Need inspiration for your company name? 8 tips

Making up a name for your business used to be simple. You just combined your surname with the type of business you ran. Johnson's painters, Smith’s butchers, or simply McDonald’s. Nowadays, anyone who wants to stand out from the competition has their work cut out for them. 

• Your own name
• Coming up with a name
• Original, within reason
• Choosing a tagline
• Findable
• Standing out
• Changing your company name
• Buying a company name

Your own name

Most entrepreneurs come up with a unique company name. However, some entrepreneurs still choose to register under their own name. In 2021, 25% of newly registered companies bore their owner’s surname. Using your own name has pros and cons. 

Pros of using your own name 

Using your own name means customers can see exactly who a business belongs to. That can help you build customer trust. Using your own name also positions you as an expert in your field. 

Somewhat unusual surnames can make for excellent company names. Or perhaps your name matches perfectly with the products or services you offer. How about Hammer Carpentry or Green’s greengrocers? Chances are that your name will stick in people's minds. 

Cons of using your own name 

When you start a business, it is important to look ahead. You may start out as a one-person business, but if things go well, you may find yourself hiring staff or operating abroad. Will your own surname still be appropriate if you expand? 

And what if you want to sell your business later? You will have literally built a name for yourself. Will prospective buyers want to run a business under your name? And would you even want them to yourself? Changing the name of a thriving company is bad business. Try to come up with a name that will suit your company now and in the future. 

Coming up with a name

Many budding entrepreneurs think you have to be creative to come up with a good company name. Not true, says Namarama’s Floris Hülsmann. Floris helps businesses find their perfect name. He has even written a book with a step-by-step guide to help every entrepreneur find an original name. 

Brainstorming 

Once you have decided to come up with a name, it is time to get brainstorming. You could do this on your own or in a group. Answering these questions will put you on the right track: 

• Who is your target audience? 

• What are you offering? 

• What makes you unique? 

• How do you want to come across? (Affordable or exclusive? Traditional or innovative?) 

Try not to be overly critical at first. Before you know it, you might be rejecting an idea that could work well. Or an idea that just needs a little polishing. Erik Guillot, the owner of a Lego shop, first put the name Brick Pilot on his shortlist, before crossing it out. "Because it did not really make any sense." Still, the name he decided on in the end was based on the same idea. "My girlfriend Sanne translated the name into Dutch: Blokkenpiloot (a play on brokkenpiloot, a Dutch word for someone who is particularly accident-prone). It was love at first sight." In fact, Blokkenpiloot came in 3rd in Namespotting’s 2019 Name of the year rankings. 

Original, within reason

According to Hülsmann, a good company name is neither too common nor too far-fetched. Common or obvious names are unlikely to stick, Green Landscaping, for example. On the other hand, excessively original names can be confusing. What does a business called Blue Banana even do? If you google the name, you will find clothing shops, body piercing shops, and entertainment companies from all over the world. 

Three tips from Hülsmann to help fuel your creative process: 

1. Extremes: contrast two extremes, like The Vegetarian Butcher. 

1. Foreign languages: see if popping your name into Google Translate produces anything interesting. Translating simple words can have fantastic results, like Estrella, a beer brand that means ‘star’ in Spanish. 

1. Anagram: mix up the letters of your own name or your product. Examples are Leapp (used Apple products) or Stedin (a jumble of the Dutch word dienst, or service). 

Choosing a tagline

Sometimes, even a good, original company name can still raise questions. You can solve this by adding a tagline. A brief, punchy text that explains what your business does. Even if your business already has a name, you can add a tagline afterwards. 

A tagline - unlike a slogan - does not have to be particularly creative. It just has to reflect what kind of business you are running so your customers know that they have come to the right place. Examples: 'Nokia, connecting people'. Or ‘Be the first to get the latest news on NU.nl’’.

Findable

Online findability is very important. The first thing people do when they want to find you is type your company name into a search engine. When that happens, you want your website to appear among the search results, preferably right at the top. 

If you sell chairs, a simple company name like ‘Chair’ would be crystal clear, but climbing the search rankings can be a challenge with such a generic name. The word chair is mentioned on hundreds of thousands of websites, so this name would simply not be distinctive enough. 

Tip: Use an SEO keyword in your company name or tagline. 

Standing out

Entrepreneurs are usually looking for a name that sticks. And rightly so, when you reach your target audience, you want them to remember you! With that in mind, Martijn Kok chose the name Stofwisseling for his furniture upholstery business. It is a play on the Dutch word for metabolism that, if you break it down literally, means ‘a change of fabric’. "I wanted to keep things simple, while also standing out. People are more likely to remember going to ‘De Stofwisseling’ than ‘Pete’s upholstery business’." 

Once you have a shortlist with good names or, if you are lucky, one perfect name, it is time to check that there are no other businesses with the same name. Use the KVK Name Check to do this. Simply enter your chosen name into the search bar. Also check whether your chosen name meets all the requirements. 

Changing your company name

If you have fallen out of love with your current company name, you can always change it. Perhaps it no longer reflects the work you do or you want to give your own twist to a company you just acquired. 

Technically speaking, changing your company name is easy. All you have to do is report the change to KVK. You can also choose to add a new trade name. Your listing will stay the same, apart from the fact that your business will have an extra name. Adding a new trade name can be a good idea if you start a new activity or begin selling a new product group. If you add a new trade name, it is best to keep separate records for the activities performed under that name. This is not mandatory, but it does keep things clear. 

If you want to cut all ties to your previous company name, changing the name is the obvious thing to do. Practically speaking, changing your company name does involve a lot of work. Everyone knows you by your old company name, so you need to let your customers know you have a new name. You will probably also need a new logo and new brochures too. Make sure that your old website refers visitors to your new site and that you update your name everywhere, including on your social media accounts and your Google Business Profile. 

Buying a company name

Have you put all the tips and tricks from this article into practice and you still cannot come up with an original name? You can always outsource your quest to someone else. You can even order ready-made company names online, including a logo and domain name.