I spent three weeks naming my first startup. Three weeks of sticky notes, thesaurus tabs, domain searches, and heated co-founder debates. We ended up with a name that nobody could spell, nobody could pronounce, and required us to say "no, it is with a K" in every conversation.
For my second startup, I used a systematic approach and landed on a name in two days. A name that was easy to spell, had an available .com domain, and actually resonated with customers.
The difference was not creativity. It was process. Here is the system.
Why Naming Feels So Hard
Naming a startup feels impossible because of three cognitive traps:
The Perfectionism Trap: You believe there is one perfect name and you just need to find it. There is not. There are dozens of good-enough names for any company.
The Overcrowding Trap: Every good .com is taken. So you start adding letters, misspelling words, or combining random syllables. This is how you end up with names like "Xyphr" or "Kwiknote."
The Democracy Trap: You ask 15 friends for opinions. Everyone has a different favorite. Nobody agrees. You are paralyzed.
The system below eliminates all three traps.
Step 1: Define Your Naming Criteria (30 minutes)
Before generating a single name, define what a good name looks like for your company. Not every criterion matters equally for every startup.
The Seven Criteria
Rate each on a scale of 1-5 for how important it is to your specific company:
- Easy to spell. Can someone hear the name and type it correctly?
- Easy to pronounce. Can someone read it and say it out loud?
- Memorable. Will someone remember it after hearing it once?
- Descriptive. Does it hint at what the company does?
- Unique. Does it stand out from competitors?
- Domain available. Can you get a .com (or close variant)?
- Globally neutral. Does it work across languages and cultures?
For a developer tool, criteria 1 and 6 might be most important — developers will type your name into a terminal. For a consumer brand, criteria 3 and 4 might dominate.
Write down your top 3 criteria. Every name you evaluate gets scored against these three.
Step 2: Choose Your Naming Category
Startup names fall into six categories. Understanding these categories makes brainstorming dramatically more productive.
Category 1: Real Words
Using an existing word, often from an unexpected context.
- Slack — implies relaxation and ease
- Stripe — clean, structured, layered
- Notion — an idea or concept
- Linear — straightforward, efficient
Pros: Easy to spell and pronounce. Inherently meaningful.
Cons: .com domains are almost always taken. Trademark conflicts are common.
Category 2: Compound Words
Combining two real words into one.
- Dropbox — drop + box
- Facebook — face + book
- Mailchimp — mail + chimp
- Basecamp — base + camp
Pros: Descriptive and memorable. More domain options.
Cons: Can feel generic if the combination is too literal.
Category 3: Modified Spellings
Taking a real word and altering the spelling.
- Lyft — lift
- Fiverr — fiver
- Tumblr — tumbler
- Flickr — flicker
Pros: Unique domains available. Recognizable roots.
Cons: "No, it is with a Y." Spelling confusion is real friction.
Category 4: Invented Words
Completely new words, often inspired by Latin, Greek, or phonetic aesthetics.
- Spotify — spot + identify (loosely)
- Zillow — zillion + pillow (reportedly)
- Hulu — from Mandarin (gourd/holder)
Pros: Completely unique. No trademark conflicts.
Cons: Meaningless without branding investment. Harder to remember initially.
Category 5: Acronyms and Abbreviations
Shortened forms of longer names.
- IBM — International Business Machines
- AWS — Amazon Web Services
- HubSpot — based on the marketing "hub" concept
Pros: Short and clean.
Cons: Forgettable and interchangeable (who remembers what SAP stands for?). Not great for early-stage startups that need brand recognition.
Category 6: Personal or Place Names
Named after founders, mythology, or geography.
- Tesla — Nikola Tesla
- Amazon — the river
- Palantir — Lord of the Rings
Pros: Rich associations and storytelling potential.
Cons: Can feel disconnected from the product. Personal names can limit company identity.
Pick 2-3 categories that align with your criteria from Step 1. Focus your brainstorming there.
Step 3: Generate 50 Names (2 hours)
Yes, 50. You need volume before you can find quality. Here are four methods to generate names quickly.
Method 1: Word Association Map
Start with your product's core value proposition. Write it in the center of a page. Branch out with associated words, synonyms, metaphors, and related concepts.
If your product helps developers ship faster:
Ship > Launch > Rocket > Orbit > Velocity > Sprint > Dash > Rush > Pulse > Momentum > Current > Flow > Stream > Rapid > Swift
Method 2: Thesaurus Mining
Take 5-10 keywords related to your product and look up synonyms, antonyms, and related words. Online thesauruses often surface unexpected words.
Method 3: Foreign Language Exploration
Look up your core concepts in other languages. Many great startup names come from Latin, Japanese, Finnish, or other languages with phonetically pleasing words.
Method 4: AI Brainstorming
This is where AI tools genuinely shine. Startup Name Generator takes your product description and generates dozens of name ideas across different categories. It is particularly good for combinations and invented words that you would not think of manually.
I used it when naming my second startup and it generated about 40 options in under a minute. Three of those made it to my final shortlist.
Step 4: Filter Down to 10 (30 minutes)
Take your 50 names and run each through your top 3 criteria from Step 1. Score each name 1-5 on each criterion. Eliminate anything below a 3 average.
Then do a gut check: say each name out loud. Imagine introducing your company at a conference. "Hi, we are [Name]. We help developers ship faster." If it feels awkward, cut it.
You should have roughly 10 names left.
Step 5: Availability Check (1 hour)
For each of your 10 finalists, check:
Domain Availability
- Check .com first (still the gold standard)
- Consider .io, .dev, .app, or .co as alternatives
- Check if "get[name].com" or "try[name].com" variants are available
- Use Namecheap or Instant Domain Search for quick checks
Social Media Handles
- Check Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and GitHub
- Consistency across platforms matters more than you think
Trademark Search
- Search the USPTO database (tess2.uspto.gov) for US trademarks
- Google "[name] + company" to check for existing businesses
- This is a preliminary check — consult a lawyer before finalizing
App Store Availability
If you plan to have a mobile app, search the App Store and Google Play. Sharing a name with an existing app creates confusion.
After this step, you should have 3-5 names that are available and meet your criteria.
Step 6: Test With Real People (1-2 days)
Take your 3-5 finalists and test them. But not with friends. Friends will tell you what you want to hear.
The Voicemail Test
Call yourself and leave a voicemail: "Hi, I am calling from [Name]. Our website is [name].com." Play it back. Could you understand it clearly?
The Crowded Bar Test
Imagine telling someone your company name in a loud environment. Would they be able to remember it and spell it later?
The 5-Second Test
Show someone the name for 5 seconds, then take it away. Ask them to spell it back. If they cannot, the name is too complex.
The Stranger Test
Tell 5 strangers your company name and ask them what they think the company does. If their guesses are wildly off, the name might be too abstract for your stage.
Step 7: Commit and Move On
Pick the best name from your testing. Buy the domain. Set up the social profiles. And stop second-guessing.
A mediocre name with great execution beats a perfect name with no product. Slack is not a great name objectively. Neither is Google. Or Apple. The product made the name, not the other way around.
Start Now
Naming does not have to take weeks. With this system, you can go from zero to a solid name in a weekend.
Start with your criteria, brainstorm 50 options (use Startup Name Generator to speed up the brainstorming phase), filter ruthlessly, check availability, test with real people, and commit.
Your startup is more than its name. But a good name makes everything that comes after a little bit easier.
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