How Did You Come Up With Your Business Name?

The idea of exactly what your business is going to be usually comes first. Secondly, most often, is giving a title to your idea. What exactly is going to be the name of your business? Some people turn to their childhood for inspiration or a beloved family pet. It could be a made up word you dream of one night and feel it has the right ring to it. Even still there are some people who study foreign words for the perfect meaning behind their chosen business. Whatever the inspiration or relation may be, the naming of your business is one of the most important parts of becoming a CEO. Having a brand behind a strong title can make all the difference in the world.

Straight to the point

When I started my company, I named it Sigale Communications. Easy to understand what I do, I assumed. Though I offered, and still do, the same services as most PR firms, many business and non-business people began calling to purchase telephones. When the number of such inquiries equaled the number of phone calls I received to discuss my marketing communications capabilities, I changed the name of my company to Sigale Public Relations. More straightforward, simple, and to the point. No more misunderstandings. Transition successful.

Thanks to Barry Sigale, Sigale Public Relations

Turning to Greek words

I chose the name “Synergy Design & Construction” for our company because I was inspired by the meaning of the word synergy. It's a Greek word that means joint work and cooperative action; when the result is greater than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, the construction industry sometimes has a less than favorable reputation and my firm belief is it's because there's not enough “synergy” between the design and the construction phase of each project. That's the foundation from which we built our company almost 5 years ago and that focus on working together is what has had us thrive through these economic conditions.

Thanks to Mina Fies, Synergy Design & Construction

Using a naming trick

Years ago when word processing was new to the office, everybody was told to create their own document folder using the first few letters of their last name and first name. My name is Bettina Seidman — hence SEIDBET. When I started my first company in 1990, SEIDBET Associates seemed like a good idea.

Thanks to Bettina Seidman, SEIDBET

A nod to Hungarian ancestors

My company name is a nod to my Hungarian ancestors. I had heard colorful stories of a distant cousin in Hungary who had the most beautiful sounding name. It was originally spelled Csila – pronounced “Chella” with a hard CH sound. One day I asked a Hungarian friend what “Chella” meant, if anything in Hungarian. He replied that it is associated with a word meaning celestial, or as he put it, “the most beautiful twinkling star in the sky”. I immediately fell in love with the name. Pregnant at the time, I swore if I had a little girl, I would name her “CZELA BLUE”. As it turns out, I had a beautiful BOY, but was inspired to start my own product line, comfortable and pretty underwear for the recovering cesarean section mom, and thus, “CZELA BELLIES CESAREANWEAR” was born. Many people advised me against naming my company something that might be tricky to pronounce or spell, but each time someone hears the name, the reaction is positive. I once went on a television talk show to talk about my product, and the host made a big deal out of the name, much to the chagrin of my entrepreneurial coach, Allie. To make it even funnier, Allie was with me backstage, when in the greenroom, Michael Tucker, of L.A. Law fame, and I were chatting, and he asked what my company was named. Once I told him, he said, “Ah, Czela – what a beautiful sound that name carries.” He kept repeating it. Allie just shrugged her shoulders and I smiled smugly to myself as we left the studio that beautiful day in San Francisco.

Thanks to Jennifer Bourgoyne, Czela Bellies CesareanWearT

Two kinds of jade

I really was not sure what to name my product but I quickly needed to find one and there are two types of jade, nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite jade is much softer than jadeite and that is what is put into my products so I decided to use nephrite and adding ia at the end to make it sound feminine and hence the beautiful word Nephria.

Thanks to Charlotte Newbert-Mills, Nephria

A name to commemorate my heroes

I lost one of my great heroes a couple of years ago – my dad. And then shortly thereafter my father-in-law, who I loved deeply. My dad was a geologist, and my father-in-law a nuclear chemist. Both were into minerals, and the thought was to come up with a name that commemorated them. We used some word combinations to come up something that sounded interesting, but just as important, for which a domain name was available.

Thanks to BC Krishna, MineralTree

Named for Bradbury's classic

In 2004, when we founded 451 Marketing, we recognized that there was a fundamental shift in the way that businesses were marketing themselves. We knew that our agency would have a digital, integrated focus. Bradbury named his novel after the temperature at which paper burns (it's actually 450 degrees Celsius, which apparently didn't roll of the tongue as well – call it artistic license). We, in turn, named our agency 451 Marketing because our marketing efforts were “too hot for paper.”

Thanks to AJ Gerritson, 451 Marketing

Using my brother's band name

My business, Exit 99 Enterprises, is named after my brother's middle school band. He's one of those sickeningly good musicians who was writing his own songs and doing gigs out in the community before he'd hit puberty. He wrote this one song called “Doing The Impossible” that can still get stuck in my head for days on end. Anyway, the band broke up and he's moved on into playing jazz guitar, but when I was trying to come up with a good umbrella name for my business interests, the idea of reaching back to those days when nothing was impossible appealed to me. He gave his blessing, and Exit 99 Enterprises was born. None of my public business interests use the name, but for legal purposes, everything is Exit 99. The most public business at the moment is Rethink Productivity, where I use ecology, psychology, problem solving and an occasional kick in the rear to get my clients to their goals.

