3 foolproof tips for creating a sustainable business name

(Originally published 05/11/2020)

The world was abuzz last week with the news that well-known entrepreneur Elon Musk and singer Grimes named their newborn baby boy X Æ A-12. No, that's not a typo on your screen - that's his actual name.

Whether or not this is legally the baby's name (the US doesn't generally allow numbers to be listed as part of a name of a birth certificate; but maybe they bent the rules for these celebs), it got me thinking about some branding lessons we can learn from this naming choice. Just like with humans, a brand's name can influence a first impression - what they assume about a brand, what they think that brand does, and whether or not they find a brand trustworthy.

Some names sound great in the moment, but ultimately aren't sustainable. If you're setting up a business name (or a human one), your goal should be to set it up for success - and that includes a great business name. Before you finalize your name idea, run through the following steps for gut check.

Below is our list of three foolproof tips to ensuring a great business name that will speak your mission, pique your audience's interest to learn more about you, and last for years to come:

• Make it Google-able.
  Uncommon spellings, cutesy plays on words, and unintuitive characters or spacings can make you hard to find. I've heard certain names in the wild, and have found them impossible to find later on because their spelling wasn't what I expected. Alternatively, a uniquely spelled business name could be more distracting and hard to pronounce than its worth. Your business name may be memorable in the short term, but business could be harder to pass to you because of these hang ups.
  
  Some examples of this would be subbing numbers or letters in an unexpected way (such as Kool Cutz for a hair salon), using a play on words (such as Shar-Cuterie for a charcuterie company owned by someone named Shar), or dropping letters off an easy-to-spell word (I’m looking at you, Flickr). Just like our friend X Æ A-12, the name could leave folks scratching their head trying to find you more often than not.

• Choose a name that will grow with your business.
  Overall, we recommend straying away from any name that is trendy, won't age well, or won't attract your audience. Names should be able to stick with a company for their lifetime, and should be chosen carefully. And although the name should be something you are comfortable with as a business owner, it should entice your audience to learn more, and ensure the name is something that appeals to them first and foremost.
  
  Combining this with the last point of making your name Google-able, the ideal name is something very much Goldilocks-style: not too common, not too unique, but juuuust right. X Æ A-12 sure will stand out in his kindergarten class full of Emmas and Joshuas, but it won't always be for the right reasons.
  
  If you have a personal brand, and don't plan on hiring others to represent your business, keeping a personal name makes sense - such as "Jane Smith Interior Design," or simply "Jane Smith." If you plan to grow, but still want a name rooted in who you are, you could choose "Smith Interior Design." And of course, if you're looking for a company to grow beyond your name, or beyond the industry you are in, a choice like "XYZ Interior Design," or "XYZ Company," could be a better choice.
  

• Check out URLs, social media handles, and legal names.Do your market research, and ensure your name is unique. If you’re using a location or family name in your business name, does that already exist? Are there other, similarly named businesses that may show up in web searches? Make sure your name isn’t so popular that there’s no Instagram handles or URLs left for you.
  
  If this is a brand new company, and not a DBA, take a look through your state database to ensure you’ll be able to register as a legal entity under your desired name. Consistency is key here, too - try for URLs and social media handle that are the same, or at least compliment, one another. I double the character Æ is even able to be put into a URL, so be sure to do your research before putting anything into practice.