Naming a Startup? Try These Tips

1. Identify Your Core Value
Don't be afraid to be direct when naming your company. Consider the briefest, most direct ways to encapsulate your business and what you intend to do. Identify your industry and the purpose you're trying to achieve. These ideas may not end up being reflected in your final name, but they'll get you thinking in the right direction.

If you’re considering purchasing an existing online business or site then you may have to make some room for scope or alternatively you could 301 redirect the purchased site to a new domain.

2. Emotional Values
Make sure you cast your net wide enough to include more abstract concepts that still relate to your company and the way it makes you feel -- or the way you want your customers to feel. This is a great time to brainstorm on your name with your whole team. Use a board to list suggestions and look for fruitful combinations that express your ideals. Don't pressure yourself or your colleagues to nail the name at this point; this is all about fertilizing the ground. Here are some good tips.

3. Investigate Your Language
Once you've started to narrow down your search to a few words and / or phrases, it's time to crack open the thesaurus. There are few concepts in the English language that can't be represented using multiple synonyms. You may uncover a subtly different word that really captures the essence of your company.

4. Check Other Languages, Too
Run some of your top choices through a translator to investigate foreign alternatives. Using a foreign name may deliver a hint of exoticness that you fall in love with. (Remember to run a foreign name by a native speaker before finalizing your choice, though!)

5. Search for Visual Inspiration
Head online to see what images are closely associated with the terms you've selected. This is an excellent way to encourage lateral and symbolic thinking. You'll be looking at the same concepts from an entirely new angle, and you may make a dramatic leap towards the perfect name.

6. Start Combining
If your search so far has turned up several short possibilities, try mixing and matching them to see if the perfect name lies in combination. You might also consider taking an extremely specific term and combining it with something more general (e.g. a colour, an animal, or a shape) to make it uniquely your own.