Thanks to Kirsten Simmons, Exit 99 Enterprises

Being the middle child

When I was in university finishing my degree in Film Studies, I always thought “Middle Child Films” would be a great name for a film production company since I am the middle child of 3 siblings in my family. Subsequent jobs led me toward a career path in Public Relations, so when I started my company five years ago, Middle Child Marketing ended up working out. It's a great conversation starter, and being the middle child has interesting parallels with companies trying to get noticed through marketing. Also, it turns out that there is a Middle Child Films already!

Thanks to Sandra Garcia, Middle Child Marketing Inc.

Being true to yourself

I was that kid that whose “head was in the clouds.” I played make believe a lot. Only that was the time when what I was doing felt the most real. As a grown up, I struggled to find work that felt like the real me and each job that I had was a struggle because it felt like I was pretending to be interested in things that I really didn’t care about. This approach to work led to burn out and a veritable crisis of searching for what to do next because I had changed jobs so many times and was still unsatisfied. The only part that I ever liked about what I was doing and genuinely enjoyed was finding work. This interest in finding work was a thwarted passion that was hidden in plain view. So I started working with professionals under 40 that also wanted to feel confident and clear in their own career navigation, most importantly, while feeling true to themselves. That's how MakeBelieveForReal.com was born.

Thanks to Sabrina Ali, MakeBelieveForReal

From a love of change

When I made the decision to start an EMS company I felt strongly that the name should be EE Technologies, so I was looking for words that started with an “E”. Continued inspiration for my company Electronic Evolution Technologies' name came from my passion for the power of change. I love CHANGE and all of the energy, excitement and momentum that comes from change so evolution seemed a very logical fit. We are in the electronics manufacturing business so electronics and technologies were key words. And evolution shows my desire for continued improvement and progression. Our company lives up to its name. We are relentless, progressive and continually evolving to serve our customers' current and future needs.

Thanks to Sonny Newman, EE Technologies, Inc.

For immediate recognition

Our company name is Born To Sell. Our product is a software tool for investors. It's known as a ‘covered call screener' (a database that screens for covered call investments). Our customers “sell” options to other people. Like stock trading, in options trading there are buyers and sellers. Since 75% of all options expire worthless, it's better to *sell* them than to *buy* them. Hence, we have a product aimed at option sellers, and our company name has immediate recognition with them since they know in advance they want to sell options rather than buy options.

Thanks to Mike Scanlin, Born to Sell

Named for my daughter who has autism

LTO Ventures is named after my daughter who has autism. LTO = Lindsay Thu Loan Olson. LTO Ventures is a 501(c)(3) non-profit company that develops live/work/play communities for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. My vision for these communities is to create settings that provide meaningful lives for my daughter and individuals like her who will never be able to live completely independently. A lot of projects that benefit children and adults with autism are started by their parents and named after their kids.

Thanks to Mark Olson, LTO Ventures

An original and catchy name

My company name is Ink Floyd. We are a screen printing company incorporated in 2006. When i started the company, my goal was to come up with a really catchy, original name that by itself would be a like a foot in the door for potential customers. And thankfully, it's been highly effective and we got the trademark secured. These days, you have to stand out in a crowd. Naming your company A1 Widgets just doesn't cut it anymore. You need to be willing to take the extra time to come up with a quick, catchy, interesting brand name….one that you're proud to talk about and promote.

Thanks to Dave Collier, Ink Floyd

An auspicious symbol for weddings

We selected the name “Koyal” for the company, because this terms means the song bird cuckoo in Hindi, and is an auspicious symbol for weddings because of the melodious nature of the bird's songs. Hence, “Koyal” is a fitting term for our company which provides the world's very best wedding and event decor to events around the world. Our company, which began with a single product line – glass vases – and has now expanded to eight product categories, continues to embrace the symbolic nature of the cuckoo, in providing the very best event decor.

Thanks to Shreyans Parekh, Koyal Wholesale

Information from a book spoke to me

My business supports individuals and organizations to reach their highest potential with purpose and passion. Initially I tried a huge number of single-word URLs, but even back in 1999, URLs such as Evolve.com or Change.com were all taken. During this business formation period I housesat for a woman one weekend and was drawn to a book on her shelf titled, “Bringers of the Dawn” by Barbara Marciniak. The information spoke directly to my goals and dreams, and several times in the text, she exhorted readers, “You must live your light!” Finally the light dawned ~ and LiveYourLight.com was born.

