How to Name Your Brand (+ Dos and Dont’s)

Are you about to start a new business? Perhaps you’re thinking of rebranding and want to change your business name. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about how to name your brand and important things to consider before creating your own brand name. 

Naming your business is one of the most exciting parts of launching your brand. The name will usually have an important meaning to you as the founder, or may even be your own name. We’re going to be looking at how to come up with business name ideas that suit your brand, are easy to remember and that will connect with your mission for years to come, as well as the pros and cons of naming a brand after yourself and everything else you’ve ever wanted to know about how to name your brand. 

What is a Brand Name?

A brand name is the name of your business that customers refer to when referencing your products, services or business. A brand name isn’t the name you use to register your company, it’s the consumer-facing part of your business. When we think of brands, we often think of product based businesses that manufacture their own products, such as Apple, Nike, Skims, Dior, to name a few. However, a brand also applies to service-based businesses as well. 

Branding is all about getting clear on your values as a company, identifying your niche and tone of voice and communicating that to your customers. When customers know what to expect from a company, in terms of quality, style, price, how it makes them feel, the colors and fonts used in marketing materials and the language used, these are all signs that the business has made a good job of their branding. Ideally, you want your brand name to represent what it is that you do and through time, for customers to make the same associations about your brand. 

How to Name Your Brand

Your brand name can be as simple or as creative as you like. Although naming your brand might seem like a big decision, deciding on how to name your brand isn’t likely to change how the customer feels about your products, services or business. It’s unlikely that you’ll become an overnight success off the name alone just because you’ve been thinking up cute brand names. 

How to Brand Your Business

Learning how to brand your business is more than just thinking up a good brand name. There is a lot more to branding than the logo and business name. Successful branding is a combination of a suitable, easy to remember name, logo, colors, style, tone of voice, language used, knowing your audience, understanding how to price your products or services, effective marketing and being clear on your values and what you stand for as a brand. Naming your brand is just one aspect but whatever name you decide on, it must suit the rest of your branding. If you’re starting a luxury brand then the name must sound sophisticated. If you’re starting an affordably-priced kid’s clothing company then the name must be a good fit too. 

How to Create Your Own Brand Name

Generally, there are a few simple ways to generate a good brand name. 

You can:

• Name the brand after yourself using your own name (for e.g. “Marc Jacobs”)
• Include industry-specific words that demonstrate what the business offers (e.g. “Kylie Cosmetics” or “Best Online Translator”
• Use a name or word that already exists that either has a special meaning to you or sparks intrigue (e.g. “Apple”)
• Invent your own unique brand name by spinning a word or name that already exists or creating a new word entirely (e.g. “SKIMS” or “Google”)

Just remember that when thinking of how to name your brand, make sure that the name you decide on:

• Is available and isn’t being used by another brand
• Has available social media handles and domain name
• Hasn’t been trademarked by another brand
• Is easy to spell and remember
• Doesn’t have any negative connotations attached to it
• Is culturally, racially and gender appropriate
• Is relevant to the brand you’re building
• Is not overly trend-related, will this name still sound cool in 1, 5, 10 years time?
• Most importantly, do you like it and does it resonate with you?

A brand name doesn’t need to be easy to remember, it should be difficult to forget. This is the telltale sign of great branding! The spelling of the words used should be easy to remember. So if you were naming your brand “The Healthy Kitchen” but found that the name was taken and therefore decide to alter the spelling slightly to “The Healthie Kittchen” this would be an easy name to remember but the spelling would be very hard to remember. 

There are always exceptions to this rule of course, think of brands like Kardashian Kloset, switching the “C” in “Closet” for a “K” but these exceptions are not always great rules to follow. To start off, Kardashian Kloset is endorsed by not one but 6 Kardashian-Jenner women, with a collective following of more than a billion. With 6 powerful personal brands, each with millions of followers, it is much easier to sell an unusual concept or to take risks with name play.

