21 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Came Up With Their Business Name

What’s in a name? Would a rose called by any other name sell just as well? Coming up with a name for your business is just as important as the business idea itself. A name not only identifies you, but it can also serve to set you apart from your competitors and reflect your values. We asked some CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners about how they named their company and this is what they had to say.

1) Catchy & Descriptive

The name of my product needed to be descriptive and leave little to no confusion about the product and what it does. We chose the name Shape And Bake because it's catchy and descriptive.

Thanks to Buyar Hayrula, Bake Any Shape LLC!

2) Something that Described the Product

When picking our company name we wanted something that described the product. We tried quite a few variations of it from Quick Change Pads to Rip and Tear and so on. All of a sudden one morning when our Founder was changing the crib (she came up with it for her baby) she ripped of a dirty pad and was walking away when the name game to her Rip n Go; because after you rip of a soiled pad you go put it away and get a new one. Now we have the prefect name that describes the product. Also the R in Rip plays well into our tag line of how to use the product of Remove, Replace and Rewash.

Thanks to Tarique Khan, Rip n Go!

3) After the Calamity

Buddytruk was founded in 2013 by Brian Foley. The name “Buddytruk” was created when I moved into my first apartment post-college. I rented a U-Haul and as I was parking, I ran into another vehicle, ripping of it's front bumper. The vehicle ended up belonging to my new roommate. After the calamity, I wished I hadn't moved myself and had a reliably buddy to help me move. “I wish I had a buddy with a truck”. Thus, “Buddytruk” was born. Why no “c” in truck? Because at the time, “Buddytruck” was taken and why not be innovative and different?

Thanks to Brian Foley CEO, Buddytruk!

4) Short & Encapsulated the Mission

I've always struggled naming things, but ironically, the name for my company, ArtPort, came very easily. ArtPort is a digital portfolio-building platform and collaboration network for artists. When coming up with the name, I tried to think of something short that encapsulated the mission and product offering of the company. I started this process by mashing combinations of words that reflected this naming philosophy. One of the first combinations I landed on was “Artistic Portfolios,” and combining those two, arrived at ArtPort. The logo for ArtPort eventually became a shipping container, something that is typically found in a sea port, and this image represented the global connection and collaboration that ArtPort provides artists.

Thanks to Garrett Houghton, ArtPort!

5) Our Original Partners

Hollywood architecture firm 5+design came up with its name based on the fact that it was founded by 5 original partners. Typically for architecture firms, the last names or initials of the founders are used but 5+design wanted to make the focus less about the founders and more about employees and the practice. A way of achieving this was to highlight the partners to a certain extent but let the name reflect outward.

Thanks to Stan Hathaway, 5+design!

6) Personalization

We know that every person is different in terms of levels of flexibility, health conditions or lifestyle. Our key focus is on personalization of yoga based on your needs to reap maximum benefits of yoga. So we chose the name “YogaMihi” as “Mihi” in Latin means “for me” giving the overall meaning “Yoga for me.” The name conveys the message ‘YogaMihi is your personal yoga book for connecting mind and body'.

Thanks to Dr Rathna Noojibail, YogaMihi!

7) Catchy & Inspirational

Gogobot's mission is to help you discover great places to stay, eat and play that are perfect for you. When it came time for us to pick a name for our company we wanted to pick a name that was catchy and would inspire people to get out and go somewhere new. We ended up landing on the name Gogobot because it brought together the fun and inspirational aspects of the product (“GoGo”) with the intelligence of a recommendation engine (the “bot”). Our vision is for everyone to live life to the fullest by helping them find memorable experiences and we think that the name Gogobot captures our broad vision, plus it's easy for people to remember and it's fun to say.

Thanks to Travis Katz and Ori Zaltzman, Gogobot!

8) Logical & Catchy

I proofread transcripts for court reporters on my iPad from anywhere in the world. I've been doing it for three years and now teach an online course to teach others to do the same. That's helped me create another income stream I can earn from anywhere. Being able to work anywhere allows me to travel and earn money simultaneously — so choosing my company name was easy: Proofread Anywhere was the logical (and catchy!) choice.

Thanks to Caitlin Pyle, Proofread Anywhere!

9) Element of Surprise

We’re an integrated marketing firm in Austin, Texas. One of our mantras is to give clients what they asked for, then give them what they didn’t think to ask for. We’re big believers that you have to outthink your competition to stay competitive in just about any industry. With this in mind, we allowed everyone at the agency to throw in ideas for names. We almost went with “New Guy, Old Guy, Dead Guy” as a fun riff off of law firm names. But, in the end, we went with Door Number 3. As we explain to clients, it’s all about the element of surprise. You never know what’s behind Door Number 3.

Thanks Prentice Howe, Door Number 3!

10) A Community

I am the owner of Bow chika Wow Town, LLC. We are Rhode Island's only indoor dog park. We also offer dog daycare and overnight boarding. We are more than an play space for dogs, we are a community. Yes, Bow chika Wow Town. Did you have to read our name more than once? Did you smile after you read it? Does it make you want to sing a familiar tune? Will it stick? Does it lend itself to the lively and fun culture we strive to cultivate? Who is our market and what is our differentiator? These are all questions I asked myself when brain storming a name for my business. Coming up with a sticky name proved to be a challenge in the increasingly popular and very specific doggie daycare industry. I started by rattling off anything and everything that reminded me of dogs at play; the sounds they make, the toys they use, the games they play. Then I came up with nouns that represented a community or a place where people join. After many pages of forced possibilities, the epiphany occurred during a weekend down the Jersey Shore with some life long girlfriends. Never underestimate the creative powers of laughter, love and quality time with girlfriends.