Thanks to Amara Rose, LiveYourLight

Keep it moving

The name of my company is K.I.M. Media LLC most people think its my middle name, obviously they do not see it does not spell Kim but K.I.M. which stands for Keep it Moving Media. When I started the company I worked in a high speed fashion company and was president of 3 divisions, so my response when you knocked on my door was keep it moving what do you need? So it made sense to name my company Keep it Moving now has four divisions that must keep it moving! Branding, Special Events, Design & Weddings. At any given time during an event you can hear one of my staff yell out keep it moving.

Thanks to Leslie Short, K.I.M. Media LLC

Reflecting my Celtic heritage

As an immigrant from Ireland, I wanted my business name to represent my heritage in some way. Thus, I chose “Celtic Canine Trainer” to represent who I am and what I do. Moreover, my logo also is symbolic of my heritage and my business. My logo is derived from the Claddagh ring, an Irish symbol of friendship, loyalty, and love. These three traits are synonymous with our canine friends, whose main desire is to be our lifelong companions. My logo comprises dog paws holding a heart, which is the “tag” dangling from the dog collar above.

Thanks to David Fitzpatrick, Celtic Canine Trainer

It took three steps

Three steps: 1. Name storming with family, friends, acquaintances, names on flip charts, emails, scraps of paper,cocktail napkins, and scribbled on hands 2. Hiring and firing a marketing agency that became too possessive of the process 3. Writing a descriptive paragraph of the business at the same time my son-in-law was reading Tich Nhat Hahn's description of silence as a river. We both called to the other to share our thoughts and kerwham- a month of painful naming was done in a flash.

Thanks to Karen Grosz, Canvas Creek Team Building

A term from the event planning industry

I wanted to introduce you to PlusWho, which is an online social network created to help women make new friends offline; the kind they actually talk to, hang out with, get to know and grow to love. The name was derived from the event planning industry, where organizers often ask invitees how many people they’re bringing to an affair. The list would bear that person's name, plus the number of friends indicated. PlusWho was designed to make finding that like-minded person who's down to go with you easier, even at the last minute. See, many women want to be social and may even know the where and when, but don’t have anyone to accompany them. The “Plus” in PlusWho was also meant to complement the tagline, which is “Add Real Friends to Your Real Life.”

Thanks to Camille Taylor, PlusWho

The overwhelming winner

The business name came from naming a LinkedIn group for my contacts. The group was created, but there was no name. Wanting to go home, I selected SpencerConnect as a working title. Later when I wanted to rebrand I presented a list of names to 20 trusted contacts. Options were variations on family names. The overwhelming winner was SpencerConnect.

Thanks to Spencer Maus, SpencerConnect

All about the silent P

Given my name has been murdered several times over by folks trying in vain to spell it correctly, as well as pronounce (Fay-lert), I thought “The Silent P” was a pfun way of helping these good pfolks out. I also enjoy flying under the radar as it were, just doing my best to produce solid design and art, and letting the business grow “naturally” without a lot of self made noise and or press releases. Thus, The Silent P was born.

Thanks to Matt Pfahlert, The Silent P

Steam for a company

We wanted a name that represented who we are and the impact we create for our clients. We were drawn to the fact that at 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And steam creates power, enough power to move even a locomotive. That one extra degree makes all the difference. And one extra degree of effort can create results that take something from good to great. We are the element – the factor, the component – that provides that extra degree for our clients. Element212 – A higher degree of branding.

Thanks to Todd Rimer, Element212, LLC

Content able to spread from person to person

I wish we had a much better or more memorable story for the naming of Pandemic Labs. However, it was a pretty straightforward example of my business partner's ability to churn out great creative content. At the time “social media marketing” wasn't the most commonly used term for our line of business; it was more often called “viral marketing”. Matt went into his office for a few minutes and came out with ‘Pandemic Labs' due to the global-spreading nature of ‘pandemic' and the “carefully testing and crafting” aspect of ‘labs'. Since we were in the business of creating and testing content for its ability to spread person-to-person. It was an obvious fit. We have always believed that making bold moves pays off, so the fact that the name would cause some confusion was actually a plus (some people still assume we're in biotech by the way). Matt's ability to quickly grasp the concept and produce great ideas is why he's the Creative Director here and I'm not ashamed to say naming Pandemic Labs was 100% his genius at work. His creative abilities are a large part of why Pandemic Labs has such a great reputation in the space.

Thanks to Brennan White and Matt Peters, Pandemic Labs

Combining two names

I’m the Co-Owner of Sheridan Business Group, LLC. Our business name is not the result of an elaborate partnership concept, nor does it have any deep, intrinsic or detailed meaning. We simply drew from the names of the major players on the team. My name is Sheri Harrison and my business partner’s name is Dan Mastromonaco. We literally put the two names together and Sheridan Business Group was born, founded in December of 2012. Our goal is to work as an Internet marketing powerhouse duo to provide valuable resources to our target audience while developing a series of niche, revenue-producing websites.

Thanks to Sheri Harrison, Sheridan Business Group, LLC.