How To Come Up With A Brand Name – Best Practices & Examples

how to come up with a brand name

It takes 5-7 impressions to start building brand awareness. This means you need to build a recognizable brand, or it could take even longer.

The goal of naming an eCommerce store is to capture the attention of potential customers. It’s important to have a name that stands out among the great majority of other online shops. 

This blog will break down every point and tell you how to come up with a brand name for your business in simple steps.

Table of Contents

Why Brand Name is Important?

Your company name should ideally be easy to remember and give customers some insight into what your business is all about.

When you initially establish your business, having a strong brand name provides you with an immediate edge. The incorrect name may cost millions of dollars in workarounds and lost revenue over the life of the business.”

You’ve worked hard to establish your company, but now you need a name! Take your time to come up with a catchy name that accurately defines what you sell or provide. It helps if it’s memorable and catchy. By choosing the right name and conducting research, you can make it simpler to connect with customers and grow your business.

What is BackRub?

In early 1995, two Stanford graduate students began developing a new technique for indexing online pages. This “search engine” employed a proprietary algorithm to map out all links entering and exiting a web page. They called this search engine “BackRub” internally.

BackRub had outgrown Stanford University’s servers by 1996. The two students were given the option of selling the algorithm or turning it into a business.

Luckily for the internet, they chose the latter. The first thing they did was alter the name. “BackRub” evolved into “Google,” a pun on the mathematical word “googol”.

You already know how the remainder of the tale ends.

What’s in A Shop Name?

Why don’t you BackRub (Google) it?” you might ask.

Very likely not.

The name Google had a key role in the search engine’s success. It’s brief, unusual, easy to say, memorable, and simple to type. Unlike its competitors at the time, such as Lycos and AltaVista, it may also be made into a verb. That’s a significant result for a company that provides an activity (searching).

(Consider saying “simply Lycos it” — doesn’t seem quite right, does it?)

Many studies have proven that brand names have a significant impact on how clients view your company:

72% of the best brand names are made-up words or acronyms. Words that mean nothing else other than your business name automatically increase brand strength.

According to one study, the brand names of items offered in a store did not affect customers’ risk perception when shopping. Consumers, on the other hand, sensed greater risk if the store’s brand image was poor.

Another study discovered that if consumers have a favourable opinion of the shop brand itself, they are more willing to pay more for the store’s brands.

According to collaborative research conducted by the University of Miami and California Polytechnic Institute, the business name and the quality of products are the two most important elements of a store’s overall perception.

This is why, according to Sean Parker, Mark Zuckerberg should “remove the ‘The'” from Facebook; your name is significantly more essential than you know.

How To Come Up With A Brand Name For Your Online Business?

What is the first thing people notice about your business? It’s all in the name, of course! A creative, relevant, and unique business name will ensure immediate identification. Selecting such a strong name, on the other hand, is a complicated science that few have achieved.

Only 18% of consumers say they would perceive a brand name change positively, meaning once you solidify your brand, you should stick with it.

Your company name represents several things: your values, your views, and the benefits that customers may gain from interacting with your brand. What does it take to summarize all of this data into a single word or phrase?

Let us help you in creating a business name that is original, distinct, and precisely expressive of what you stand for.

Define

Your brand is how your customers see and experience your business. It’s essential that it reflects your values, personality, and mission.

To define your brand, start by thinking about why you started your business and what makes it special. Consider what problem your business solves and what values guide your decisions.

Think about what you want your customers to feel when they interact with your business. Once you know what your brand stands for, you can create messaging that communicates it clearly to your customers.

The most important thing is to stay true to your values and create a brand that resonates with your customers.

Keep It Simple

In general, when it comes to starting a business, keeping things basic and straightforward is essential.

Being transparent in your business fosters customer loyalty. A whopping 94% of consumers say they’re more likely to be loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency.

It is also true when it comes to naming your brand.

Why?

While looking for a memorable name for your business, you should make it simple for people to remember.

This is especially important when you consider that it might take up to seven impressions – or seven times when a customer sees or interacts with a brand – for them to recall your company name.

That’s a lot of money.

It equates to seven Facebook advertisements or seven Instagram posts.

Furthermore, adopting a long or complex business name in the first place can make it much more difficult for your audience to remember your brand.

As a result, it’s no wonder that the names of some of the world’s most famous brands are typically only one word long.

They keep things simple because they want to be remembered.

Whenever Feasible, Simplify

Consider Forbes’ list of the world’s most valuable brands:

The most valuable brands in the world or almost all of the world’s greatest brands share one distinguishing feature: they are straightforward and easy to pronounce. They are either 1-4 syllables long or are used in reduced form (such as IBM or GE for General Electric).

ibm logo how to come up with a brand name

general electric logo how to come up with a brand name

There are two advantages to simplifying your brand name:

Brief, simple-to-pronounce brand names are easy to remember.

Simpler names are easier to translate between languages, which is critical for e-commerce companies.

According to research on company names undertaken at Hong Kong Baptist University, brand success can be influenced by the ease of pronunciation.

Experiment With Alliteration

To create a memorable name, combine two words that begin with the same letter. One of the terms should be related to the industry or product that you offer. Then, combine them with a term that adds value or appeal. 

Alliterative titles are generally simpler to recall.

