How to Name Your Brand

A great name won’t save a bad business, and a boring name won’t sink a good one. Nike, Amazon, and Apple were unremarkable names that became great because the businesses did. Amazon was almost called “Cadabra.” Nike was nearly “Dimension Six.” Nobody would tell you those are obviously winning names, and it did not matter.

So the goal is not the perfect name. The name has to clear a few practical bars: it should be clear, ownable, and available. Clear the bars, then get back to building the thing that will actually make the name mean something. Here’s how to do it without losing three weeks.

---

Step 1: Start with the brand, not the name

You cannot name something you have not defined. Before you brainstorm a single word, answer three things (the same starting point as designing your look):

• Who is it for? The specific person.
• What is the personality? Three words: warm and playful, or clean and clinical, or bold and loud.
• What does it stand for? The one idea you want to own in her mind (your brand, which is worth finding before you build).

Those answers are the raw material. A name for a “clean and clinical” skincare brand should sound nothing like one for a “warm and playful” one.

Step 2: Know the five types of names

Names fall into five types. Knowing them gives you a palette instead of a blank page, and here are brands women know in each.

Descriptive

Says exactly what you do. Clear, but generic and the hardest to own or trademark, since competitors can use the same common words.

The Honest Company	e.l.f.	bareMinerals
First Aid Beauty	The Ordinary	The Body Shop
Bath & Body Works	Physicians Formula	beautyblender
The Inkey List	Function of Beauty	The Detox Market
Nudestix	Real Techniques	Beautycounter

Suggestive

Hints at the feeling or benefit without spelling it out. The sweet spot for most brands: memorable, ownable, and flexible.

Glossier	Skims	Rare Beauty
Glow Recipe	Summer Fridays	Sol de Janeiro
Ouai	Drunk Elephant	Tower 28
Saie	Youth to the People	Living Proof
Topicals	Starface	Necessaire

Invented

A made-up word. The most ownable and trademarkable, but it means nothing until you give it meaning.

Spanx	Olaplex	CeraVe
Aveeno	Supergoop	Aveda
Kérastase	Osea	Kosas
Biossance	Kopari	Aquaphor
Cetaphil	Neutrogena	Pantene

Founder name

Named after the person, like Rhode (Hailey Bieber’s middle name). Personal and authentic, but it ties the brand to you, which matters if you ever want to sell it or step back.

Chanel	Fenty	Charlotte Tilbury
Huda Beauty	Rhode	Kylie Cosmetics
Estée Lauder	Anastasia Beverly Hills	Tory Burch
Kate Spade	Diane von Furstenberg	Jo Malone
Laura Mercier	Pat McGrath Labs	Victoria Beckham

Borrowed word

An ordinary word used in an unexpected category. Evocative and ownable if the word has nothing to do with what you sell.

Dove	Milk Makeup	Frank Body
Verb	Bumble	Aesop
Method	Buxom	Prose
Parade	Billie	Quip
Native	Flamingo	Bloom

Step 3: Generate a lot of options

Names come from quantity, not inspiration. Aim for thirty before you judge any of them. Ways to generate:

• Mine your Step 1 words. Write out everything associated with your personality, your customer, and the problem you solve. Names hide in that list.
• Play with technique: mash two words together, use a metaphor, borrow from another language, or riff on the problem you fix.
• Use the tools: free AI name generators like Namelix and the Shopify business name generator spit out dozens of options and check domains as they go. ChatGPT is good for volume if you feed it your Step 1 answers.

Get to thirty, then cut to a shortlist of five to ten you actually like.

Step 4: Check the trademark database

Before you commit, search the trademark database. It’s free, it tells you whether someone already owns your name for the kind of product you sell, and it saves you from an expensive, heartbreaking rebrand.

If a business in your category already holds the trademark, cross the name off now. Building a brand, printing packaging, and growing an audience on a name someone else owns ends one way: a cease-and-desist that forces you to start over after you’ve spent real money. The search costs nothing; the rebrand costs everything.

You do not have to register your own trademark yet. In the US, registering is smart once you have a sale and you’re sure of the name (it costs a few hundred dollars per class, more with a lawyer). The rule is: clear the name now, register it once the business is real. For the fuller picture, see trademarks, and note that registering the name you operate under is a separate, cheap step called a DBA.

