A lot of people struggle to find a good name for their projects and startups. Many people either end up crow-sourcing the name (something that has thin chance of success) or end up taking a bad name. I’ve done that too – ‘the FRiEnDz’ & ‘Meditation Rocks!’ were one of the worst names I ever chose for my projects.
The Good Names
But recently I’ve been helping a lot of people find good names. It’s been working well: 64 Notes, Createens, Spojit, Besperk etc were really great names (IMO). I’ve discussed here what a good name is, but to brief it up:
- Make the name unrelated to the work.
- It will save you from prejudice people have with ‘associations’.
- It will give you freedom to take it in any direction you want to.
Example:
Classic Web Design Pvt. Ltd. – a very bad name for a web designer firm / agency.
Classic – better.
Clasio – much better.
You get the idea.
The Secret Doorway to New & Awesome Names
This process has evolved over time. The idea is simple:
Look for ‘verbs’ in foreign languages that somewhat relate to what you do (but should not make it obvious).
Example: Besperk, earlier Createens, is derived from misspelling of ‘te Bespreken” which is loosely “to discuss” in Dutch.
How I went about the process:
- Decided to look for words “discuss” – that’s what Besperk is about. [List 3 words the describe what you do]
- Tried different languages in Google Translate. [Look for translations in different languages]
- Try different variations: discuss, discussions etc. will give different results (duh!)
- Look for a ‘sound’ that is easy and catchy.
- Don’t look for how ‘they’ say it – look for how you and your target audience will say it. Think cultural context. How you say ‘garcon’ and how French people say it is different.
- Avoid confusion phonetics.( Matsatura is a bad idea)
- Modify it so it can be spelt easily. Leave out some syllables if necessary. (So Matsautra can become Masasura or Masa or Sura)
- Short list 3-5 such words.
- Look for a .com domain – you will be left with 2 (usually you are lucky enough to get one) to choose from.
Swedish, Dutch, Danish and Sanskrit work the best for me.
I hope this one is helpful. It can get a bit tricky but works well.
Bonus Tip: Using a language that your target segment doesn’t come from works the best.
Share the Name
That was my way of finding good names. What do you think about the process? If you find a good name using this method, do share it. Also if you’d like to share your way of finding good names then I am all ears.
Good Names I found using this method: Besperk, Ogmerk, Oyake, Verloop
PS: Matsaura was a Japanese warrior; his name is pronounced as Maa-saa-su-raa.
PPS: Shared my other ideas on naming here.
Photo by NatalieMaynor
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Hi Sid,
A super creative breakdown here.
I haven’t named many companies but feel your methodology works….especially picking a language your target audience isn’t familiar with. This gives you some leeway in selecting a cool sounding and mysterious word; no one can call you on it because they don’t know what the word means ;)
Thanks for sharing and have a powerful day!
RB
Thanks for the kind words Ryan!
I am sure it will help you when you name your company!
Have a powerful day too.
Ok, let me be the devil’s advocate :) Finding names which are not related to your industry brings in the challenge of making your target market understand what u r into… The advantage of this is you create a brand…. which is funny. Either u can name it the way it is easy to understand or make it peppy and try creating a brand.
I guess I will go for both! ;)
Well my argument always is that if the name is unrelated then you can give it whatever meaning you like. Apple has nothing to do with computers and 64 Notes has nothing to do with enterprising.
Yah, everything works. Just sharing my point of view.
Hey King! I’ve been looking for a new name. I’ve tried going the foreign language route before, but it didn’t work for me. I think I’ve settled on a good one though. I’ll tell you about it during our next facebook/skype chat ;).
Oh! K, sure man!
Next time you get stuck for names, do ping me.
Hope to chat with you soon.
Hey man,
You definitely have come up with some pretty awesome names, even though sometimes they are a bit challenging to deciper.. Hope all is well by you ;)
Lol, part of the reason is that they are not mean to be deciphered :P
Thanks for dropping by Ben, glad to see you here!!
nice post..read similar articles before and I use the same process as in this post.. but i think this is better coz its short,to the point and with examples.
Thanks man!
I am learning and improving too. :D
I have been planning a new site and brand for my online business as there is a real need for social media marketing training for small businesses in my area. Some people have named me the Social Media Marketing Chick. Want to help me craft a name for that site/brand? Would love your thoughts. Thanks!
Hey Melissa!
Sorry I must have missed your comment earlier. Sure I’d love to help if you haven’t found a name already. Let me know.
Well, Social Media Marketing Chick is the first thing I have in mind. Shoot me an email if you have other ideas. :) iTopia? lol.. not sure..
Nice post, got to agree with you thinking of names can be a real pain, I usually just bug other people for idea’s and that works out really well, or even brainstorm a little
Good Post Buddy!Thanks :D
an unique share, i will use this when i start/need one :)
Thanks
lol
Great post! I’m having some problem to name my project and was kind of using the same process as you said, but in a very unorganized way. It helped me to have a kind of structure. TkS!
Wow..That’s really amazing..But hey you know what..I still haven’t been able to figure out a unique name for my new venture..I am into Dog training & grooming. I will be very soon starting with my own Pet Resort where there will be a doggie swimming pool, pet cafe, grooming parlor etc etc. Can you suggest of some nice names for my venture…
Wow that one is tricky.
You could try “Koester” or “Steren” from koesteren witch is “to pet” in Dutch?
Perhaps you might try easy words and fun combinations, Rishika. Understanding your target audience is very essential. Now that I have not given your venture a thought at all, a suggestion- ‘Barking Good’. ;) Let me know if you’d like more of them. Cheers,
Heyyy thanks a ton..yes please if you could share more of them :) barking good is nice but u no wat people don’t like their dog’s barking :P even if its a good bark..
Haha, true that.
Thanks for help Sushrut!
Glad you liked it. Mail me on sushrut.munje@gmail.com? We can take it from there. :)
The other day i was thinking that there are no good blogs in India based on startup and whoo you totally prove me wrong. Great posts.
I like doing that ;)
meaning of your work in sanskrit also works sometime ..
Meaning of my work? Can you explain a bit please?
Very nice idea, you can also add any “Planet” names for your startups, it will be very new and some names look very interesting and good.
Example -
before – visual
After — visuaLazio
Lazio is one of the planet name. :)
Hi, good article. Im founding an elearning startup using video camera and chalkboard. is a SN where people can offer freelancer services as teachers and be hired by students or people that wanna learn somethin. The most difficult part for us is find a good name . Would be good if you can help with that.
Reggards from Cuba