Finding a Name for your Start Up / Project / Product / Service

Why a name is important

The name is in many cases the first thing that people and customers see from a commercial endeavor.

Metaphorically it is the foundation everything else is constructed on. It should set one apart from the competition and in the best case let the reader connect the name to a product, service or even an emotion.

Choosing the right name thus evokes a connection in the minds of the readers without explicitly pointing them out. Nevertheless, the business principle of doing whatever works to accomplish a specific goal applies.

How to come up with a name

There are 5 categories most commercial names fall under. Knowing that there are different categories aids in the development of the own name. Broaden your horizon.

Generic names literally tell the customer what exactly is being retailed.
Examples include hotels.com, Bier (german: beer)
A Descriptive name is one that names a characteristic of a particular product or service.
Play-Doh (read: play dough) a dough-like material that children can play with. Bank of America as an example uses a geographic location to identify the product.
Suggestive names make use of metaphors and analogies. Consumer make a mental leap to understand the relationship between a suggestive mark and the product.
Example: Nike Inc. is an apparel and accessories company deriving its name from an ancient Greek goddess who personified victory.
An arbitrary name has a common meaning and can be found in a dictionary. But the meaning is unrelated to the goods or services offered for sale under the mark.
Examples: Apple (computers), Camel (tobacco company), Shell (oil company).
Fanciful names are completely made up in nature. They don’t describe the product and allow the brand to build an identity and story from scratch. More effort is usually needed to establish fanciful names on the market.
Examples: Xerox, Exxon, Kodak

Using a name that stands out

To stand out in a saturated market the first step is to compile a list of names of the competitors.

Arranging them according to their categories (see above) returns an overview of the proportional distribution and gives a sense of the language being used.

Depending on how similar the own product is to the ones on the market, it sometimes helps to highlight similarities and pick a more generic name that describes the service better.

The process of finding a name

There are a number of creative methods and tools to help with solutions to any given issue.

Having individuals to talk to that are familiar and others unfamiliar with the product or service is beneficial as well.

before finding possible names it should be clear what story should be told and what emotions should be evoked with the name. Afterwards pick a suitable creativity technique such as:

Brainstorming — a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
6–3–5 Brainwriting — 6 participants supervised by a moderator are required to write down 3 ideas on a specific worksheet within 5 minutes and then pass them on to the next participant.

The next step is to list all the ideas and let the participants choose their favorite ones while discussing pros and cons.

The most popular names should then be tested in focus groups and on potential customers to then observe their responses and make decisions accordingly.

Some mistakes to avoid

Trademark violations
Not changing a bad name
Negative connotations and meanings in other languages