Step 5: Say it out loud

Now run the shortlist through the spoken-word filters, because a name lives out loud far more than on paper:

• The radio test: if someone hears the name once, can they spell it? If not, you’ll lose customers who can’t find you.
• Easy to say and remember. Trip over it and so will everyone else.
• No awkward second meanings. Say it fast, read it as one word (the classic “Who Represents” / whorepresents.com problem), and check it isn’t unfortunate in another language.
• Room to grow. Don’t box yourself in. Jeff Bezos didn’t name it “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore,” he named it Amazon, so he could sell everything later. A name that only fits your first product becomes a cage.

Step 6: Check the domain and the handles

Before you get attached, check availability:

• The domain. A matching .com is ideal because it’s what people still type and trust. Check instantly with a tool like Instant Domain Search. If the exact .com is taken, a small tweak (add a word, use .co or a country domain) can work, but weigh how much confusion it will cause.
• Social handles. Check that the name (or a close, consistent version) is free on Instagram, TikTok, and wherever your customers are. Consistent handles matter more than the perfect domain for a modern brand.

Step 7: Test it on real people, then decide

Say your top one or two out loud to a handful of people in your target customer’s world. Watch their face, not their politeness. Do they get it? Can they repeat it back an hour later? You’re not taking a vote, you’re listening for confusion.

Then decide and move. Perfectionism about a name is almost always procrastination wearing a productive costume. Pick the one that’s clear, ownable, and available, and go make it mean something.

---

The Spanx name, as a model

Sara Blakely deliberately invented “Spanx.” She chose a name with a hard “K” sound because the most iconic brand names, Coca-Cola and Kodak, have that sound, and because comedians had told her the “K” sound makes audiences laugh, so it would stick. Then, at the last minute, she changed the spelling from “Spanks” to “Spanx,” specifically because an invented spelling would be easier to trademark. Memorable, ownable, and protectable, all chosen on purpose in one decision. It became a billion-dollar brand.

Common mistakes

• Over-agonizing. The name matters less than the weeks you’ll burn perfecting it. Clear the bars and move.
• Too descriptive. “Best Organic Skincare Co.” is clear and impossible to own. Generic names can’t be protected.
• Chasing the trend. The wave of “-ly” names and “Oat-” everything all date at the same time. Aim for timeless.
• Unpronounceable coined words. Invented is good; unspellable is not.
• Boxing yourself in. Don’t name yourself out of your own future growth.
• Skipping the trademark and domain check until you’re already attached. Do it before you fall in love.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I come up with a business name?

Start from your brand (who it’s for, its personality, what it stands for), then generate at least thirty options by mining those words, mashing words together, and using free tools like Namelix or Shopify’s name generator. Cut to a shortlist you like, then filter for names that are easy to say and spell, have an available domain and handles, and clear a trademark search. Quantity first, judgment second.

Does my brand name need a .com domain?

A matching .com is ideal because people still type and trust it, but it’s not mandatory. If the exact .com is taken, a small tweak or a .co can work, as long as it doesn’t create confusion. Matching, consistent social handles matter just as much for a modern brand.

Should I name my business after myself?

You can, and plenty of great brands do (Chanel, Bobbi Brown, and Rhode, named after Hailey Bieber’s middle name). The tradeoff is that it ties the brand’s identity to you personally, which can complicate selling the company or stepping back later. Use a personal name when the founder is the brand, and a separate name when you want the brand to stand on its own.

Do I have to trademark my business name?

Not right away. But you should search the free USPTO trademark database before you commit, to make sure your name isn’t already owned by a business in your category. Building on a name someone else owns can force a costly rebrand later. Register your own trademark once you have a sale and you’re sure of the name.

What makes a good brand name?

Clear, ownable, and available. It should be easy to say and spell, distinct enough to protect, free as a domain and handle, and roomy enough to grow into. Suggestive names (hinting at a feeling) and invented names (made-up words) tend to work best, because descriptive names are hard to own.

Are there free tools to help name a business?

Yes. Namelix and the Shopify business name generator are free and produce dozens of options, often checking domain availability as they go. ChatGPT is useful for generating volume if you give it your brand details. Use them to get to a big list fast, then apply the say-it-out-loud, domain, and trademark filters yourself.

Sources

• Wikipedia, “Spanx”. Sara Blakely’s reasoning for the name: the “K” sound of Coca-Cola and Kodak, and changing “Spanks” to “Spanx” for trademark.
• Namelix. Free AI business name generator with domain checking.
• Shopify, Business Name Generator. Free naming tool.
• USPTO, Trademark Search. Free federal trademark database for clearing a name.
• Instant Domain Search. Instant domain availability checking.