Thanks to Alisa Paykos Theurer, Bow chika Wow Town!

11) Fresh, Clean, Pure & Unspoiled

I am the CEO of Pristine Advisers. I came up with the name after some serious thought and felt that “Pristine”, which stands for “fresh, clean, pure; unspoiled”. I felt that we were as fresh as they come. Despite doing this line of work for over twenty-five years, our team was fresh and pure in terms of being on our own. We are eager, determined and unspoiled for our own good. It was our chance to start new and fresh and the word just resonated with me. Advisers was tricky in that we advise clients on a daily basis, however, there are two ways to spell the word, advisers and advisors. We work with a lot of financial advisors and so I went with advisers to make the distinction.

Thanks to Patricia Baronowski-Schneider, Pristine Advisers!

12) Connect with Loved Ones

Treatmint Box is a subscription box specifically for people with cancer. I started it after my own battle with cancer as a way for friends and family to connect with their loved ones going through cancer. I loved the subscription model because it allows for ongoing support which is critical in cancer care. I wanted the box to subtly indicate that it was for people with cancer. In the cancer community we are always talking about “treatment.” It's common to hear patients say things such as, “When is your next treatment, I have treatment this week, or what's your treatment plan?” So I liked the idea of playing on a common word in our community. I changed the “e” to an “i” to be playful. I also liked that the box is also a “treat” for patients from their friends and family.

Thanks to Kimberly Fink, Treatmint Box!

13) Something to Use When Needed

While traveling in Florence, Italy, my husband purchased a beautiful leather handbag for me. As much as I wanted to use it, I didn't want to get it wet or dirty. I wanted something to carry with me to use when I needed it, and still be able to put it back in my purse after it got wet or dirty. There was nothing available, so, I designed BORSAbag, a self-storing BAG-in-a-bag ( BIG BAG in a little bag). Borsa means bag or purse in Italian. Wanting to give credit to the Italian handbag that started me thinking of this design, I chose the name BORSAbag, Get It Wet and Dirty; Store It Clean and Dry.

Thanks to Diane E Piper, BORSAbag LLC!

14) Searching for Domains

We started searching for a new business name by using GoDaddy and determining which domains were available. We knew we wanted the word ‘sweet' in the domain as we were a custom and wedding cake business. We were surprised to see the domain www.OneSweetSlice.com available and we felt it was a great brand to work with. We purchased the domain and stared to build the brand about 8 years ago. Even with the business transforming, the name still fits well.

Thanks to Janell Brown, One Sweet Slice!

15) Relate to my Customers

Aerial Agents is an aerial photography | video service delivered through use of sUAS (small Unmanned Aerial Systems) and sUAS operators. We obtain media content for either Film & Television production or for data collection purposes. Most of our clients come from “Agencies”. I chose the name to help relate to my customers which usually are Real Estate agencies, marketing agencies, advertising agencies, travel agencies, and insurance agencies. We also deliver our service to many hospitality businesses around
the country.

Thanks to Thomas Wasinski, Aerial Agents!

16) A Curvy Blog

My name is Yolanda Williams and I am the CEO of Curvidence Enterprises, LLC with an online store named Just Curves. Curvidence was the name of my first blog. It was a blog catering to plus size women, so I wanted to make sure the word curvy was in the name somehow. Curvidence is Curvy+Confidence. When I started my company, I added the Enterprises part because it will be the parent company for many other businesses I plan to start which I hope will help plus size women realize their worth is not tied to their weight.

Thanks to Yolanda Williams, Curvidence Enterprises, LLC!

17) 2 Elements

I started Bootstrap Website with the objective of helping individuals (primarily those who are new to the online world) to get started with a web presence – website / blog / online store, without spending a lot of money. Since I needed a domain name that matches this objective and running down the lists of permutations of domain names that are yet to be taken, I eventually settled on Bootstrap Website.  This name stems from these 2 elements – 1) Bootstrap – to start up with minimal financial resources, 2) Website – to have a web presence. The interesting thing is I didn't realize that Bootstrap was a popular website building framework – hence I started getting search traffic from people wanting to learn more about this website building framework.

Thanks to Ray Tan, Bootstrap Website!

18) Encapsulating our Brand

After years of operating as OSI Business Services, we made a major pivot to AccountingDepartment.com. Choosing this name took a lot of deliberation-we wanted to make sure our name introduced us as a full service provider of bookkeeping and controller services, essentially functioning as the entire “accounting department” of SMBs. A tech-savvy, online accounting services firm, the “.com” was the lynchpin in the rebranding. A combination of literal explanation (We become the Accounting Department) with the startup/tech/online vibe, we knew that AccountingDepartment.com was the perfect name for our business, encapsulating all that was important and relevant to our brand.

Thanks to Dennis Najjar, AccountingDepartment.com!

19) Keywords

I run Adventure Tasmania, a business promoting travel to the Australian state of Tasmania. Our business name generation process was pretty simple, we were mostly wanting to cover adventure travel and activities located in Tasmania. We checked the domains were available, did some search traffic calculations using googles adwords keyword tools to see how much google traffic there was around our name as keywords and made the decision from there.

Thanks to Dale Baldwin, Adventure Tasmania!

20) End Goal

21) True Potential

Potential LLC, name comes from what I felt most people regardless of whether they struggle with addiction or not usually fail to realize or achieve, that is there “true” potential. My phone is to help be the catalyst for people who struggle with substance use disorder to see that they will never fully realize there true potential until they address addiction. I believe that if we help people find the road to recovery that they will be able to live a full life and possibly reach their own personal potential whatever that may be

Thanks to Eric Paskin, Potential Behavioral Health Advisors!