Naming a startup is one of the first real decisions you make as a founder. It feels like it should be quick — a creative afternoon, a whiteboard, a eureka moment. In practice, it routinely takes weeks, derails early momentum, and ends with something that nobody is truly happy with.
It doesn't have to work that way. Here is a framework that cuts through the noise and helps you arrive at a name you can actually build on.
Start with what the name needs to do
Before you generate a single candidate, define your constraints. A name that works for a B2B SaaS company looks very different from a name that works for a consumer app or a physical product brand. Ask yourself: does the name need to explain what you do, or just be memorable? Will it live primarily online, or does it need to work on packaging, signage, or in spoken conversation?
The most universal requirements are: short enough to remember after hearing it once, easy to spell from hearing it, and available as a domain. Everything else is negotiable.
Generate options first, filter later
The biggest mistake founders make is falling in love with the first name that sounds good and stopping there. You need a pool of candidates before you can make a real choice.
Aim for at least twenty to thirty options before you start cutting. Use every tool available — brainstorming sessions, AI generators, thesaurus rabbit holes, and combinations of words from completely unrelated fields. The goal at this stage is volume, not quality. Bad ideas often lead directly to good ones.
Run every candidate through this checklist
Once you have a list, apply these filters ruthlessly:
- The spelling test. Say it out loud to someone. Can they spell it correctly on the first try? If not, you will lose search traffic and word-of-mouth referrals forever.
- The radio test. If someone heard your company name mentioned on a podcast, would they know how to find you? Names with unusual capitalisation or punctuation fail this test every time.
- The domain test. Check .com availability immediately. A name without a .com is not a dealbreaker, but it makes everything harder — especially if a competitor owns the .com version.
- The trademark test. A quick search on your national trademark register takes five minutes and can save you from a legal nightmare down the road.
- The scale test. Does the name still work if you expand your product line, enter new markets, or pivot slightly? Names that are too literal about a specific feature or geography tend to age badly.
Get outside feedback — from the right people
Friends and family will almost always say they like whatever you show them. You need feedback from people who match your target customer profile and have no emotional investment in making you feel good.
Ask them what the name makes them think of, not whether they like it. The associations people make with a name are far more useful than their subjective approval. A name that makes people think of speed and simplicity when you're building a fast, simple product is a good sign. A name that makes people think of something completely unrelated is a problem worth knowing about early.
Make the decision and move on
There is no perfect name. Every great company name — Slack, Stripe, Amazon, Apple — had people who thought it was a bad idea at the time. What makes a name great is almost never the name itself; it's the product and reputation you build behind it.
Set a deadline, make the best decision you can with the information you have, and redirect your energy toward building. The name will grow into itself.
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