Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By Alyssa Royse
When I was pregnant, I faced what seemed like thehardest decision I ever had to make – what to name our child. We had a verysimple set of rules that we used to eliminate potential names immediately: Thename cannot rhyme with a body part, body function or sex act, nor can it beshortened to rhyme with a body part, body function or sex act. As such, Dick,Art and Puck were all out of the question. Turned out she was a girl, and wenamed her Celia, after my grandmother. It was a golden name. Until ourstockbroker said, “hey Celia, can I feel ya?”
Naming a new company isn’t much easier. In fact, it can seema lot harder. Not only does it have to be a name you like, but you need to beable to get the matching URL, it can’t sound like the competition, you want itto reflect your values and your product, be memorable and spellable and….. You can have the best intentions, brightest minds, follow all thecurrent naming rules, and still get a name that someone thinks sounds like asex act. It is not possible to get the perfect name. And it may not matter.
My soon-to-come-out-of-the-closet-new-project had anaming meeting the other night. It involved 6 women (our target market) and theintrepid geek-genius-guy brave enough to be part of this company. (We lovehim.) When the evening was done we had consumed 6 bottles of wine, pounds ofartisan cheese, two baguettes and an absurd amount of chocolate. We also hadthe perfect name. We spent 4 hours and no money. Based on that, let me sharewith you some ideas on how to name your new startup.
Brooks Talley, geeky demigod who is worshiped by his three female (business) partners, sent out the ground rules for our naming session in an email that was funny and perfect – and totally X rated, so if you’re easily offended, step awayfrom the screen now. His rules will work for you too.
Brooks Rule #1: – Domain available in .com (although .kzhas turned out well for Cor.kz)
It is sad, but true, that squatters have claimed prettymuch every word in the English language, but it matters. You cannot name yourcompany BILLY and expect people to find you online if your domain isSAMUEL.com. If you can’t get it, move on. (We had to give up really good names, and it hurt!)
Brooks Rule # 2 -Memorable and brandable (no “kysivia.com”or other made up nonsense)
This is more relevant to consumer facing brands, but thistrend for made up, mash up names that don’t mean anything is just ridiculous.Every now and then they work, (
Biznik.com comes leaping to mind,) but mostlythey don’t. They don’t mean anything to anyone. If you have to explain yourname to someone, it isn’t a good one.
Your name should also be flexible enough that you can use it to spin out things like newsletters, new products, divisions, etc…..
It does not have to describe your product, but it doeshave to reflect you somehow. Yahoo! does not describe a search engine, but itdoes describe the feeling of finding what you’re looking for. Yes, there are exceptions,lots of them…. But in general, made up words don’tstick in people’s minds. Like, what’s the name of that startup that recentlyfolded, in the healthcare space – really smart guys, great idea, about buildingcommunity for people fighting chronic illness? I liked that one, what was itcalled?
Brooks Rule # 3 -Possible for most people to spell (no “omnigynecopiary.com”)
On the heels of rule #2 (and often as a result of rule#1,) is the tendency to not only make up, but also tragically misspell, wordsin a way that you think is really witty. That sucks. Don’t do it. If you haveto misspell something, it’s because the URL isn’t available, and you shouldhave moved on. And no, using foreign languages doesn’t help. If people can’tlook you up, they won’t find you.
Brooks Rule # 4 – Speaks to welcoming and safety andcommunity (no “darkpassions.com”)
Regardless of your business or product, your goal isprobably to invite customers to use you. Pick a name that isn’t going tointimidate, scare, confuse or embarrass your potential customers – unless that’s your goal. Your name islike the sign above the door of an old-fashioned business, the kind that had walls anddoors. Picture it on a sign, would you want to go into that business? Would youknow what you were getting in to?
Brooks Rule #5 – But not clinical/medical (“happyvagina.com”is out)
A name that is too narrowly focused, and too specific, mayseem like a great idea in the beginning – a way to clearly define the exactmarket you’re going after. However, as you get up and running, that market maygrow, change, expand and you’ll want to be able to, um, penetrate it as yougrow and rise to the occasion. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
In our case, we realized that we may want to serve mensomeday too. Good thing we didn’t do the happyvagina.com thing.
Brooks Rule # 6 – If obviously sexual, then positive and notraunchy (no “cumslurpingsluts.com,”even if it wereavailable)
This is really the same as rule #4, but it was thefunniest thing I’ve ever received in an email, and I couldn’t resist trying tomake you laugh too.
Now that you’ve done all that, it’s time for the mostimportant rule of all. Relax. You will not get the perfect name. There are lotsof ways to get someone to walk through your door, and once they do, it is yourproduct and service that will keep the happy customers coming. And once theydo, your brand will be sticky, people will hear about it, and what you named itsimply won’t matter.
Like Pepsi. Like Gucci. Like Adidas. Like a boy named Sue.A name is only “hello,” it’s the rest of your interaction that matters more.Good branding can over come lame naming. A good company can overcome both. A “good enough” name is good enough.
Really, if you are a startup with limited funds,resist the temptation to pay a bunch of “experts” a bunch of money to come upwith the perfect name. You may as well hire unicorn hunters. Get a bunch ofreally smart people who reflect your target market, give them a bunch of wineand start talking, it’ll come.
(If you need help finding the right wine, Brooks’ othercompany,
Cor.kz can help you.)
_____
Alyssa Royse writes about lots of stuff, both professionally and personally. You can read her personal musings at
AlyssaRoyse.com. She is, as you will see, deeply scarred from being called “Alyssa Pa-Pissa” on the playgrounds of her youth.
