One thing I have been struggling with for the last months is to choose the right name for my startup and future business. Given that I will probably be using the same name for my company for a long time and build a whole brand based on that name I consider this quite an important decision. As this is probably an important topic for anyone looking to start their own business I will try to explain a few techniques I have used, some thoughts that came up during this process and the key criteria I have found to be important when choosing a name for a business.

A name for my business? Is it really that important?

Obviously any business or startup needs a name. A company name allows you to be recognized, found, talked about, linked to. But how important is it really? You certainly won’t fail or succeed just because of the name you chose but I think naming your business properly can greatly improve your chances of being remembered in a positive way. Words have different meanings and depending on the choice of words they can have a great impact on how your business is perceived by your customers. You may be perceived as trustworthy, deceptive, reliable or incompetent just because your name suggests that. You also want to make sure that people remember you easily and put you in the right context. It is hard to change a company name after it has been established in the market so you better make sure you get that part right from the start. I have therefore taken quite a bit of time now to come up with potential names for my own project dalister (which is currently a working title).

Two types of names for businesses

While trying to come up with potential names I found that there are two basic types of names for businesses.

1. Names that are based on words that have an actual meaning (e.g. ‘brightmate’, ‘soundbeach’ or ‘loosejump’)
2. Names that are based on words or letters with no meaning (e.g. ‘hangtox’, ‘lhetoor’ or ‘kentello’)

While names of the first type have clear messages based on the words they use, those of the second type do not immediately have a meaning. Type 1 is often more easily recognized and preferred by web startups due to benefits with regard to search engine optimisation. Type 2, however, allows for a completely new brand to be built and domains are often easier to find when they are based on type 2. I’m personally still not sure whether I should look for a type 1 name or go for type 2 as they both have advantages and disadvantages.

Key criteria for choosing the right name for a business

Depending on the type of business and the segment you are in the criteria for a name to be a good one are obviously different. Given that my project dalister will be a web startup I have compiled the following list of criteria based on this sector and the attributes and aspects I think are important there.

• There is a link between the business’ core features/service and its name
• The name is not used by any other company or organization on the net
• All major top level domains are still available
• The name has a maximum of 3 syllables
• The name has a pleasant or positive sound and meaning (I actually found most names with a lot of e, o, i, u and a in it sound quite nice)
• The name cannot be mixed up with others

This list is obviously not complete but for me these are the key criteria for a good company name. I have come up with hundreds of names for dalister in the past few months but few actually meet all of these criteria. I currently have the following shortlist of names that I would consider quite good:

• www.wuutuuls.com (all tlds available)
• www.wuutools.com (all tlds available)
• www.wutuuls.com (all tlds available)
• www.misusi.com (all tlds available)
• www.mituul.com (all tlds available)
• www.tuulstar.com (all tlds available)
• www.deskapz.com (all tlds available)
• www.tuulbar.com (all tlds available)
• www.desktapps.com (all tlds available)
• www.desktuuls.com (all tlds available)
• www.deskties.com (all tlds available)
• www.deskmite.com (all tlds available)
• www.deskvibes.com (all tlds available)
• www.daleido.com (all tlds available)
• www.yokolike.com (all tlds available)
• www.dalyso.com (all tlds available)
• www.dalido.com (all tlds available except .com)
• www.everdoo.com (all tlds available)
• www.kanulu.com (all tlds available)
• www.daydeck.com (all tlds available)
• www.swiftydesk.com (all tlds available)
• www.dailydesk.com (all tlds available except .com)
• www.cannymate.com (all tlds available)
• www.micyte.com (all tlds available except .net)
• www.candydesk.com (all tlds available)

As you can see I indicated whether the most common top level domains are still available or not. My favourite is dailydesk but unfortunately dailydesk.com is already taken. I also like wuutuuls as it would allow me to build some sort of family of applications (e.g. wuu-notes, wuu-todos, etc.). What do you think would be the best name for my project dalister? Unfortunately, the name dalister does not work either as the .com domain is already registered. Would be great to get your view on this!

Filed under: Creativity by Stefan
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