What a weak name costs, long after launch.
For the CEO
The name we started with no longer fits what we’ve become.
Businesses outgrow names. A name chosen for one product or market can box you in when you expand, and every workaround (a new sub-brand, a longer descriptor) adds confusion.
For the CMO
People can’t find us, or they find someone else.
Generic or look-alike names lose in search and in memory. You end up paying to rank for your own name, or competing with a company that sounds just like you.
For legal and finance
We can’t protect it, and we can’t afford to fight for it.
A name that can’t be registered, or that sits too close to an existing mark, is a liability waiting to surface, usually just after you’ve invested in it.
For product teams
Every new product gets a name nobody asked for.
Without a naming system, portfolios fill up with inconsistent names that confuse customers and make cross-selling harder.
It’s probably time to look at your name if…
Naming problems rarely announce themselves. They show up as friction in search, sales and legal.
- You’re launching a company, product or service that needs a name.
- Customers regularly mispronounce or misspell your name.
- Your name describes something you no longer only do.
- You share a name, or a close variant, with another business in your space.
- Product names across your portfolio follow no pattern.
- You’re entering markets where the name has an unwanted meaning.
What Naming actually is.
Naming is a strategic decision expressed in a single word or phrase. A strong name fits the position, is easy to say and spell, stands apart from competitors, works across the markets you care about, and can realistically be protected and found online.
Naming is as much a filtering exercise as a creative one. Most of the work is removing names that won’t survive real-world checks, so the shortlist you see is one you can actually use.
What it isn’t
- A brainstorm of clever words
- A guarantee of trademark registration (that’s for a qualified attorney)
- Just checking whether the .com is free
- A decision made by the loudest voice in the room
How several hundred candidates become one name you can use.
Most of the craft is in filtering, so the names you finally see have already survived practical checks.
01
Brief and criteria
We agree what the name must do: the position it should support, the audiences, markets and languages, and the tone.
You get: Clear criteria we can judge every candidate against, so the decision isn’t a matter of taste.
02
Explore routes
We generate names across several routes (descriptive, suggestive, invented, borrowed), often several hundred candidates.
You get: A broad field, so the final choice isn’t limited to the first good idea.
03
Screen
We remove names that clash with competitors, carry unwanted meanings in key languages, or have obvious availability problems for domains and social handles.
You get: A shortlist that has survived practical checks.
04
Test in context
We show the shortlist in use: on a website header, in a sentence, said aloud, next to competitors.
You get: Names judged the way customers will meet them, not in a spreadsheet.
05
Recommend and hand over
We recommend a name with the rationale and prepare what your trademark attorney needs to run formal clearance.
You get: A confident decision and a clean handover for legal clearance.
The naming traps we’re asked to rescue teams from.
Falling in love before checking
Teams often attach to a name and then discover it’s unavailable or conflicts with another business. Screen early, before anyone gets emotionally invested.
Describing today’s offer too literally
A name that describes exactly what you sell now can trap you when you expand. Leave room to grow.
Choosing by committee vote
Voting tends to select the least objectionable name, which is rarely the strongest. Agreed criteria make better decisions than a show of hands.
Ignoring how it sounds
Names are said aloud on calls, in meetings and in referrals. If people hesitate to pronounce it, they’ll avoid saying it.
Everything you need to adopt the name with confidence.
The handover is designed so your trademark attorney, designers and developers can all move straight away.
- Naming brief and evaluation criteria
- Longlist across naming routes
- Screened shortlist with linguistic notes
- Names shown in real-world context
- Recommendation and rationale
- Brief for your trademark attorney
- Naming architecture for future products (if needed)
Led by our Branding lead.
Our Branding lead leads the creative exploration and the screening, and stays in the room when the shortlist is presented, so the reasoning behind each name is explained first-hand.
What we’ll need from you
- A decision-maker who can commit to criteria before seeing names
- Your markets and languages, now and in the next few years
- Any names already rejected, and why
- A trademark attorney for formal clearance
What people ask before they rename.
Can you guarantee the name is legally available?
No agency can, and you should be wary of any that says otherwise. We screen for obvious conflicts and prepare everything a trademark attorney needs for formal clearance, which we strongly recommend before you commit.
How many names will we see?
Typically a shortlist of five to ten names that have passed our screening, with the reasoning for each. We generate far more than that, but we don’t ask you to wade through names we already know won’t work.
What if we can’t get the exact domain?
It’s rarely a deal-breaker. Modifiers, alternative domains and a strong brand usually matter more. We’ll show you the realistic options for each shortlisted name.
Do we have to rebrand if we rename?
A new name usually needs at least an identity update, because the old visual identity was built around the old name. We’ll scope that honestly with you.
How do we get the team to agree?
By agreeing the criteria before seeing names. It turns the decision into “which name best meets what we agreed” rather than personal preference.
Unsure whether your current name is holding you back?
Tell us where it causes friction. Sometimes the answer is a sub-brand or descriptor, not a rename.
Or write to us at [email protected]