How to Come Up With a Name for Your Business

A good name doesn’t just sound cool. It has to work on a sign, on a card, on a shirt, in a URL, and in the real world when someone says it out loud at a noisy counter.

To keep this practical, let’s walk through a simple framework you can actually use: Roots, Real World, Reveal.

• Roots is about where the name comes from.

• Real World is about how it behaves once it leaves your head.

• Reveal is about testing it in public before you lock it in.

If you move through those three stages, you’ll end up with business name ideas that are creative, clear, and usable. Not just clever for five minutes.

Step 1: Roots. Decide What the Name Should Stand For.

Before you throw around names, get clear on what they’re meant to point to. This is the quiet branding strategy bit most people skip.

Ask yourself a few plain questions:

What do you actually do? If you’re naming your business “Northbridge Studio” but you mostly wash dogs, there’s a gap. The name doesn’t have to describe every detail, but it shouldn’t feel like it belongs to a different industry.

Who are you really for? A business name that works for accountants might not suit a tattoo studio. A name that feels perfect for a kids’ brand might feel silly on a law firm. Think about the people you actually want to attract, not some vague “everyone”.

What’s the feeling you want people to have? Calm and trustworthy. Fun and energetic. Crafty and hand-made. Sleek and high-end.

You don’t need marketing jargon here. Pick two or three simple words that describe the feeling you want your business name to give off. That’s your starting filter. Write down your answers. Even a scrappy list is fine. These are your roots: what the name needs to echo.

Step 2: Real World. Turn Ideas Into Usable Names.

Now you can start playing. But the trick is to play with constraints. That’s how you move from “random words” to names that genuinely work.

Use your roots to create small word piles.

If you’re starting a home baking business, your piles might look like:

• What you do: bake, bread, pastry, cake, dough, kitchen, oven.

• Who it’s for: locals, families, busy workers, weekend treat people.

• Feeling: warm, simple, generous, nostalgic, cosy, honest.

From there, you can start combining, tweaking, and testing:

• Swapping endings: Bakehouse, Workshop, Studio, Lab, Co., Room.

• Using place: Lyttleton, Hargreaves, Quarry Hill, Bendigo, your suburb or street.

• Adding a twist: words from your own story, a family name, a local reference.

The goal isn’t to land the perfect name in ten minutes. It’s to come up with a bunch of business name ideas that you can actually imagine on a sign, on a website, and on a receipt.

As you go, keep one eye on how a stranger would read it. If it needs a long explanation to make sense, it’s probably going to be hard work in the wild.

Step 3: Reveal. Say It Out Loud, See It in Print.

This is the part most people underestimate. A name that looks good in a neat little font on your screen can feel totally different when you say it out loud or see it on a mock-up.

First, say it like it’s already your business.

• “Hi, this is [Name] speaking from .”

• “Thanks for emailing .”

• “Welcome to , what can we help you with?”

If you stumble, or you feel a bit embarrassed saying it, pay attention. That feeling matters. You’re going to be saying this a lot.

• Next, imagine it on real things.

• On a shopfront sign.

• On a business card and invoice.

• On a T-shirt or tote.

• On a simple website header.

This is where print and signage thinking sneaks into the branding process. A wildly long or complicated name might look arty on a poster but awful on a small sticker. A name with tricky spelling might look “creative” online but make it hard for people to find you again.

Ask yourself: would this still work if it was just black text on white stock? If the only thing making it interesting is a specific font or colour effect, the name itself might be too thin.

Step 4: Roots. Again. Check It Against Your Own Criteria.

Once you’ve got a shortlist you don’t hate, loop back to your roots. This is your reality check.

Does this name roughly match what you do? A name can be abstract, but it shouldn’t suggest the wrong thing. “Workshop” sounds different to “Studio”. “Collective” sounds different to “Co.” Choose something that fits the scale and shape of what you’re building.

Does it feel right for your audience? If your customers are mostly local families, an ultra-technical or edgy name may not land. If you’re aiming at designers, a flatly literal name might feel a bit generic.

Does the feeling line up? If you wrote down “calm, clean, quietly confident” as your brand feeling and your favourite name screams “party brand”, something’s off. The name doesn’t need to spell out the feeling, but it should at least sit in the same mood.

You’re not chasing perfection here. You’re just making sure the name isn’t fighting the brand you want to build.

Step 5: Check Before You Commit

Before you print anything, do some basic sanity checks. This isn’t legal advice, just common sense steps most small business owners can do themselves.

Search the name online in your region. If there are five other businesses in your town with the same or nearly-the-same name, it’s probably more confusion than it’s worth.

Check social handles and simple domains. You don’t need the absolute perfect dot-com to move forward, but you do want something close enough that people can find you.

Think about future you. If you call yourself “Bendigo Dog Washing Trailer”, what happens if you start grooming or open a shopfront? If you know you might expand later, leave yourself a bit of room.

When a name passes these checks and still feels good in your mouth and on the page, you’re close.

Step 6: Reveal to a Small Circle, Not the Whole Internet

The last part of the framework is how you test it with people. This is where a lot of business naming processes go sideways.

Instead of throwing a list of creative business names on social media and asking for votes, start smaller. Talk to people whose taste and judgment you trust. Show them the name written down, then say it out loud. Tell them one sentence about what you do, then ask:

• Does this sound like that kind of business?

• Is anything confusing or hard to say?

• What’s the first impression you get from it?

You’re looking for patterns, not perfection. If three or four people all say “This sounds like a law firm” and you’re starting a ceramics studio, listen to that. If people say “It’s nice, but I can’t remember it,” that’s a useful flag too.

Remember: you’re not handing your identity over to a public vote. You’re using other people’s reactions to refine your own decision.

A Name You Can Live With (And Grow Into)

At the end of all this, the goal isn’t to find the most clever or unique name on earth. It’s to choose a business name you can:

• Say with a straight face.

• Print on things without regret.

• Grow into over the next few years.

If you follow the Roots–Real World–Reveal framework, you’ll move past that sticky “I hate everything” phase and into a clearer business naming process.

You’ll know the name isn’t just a random pick from a generator. It will be grounded in what you do, who you serve, and how you want your brand to feel—ready to live on signs, shirts, cards, and wherever else your business turns up in the real world.