How to Think Up One Word Business Name Ideas

One word business name ideas are popular for many reasons. They’re short and easy to remember. They are easy and fast to search for. They look good on product packaging and can be easier to read on a logo because there’s not so much text that needs to be crammed in on a small space. Plus, they are completely unique to you. There are some great examples of cute brand names that are one word business names, such as Poosh, Goop, Glossier, SKKN by Kim, SKIMS, to name a few. This book is great for giving you a more in depth look at how to create a unique name for your brand.

If you’re trying to think up one word business name ideas for your brand to create something completely unique then here are some business name generator ideas to help spark your imagination. 

• Mash up your name with the name of your niche, product or industry
• Combine a word associated with your products or industry with the concept that makes your idea niche and unique
• Take inspiration from the name of your child or children
• Use the name of your pet or a name derived from their name
• Is there a sound or feeling that comes to mind when you think of your business idea? Could your business name come from that?
• If there is a specific name or word that you’d like to use for your brand but it isn’t available in your own language, consider exploring other language options.
• Other ideas for generating one word brand name ideas include: adding “Y” to the end of a word, thinking up words that sound like a noise, texture, taste, feeling or place.

Using Your Own Name as Your Brand Name: The Pros and Cons

Personal branding is not going anywhere and will only continue to be a relevant and meaningful way to create relationships with your audience. If you look at any social media account, comparing the person behind the brand to their brand, you will notice that the individual’s following is probably significantly higher than the follow count for their brand. This doesn’t apply to all brands and their founders. It only applies to those whose founders are very active in placing themselves as the face behind their brand. Think of notable figures like Elon Musk or Kim Kardashian, and similar individuals. Personal branding is not the same as using your own name as your brand name but naming your business after yourself certainly helps to create a solid personal brand. Think of people like Gary Vee, Tory Burch or Victoria Beckham. 

There are, however, some pros and cons to consider when thinking of using your own name as your brand name. Here are a few things to think about when deciding on how to name your brand and whether it is a good idea to use your own name.

Pros of Using Your Own Name as Your Brand Name:

• Helps position you as the face behind the brand
• Aligns with your brand values as a person
• It’s unique and original
• You likely won’t outgrow or become bored of the name in years to come, compared to calling your fashion brand something like “Vintage Fashion Boutique”
• It isn’t trend-related, unlike calling your beauty brand “Glass Skin Goddess” which relates to a trend that won’t always be relevant or in demand
• Gives you the freedom to diversify with new product offerings, as it’s not associated with a specific trend or product type
• Represents quality and authenticity – by putting your name on something, it shows that you believe in your brand and the products or services you are offering 
• Shows longevity – your brand name is likely to live on for years to come if it’s not associated with a trend, or trending word or topic

Cons of Naming Your Business after Yourself:

• Problems with scalability. While this isn’t always the case – think of the big fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent or Chanel, if you’re thinking about using your own name and becoming the face of the brand, it might be difficult to play such an active role as you scale and grow
• WIll you sell your business later on? If you think you might one day sell your brand then seriously reconsider using your own name as your business name. After founders such as Bobby Brown and Jo Malone sold their namesake companies, they were not allowed to use their own names in future businesses or start businesses in similar niches for several years afterwards as part of the sales agreement. 
• Reputation – when you use your own name as your brand name you really need to believe in your product idea and what you’re offering. Whether or not your brand is a personal brand or faceless company, by using your own name you automatically bear the responsibility and the brand’s reputation is likely to fall on you as an individual, even if you have a large team behind you. 
• Association: if you use your name as your business name and change direction frequently then this may cause confusion and your audience will wonder what you stand for and be unsure what your business is about. Changing direction frequently while still using the same name, doesn’t give the impression of longevity or quality in a brand. 

When it comes to brainstorming how to name your brand, take your time but also don’t overthink it too much. You can always rebrand and change your brand name in the future, as many well known brands have done too. Don’t let thinking up a cool business name stop you from just getting started. If you’d like more information on starting a brand then you should definitely read this book, which teaches you how to start a brand in 30 days.