Naming a Business after a Song? Try it!

Naming a Business After a Song? Try It!

Posted on June 3rd, 2011 by MartinJ

Business naming can often settle into a rut.

You’ve exhausted your normal resources and nothing’s sparked. Time to try, as Monty Python used to say, “Something completely different”.

Here’s one idea: see if song titles (or film or show titles) could kick-start the process. Fortunately, there’s web-based resource that allows you to review thousands of song titles, over 150,000 to be approximate. The site is dbopm, short for Database of Popular Music, and you can reach it by clicking here.

Once there, click “Search the Database” on the left, then whichever media type – song, show, film you want – and search for the link that displays titles by year. Select a year and start browsing. There may or not be actual name candidates sitting there for the pickin’, but you never know. But just doing the exercise will stir up the creative juices.

For instance, under song title copyright date 1913, I found this title: Carancho on the first page. It’s a tango, but what if I were naming an auto repair shop? Right on, huh?

You can also search by a word you’d like to be included in a title. I selected “King’s” as a search term and came away with nine titles including King’s Favorite and King’s Horses, either of which might be a name candidate or idea-prompter.

Another thing about song titles: they cannot be protected under copyright laws, so it’s okay to use them.

Like a lot of resources, Internet-based and others, you may come away with no inspired name candidates, but the search itself will broaden your perspective and just might get you out of an ever-deepening rut.

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