Despite it may seem trivial, choosing a name for your company is one of the most important decisions you will make as an entrepreneur. A great company name has great power when pitching, funding, and marketing a business.

Your company's name could be:

  • a lever that separates you from your competition
  • the key element that helps your customers understand your value
  • a fundamental part of your brand or something that breaks it.

But deciding on the perfect name is hard. There's a reason why so many companies have names that are forgettable, confusing and aimless.

Here are 7 rules for naming a company that will be:

  • Memorable
  • Brandable
  • Helpful
  • Clear

1. Be unique in your category

There might be 100 other companies with your same concept, industry, audience, brand colors, marketing angle and so on... You have to find ways to stand out. A unique name compared to others in your niche does precisely that.

2. Use words that can turn into verbs

When building a company, you are inviting people to take action. Your brand name is the first touchpoint customers have with you. Your brand name is a great opportunity to invite people to take action in some way. Look for a name that eventually becomes a thing people do.

Great examples of this include Google, Photoshop, and Uber.

Nobody says "I need to grab a ride share." They say "I'll just Uber there." A great name becomes synonymous with accomplishing an important task. In simpler terms, frame your company as the way things get done.

3. Limit your syllables

Short names are better. The longer the name, the more difficult it is to type out. The more difficult it is to type out, the less it gets searched online. The less it gets searched online, the more forgettable it becomes. It's a vicious cycle, and you can easily avoid it.

You want a name that is easy for the masses to say. The sweet spot is a 2-syllable name. Some good examples are:

  • Ni - ke
  • Ap - ple
  • Twit - ter
  • Face - book.

Keep it simple to keep it memorable.

4. Easy to Spell

A name that is easy to spell will get searched more often. You don't want your customers to have to guess how to type your name. Don't change up the letters of a traditional word. This can easily confuse people when searching. Your name needs to be easy enough for a 7 year old to spell.

A few great examples of this include Archer, Monday, and Amazon.

5. Easy to pronounce

Your customers won't just type your company name out. They'll have to say it out loud, too. If your company name is hard to pronounce, people won't ever want to say it. There goes your word-of-mouth growth.

Aim for a name that can be pronounced by the masses. You want a name so easy that a toddler could say it. These details are what separate an OK name from a great one.

Examples of this include Apple, Tesla, and Nike.

6. Domain availability

A decade ago, you could easily get a great ".com" for your brand. Now, it's hard to find a great domain on even the less competitive domain extensions (like .io, .co, and .ai). You need to choose a name that is unique enough that it will be available as a domain... but common enough that it fits the other rules.

This is a tricky step, but a crucial one. Your domain is how customers will find you, work with you, and refer you to others. If can get a great ".com" for your business, buy it. Otherwise, keep your company name intact and grab a less popular extension.

7. Trademarking available

The hope is that your brand grows like crazy every year until it becomes a household name that everyone knows and loves. If you reach that goal, you'll want a trademark to protect yourself and get more benefits from the name. The consequences of not checking before picking your name? It could mean you lose your name down the road. Do some early online searching to make sure you can trademark your name.

Credits: this article is an extract from Brett Adcock's article on naming a company.