For example, if you offer high-quality linens and bedding, you may title your shop Luxury Linens. For example, you may label a cutting-edge clothes store Fashion Forward.

Have A Meaningful Name

After you’ve gotten your creative juices flowing, we recommend striving to express meaning with your business name.

Now, we’re not saying you should be very abstract with your business name since most people won’t understand the connection.

Consider it seriously.

Consumers will be able to tell right away what you have to offer. You may be as particular or as broad as you like. For example, to let buyers know exactly what you sell, you could name your store The Tea Trade Company.

Most people do not associate the Nike emblem with the Greek goddess of triumph, despite the fact that she was the inspiration for the company’s name.

Likewise, you can guarantee the ordinary person doesn’t look at Nivea skin cream and say “Well that’s white because it’s called after the Latin word Niveus, which means ‘snow white'”.

We’re not suggesting you go down the rabbit hole of attempting to uncover a meaningful significance for your company’s name.

Check To See Whether The Domain Name Is Available

Finally, before you choose a name, check to see whether the same domain is available in a popular extension.

Unless you’re expressly targeting a local nation market outside India, your extension selection should be prioritised as follows:

.com/.co/.net/.org/.io is a domain extension (only for tech-focused brands)

TLD for a country (such as .de, .co .uk, .pl, .ru, etc.)

.me,.info,.tv, and other gTLDs such as .tech,.space,.fashion, and so on.

You won’t go wrong with .com 99 times out of 100, so attempt to obtain the name in this extension first.

If you’re searching for a tool to check domain names, Shopify has one. You can look for domain names, see how much they cost and buy/add them to your shop.

Apart from the domain name, you should also examine the availability of social media usernames. Employ a service like NameChk.com to search various networks for the right name at the same time.

Top 3 Examples Of Brand Names

1. Bombshe

Bombshe how to come up with a brand name

Bombshe is a name developed by reducing the English word “bombshell,” which denotes something sensational, exceedingly exciting, and, in contemporary language, a sex bomb – a very lovely lady.

They trimmed the finish to emphasise the “she” portion even more. She’s a she-bomb, a she-sensation, and a she-special. Although having origins in existing terms, that combination of two words is formed similarly to other well-known names: Facebook, WeTransfer, and PayPal, to name a few.

bombshe how to come up with a brand nameThe client chose the name because of its distinctive, neologistic character, which adheres to current industry naming trends, as well as a subtle yet immediately recognisable connection to women at its core. Furthermore, the name is incredibly functional: it is melodic, memorable, and simple to spell and write down.

What’s more, in this situation, They were able to create a name that was available under the.com domain, which is now extremely easy to handle and only achievable for complex new words or after adding additional parts to the brand’s name in the URL.

In other circumstances, purchasing the a.com name requires discussions with the present owner, which frequently results in considerable financial investments

2. Zara

Zara how to come up with a brand name

It turns out that “Zara” was not the store’s original name, and that the nickname was created by chance.

The first store, titled “Zorba” after the famous film Zorba the Greek, was founded in 1975 in A Corua Galicia, Spain, by Amancio Ortega.

But, he quickly realised that a bar with an identical name was only two blocks away.

Amancio Ortega already had the letters manufactured for the original business sign, so he simply rearranged them to make the word “Zara” (in fact, the additional “a” is supposed to have come from a spare set of letters).

We couldn’t have expected that.

“Zara” doesn’t signify anything, yet we can all agree it’s highly catchy.

3. H&M

HM logo how to name a brand

It’s short for Hennes and Mauritz, as those in the know will know. But do you understand what they really mean?

When the business initially opened in 1947, it was simply named Hennes, which is the Swedish word for ‘hers’. Why? At the time, it solely sold women’s clothing.

In 1961, the business acquired another brand, Mauritz Widforss, which marketed hunting and fishing equipment. We realise it’s random.

As a result, it became Hennes and Mauritz and expanded into children’s and menswear.

Nevertheless, the store only adopted the shorter H&M name in 1974, and all of the stores were rebranded.

Make Use Of A Company Name Generator

Don’t worry if you’re still having trouble coming up with a name for your company. You can always use a company name generator to help you get started.

If you’re wondering what a company name generator is, it’s actually rather easy.

You can enter a phrase or keyword you like into a company name generator, and it will return dozens of alternatives for you to consider for your business.

Consider what occurs when we type ‘running’ into a company name generator:

Isn’t it cool?

Of course, there’s no guarantee that all of the names generated by the company name generator are available – you’ll have to double-check that – but they’re wonderful resources if you’re still stuck for ideas.

Do you want to use a company name generator? We’ve got the perfect solution for you: Shopify’s Company Name Generator. It’s free, therefore take advantage of it while naming your company.

Conclusion

A successful brand begins with a brand name. Your target audience will have a tough time locating your business online if your name isn’t memorable. Consider your business, the things you provide, and how your business name might symbolise your objective when choosing a brand name.

After you’ve found your brand name, don’t wait to register your shop name, domain name, and social media accounts. You are now ready to start constructing your brand and e-commerce business.

You may make your company stand out by following all of these tips. It makes no difference if you’ve been around for decades or are just starting to start. The correct name guarantees an immediate competitive advantage.

Alright, you now have all of the tools, suggestions, and methods you need to come up with a brand name for your online business, so what is the wait for? 

Start your business today and don’t forget to comment below your brand name and the story behind the name. 

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