fictional person. Invented ones are entirely made up, like Xerox.

Examples of acronyms are GE (General Electric) or DKNY. These names use initials or an abbreviation.

Metaphorical names are heavy on imagery or related to a myth. They can allude to objects, places, processes, animals, or people. For example, Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory.

Finally, there are word combinations like Facebook or actual words with a twist on the spelling, like Fiverr.

In the best case, get your group to create a name for each of these categories. Brainstorm at least 12 names. A preference for a specific type or trend will emerge.