5 Steps for Naming Your New Business

You’ve got a great idea for a new business and are ready to go. Only problem is you haven’t found a name for your business yet.

It can be downright agonizing to try to distill your message into a handful of letters, come up with something your mom can spell, not to mention find a URL that’s available and hasn’t been trademarked.

People say that naming a business can be harder than naming a baby—I have four kids and a handful of businesses and I can say that’s true. But you don’t have to let a business name become a major roadblock in your march toward entrepreneurship. Here are some tips to finding the right name for your new business.

These days, it seems like the process of naming a business typically involves typing random strings of letters into a domain name search tool and settling on whatever available fictional word sucks the least. But, try to avoid the urge of going straight to a search and first think about your brand and what your new business means.

A great approach is to create a mind map of all the concepts related to your business. Write down any and all words that describe what you want to be known for and any emotions that you’ve felt, or that you want your customers to feel.

Branding gurus have all sorts of advice, from beginning the name with a letter high up in the alphabet (A, B, or C) to including a word with K for impact. Generally speaking, your name will grab attention if it’s short and easy to spell. I’ve always tried to limit company names to one or two syllables, and up to seven letters maximum.

Remember that word-of-mouth is incredibly important for early stage companies. If someone recommends your business, the other person has to (a) be able to remember the name and (b) be able to spell it later on. Names that are hard to spell from memory (or hearing on the radio) can be a branding nightmare for a young company.

In addition, avoid picking a name that is related to a specific geography or product category. Being too specific makes it hard to expand down the road.

Once you have some potential ideas from your brainstorming, you can plug them into a domain name search tool—and cross your fingers and hope for the best. If your first choices aren’t available, you can use an online name generation tool, like NameMesh or LeanDomainSearch , to find a variation that’s available. There are also crowd-sourced contest sites like Squadhelp and Naming Force (think 99Designs, but for company names).

The URL searches will determine if the domain name is available for your business, but you will also need to make sure the name hasn’t already been trademarked or is in use by another business. You are not allowed to use a business name if another company is already using the same or similar name in a similar capacity; this is true whether that company has officially registered the trademark for the name or not.

First, conduct a knockout search to see if the name is already used by someone in your state. Then, you can check if the name is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You can either conduct these searches yourself with your state and USPTO offices, or have an online legal filing company handle it for you (it’s typically free). If all these searches come up clean, you can have an attorney or online legal filing company conduct one last thorough search of all state and county records, and you’ll be good to go.

Once you’ve got a name that you like and it passes the availability tests, you’re ready to put your branding efforts into full gear. You’ll want to register/reserve the name as soon as possible. If you are going to form a corporation or LLC for your business, this registers the name in your state, and essentially prevents any other business from coming in and incorporating/forming an LLC in the state with the same name. But, it doesn’t do anything to protect your name in the 49 other states.

The most effective way to protect your name is to register for a federal trademark. The process of trademarking can confuse even veteran entrepreneurs, so here are a few things to know. As soon as you start engaging in commerce with a business name, you have common law rights to it (assuming the name was legally available when you started using it).

Why go through the hassle of registering a trademark? A registered trademark gives you stronger protection should you ever need to block someone else from using your business name. In addition, once you’ve formally registered your name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offic e, it will show up in the free trademark searches so other people will be less likely to try using it in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

A trademark application requires that you’re already using the mark (business name) in commerce, but what if you’re still in development, and there’s nothing to sell yet? In this case, you can file an Intent To Use (ITU) trademark application. This lets you file for a mark before you start using it, basically letting you reserve your name. You’ll have six months to put your mark into commerce, but you can request additional six-month extensions if needed.

Registering your name with a trademark not only protects your name, but gives you the peace of mind that your proposed name is legally available and you won’t be forced to stop using it months or years later. After all, it’s hard work to come up with a great name; make sure it’s yours to use for years to come.

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