How to Name a Startup Business – Top 10 Proven Tips

how to name a startup – How to name your startup business or company? I believe that naming your startup is as important as naming your child! When we name our child, we explore in all directions and finalize one name that matches our expectation. Isn’t that so?

Our startup is like our child only! Firstly, we are responsible for its existence, we nourish it, want it to grow & progress and lastly, we would always like to do the best for it! Therefore, naming a startup does matter.

Even after reading this, if you are not convinced as to why you need to spend time about naming your startup, I tell you few significant reasons for the same.

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Reasons as to Why You Need a Good Name for Your Startup

• The name of your business is its identity. So choose a name for effort.
• Name marks the first impression and needless to say, the first impression is of uttermost importance.
• Name is one fact that always remains with your business. Therefore, you ought to spend some time to choose it correctly.

Now let us get to the point and discuss those ten tips that can be of great help for anyone who is planning to name his or her startup.

1. Note Down All the Names that Come to Your Mind

This is the first step towards ‘how to name a startup’. Jot down each and every name that comes to your mind. Keep a small diary and a pen with you, always. Alternatively, simply keep typing the names in your mobile docs whenever you get an idea. Also, take out time especially for the task of noting down names.

Sit in a peaceful environment, concentrate on your best, get creative and think of names. If you feel tired, take a break, go for a walk. Here, it is also worth mentioning that intense exercise can have positive effects on your DNA. Repeat this process for a week or so and soon you will be having your list of names.

All you need for “how to name a startup” steps are:

• Concentration
• Creativity
• A Pen & Paper or Your Tablet/Cellphone

2. Check on Your Competitors

Undoubtedly, you should be original in your ideas and finalization of any name. However, it never hurts to explore and research. Study the brand names of your competitors. Try to find out the reason behind them. Who knows you find a suitable name and a strong reason for your own startup company’s name!

3. Keep it Simple

Yes! A simple name has its advantages! For example, it is easy to type, write or remember. Therefore, try to find out a word that is simple and serves your startup’s purpose well. Believe it or not, a simple business name saves your marketing money expenditure for brand recalling.

Quick Tips to know whether a name is simple or not

• Check if the name can be typed quickly?
• Check if it is easy to spell out?
• Check out if it is easy to use on channels like Twitter, Facebook, etc. efficient to include in a tweet (or other “length constrained” channels)
• Tell the name to your friend once and ask to recall it after three days. (If your friend tells the right word, your chosen name is, of course, simple!)

4. Keep it Short and Memorable

A short name is always easy to remember. Be it humans or start-ups, short names are easily memorable.

Do you see any similarity between these names?

• Ebay
• Yahoo
• Google
• Reddit

Well, all of them are short and hence, memorable! – Saves Marketing Money 🙂

5. Do Not Go Trendy, Choose Something Forever

It is good to be trendy in terms of fashion and style. But when it comes to naming your startup, choose something that is everlasting.

Why shouldn’t you use trendy names for your startup?

• They are short-lived
• They do not look unique
• Once they are out of trend, they lose charm

6. Have 5 to 10 Letters in Name

It is a surprising fact that most of the big brands have got five to ten letters in their name. Moreover, all such examples also contain a hard consonant. Check on the examples Yahoo, Hasbro, Mobil, Apple, Verizon, Cisco, Google, and Mattel.

So the point is to follow this five to ten letters rule while thinking of a name for your startup.

7. Be Emotional, Make Emotional

Try to connect emotions with your name. We humans are nothing without emotions. As per a guykawasaki.com, “Robert Goizueta, the respected CEO of Coca-Cola, said he hated giving speeches but he was always telling stories—often personal ones about how he and his family had to flee Cuba when Castro took control and had nothing more than his education.”

Also, you must be aware of Steve Jobs famous lines, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish”. Not only, were these words published in Fortune but they were read online for numerous times.

For example, if you are planning to launch some health-related startup, you may use words like “Life is short! Prioritize Health above Everything Else!” as a pitch line. Such words make us stop and think the moment we read them.

8. Take help of Online Tools for How to Name A Startup

If you are looking for a name for your online business, save lots of brainstorming by making use of important and efficient online tools for choosing the name. A tool like ‘bustaname’ does not only save your time and effort but also lets you check the available domain names for your startup.

9. Check Relevance

Try to find out a name that justifies to the type of customers you are trying to allure. Check on the examples for better understanding:

• Tastebuds – Suggested name for a startup that relates to food.
• GoodLooks – Suggested name for a startup that relates to fashion, salon or similar realms.
• DreamHomes – Suggested name for a startup that relates to architecture or building arenas.

10. Have a Discussion

Once you have finalized few names, it’s now time to check out the reactions of others. Talk with the experts. Tell your friends and relatives about it. Go for voting on names. Finally, analyze the results as to which name gets the best number of votes.

We hope, our tips would help you save some time and effort in finding a name for your startup.

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If you have got better ideas on the same, you can always write to us. Suggestions from your end are always welcome. This is how you can get the answer for how to name a startup.