Business Naming Basics

Company Name Ideas can get personal

Quite often a company will be named after its founder(s).

For a small business, especially a service business, this isn’t usually a good idea unless you’re a celebrity.

But a made-up personal name can, if crafted with care and insight, become a business name and an asset.

You can “invent” a character who can speak for your business in multiple ways, beginning with the business name. You can impart to your brand the same traits and personality as the character you create to represent the brand.

Think how successful Betty Crocker, Marie Callender and Sara Lee have been. Think Pep Boys; Mrs.Fields and Uncle Ben.

The names above just “sound” right. And through repetition and association, they begin to relate to the desired position envisioned by their creators.

I like to find or invent names that actually impart a brand benefit. Two examples from recent projects include “Weldon Wright” for a window replacement business, and “Molly Coddler” for a day spa.

So think about your brand story as I mentioned last week, and the personality you want associated with it. See if there isn’t a character – invented, historic or even mythical – that can assume a name that includes an implied benefit relative to your business.

It will be unique and relevant, two of the top criteria for an outstanding company name.

Related business naming posts:

1. Naming Idea – Define the Brand Personality Before Naming Your Business Before generating name ideas, I recommend a couple of activities. One is to create a "brand story". The other is...
2. Adding a Personal Touch to Business Naming. For unique business names, there are naming customs that permeate certain cultures that can be adapted to non-name words to...
3. Business Naming Terminology Helps Identify Name Effectiveness Like almost anything else, corporate names can be classified by type or category. Why would you want to do this?...
4. When Naming a Brand, Think Action First. Action words make for better business names. So I recommend exploring participles and verbs to produce vital, active name candidates....
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