Here are 9 steps you can perform on your shortlist of new names to determine which one has the best chance of success:

1. Is the Domain Name available?

Use a domain registrar to search for available domain names. I like – https://iwantmyname.com – as it searches through loads of domain extensions.

Don’t limit yourself to .com or your country domain (.co.uk or .de), there are many extensions now and the premium of having a .com has faded. Many new software businesses are utilising .io or .app, for example.

Also, don’t be discouraged if a domain has been bought but the domain is a holding page advertising that it’s for sale. Yes, that particular domain has gone, but that’s not the same as having competition. Go for the same name but with a different extension.

2. Social handles?

Check the availability of usernames at the social media sites the business will be using. Aim for consistency across domain name, business name and social media handles. If this isn’t possible, at least have consistency across all social media handles. Maybe an underscore or hyphen needs to be added to achieve this.

3. Has it already been trademarked?

Check various trademark databases to double-check that this name hasn’t already trademarked in a certain country.

US – https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/search/search-information

UK – https://www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark

WIPO – https://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html

If budget allows, a trademark lawyer would be a good idea for final sign-off.

4. How does it translate?

You may be a provincial business with no plans for world domination, but you better still double-check your new name isn’t slang for having your pants pulled down in Grand Theft Auto.

Have you heard of the Ghanian sauce, Shito? There’s a reason it’s not challenging Reggae, Reggae on the supermarket shelves.

Run your new name through WordSafety.com to ensure it doesn’t mean Poo Face in Polish.

5. Pronounciab…Pronousea…Can people say it?

Word of mouth is so important that if people can’t communicate verbally, then you’ve already hampered your marketing efforts before you’ve even begun.

Users don’t have to say it correctly, just communicate it accurately. I still don’t say Porsche or Nike correctly, but it doesn’t matter, people know what I’m referring to.

In tandem with saying it, can they spell it? Can non-English speakers spell it? There’s a reason no business in its right mind would call itself Definitely Solutions.

The internet trend of creating names by omitting or replacing certain letters is risky, eg. Flickr, TikTok, Netflix, etc allow you to grab a .com domain name and they are easy to pronounce. Which is why I’ve always considered the renaming/merger of HomeAway to VRBO to be insanity.

Conversely, certain industries use exclusivity (a.k.a. awkwardness) as a positive. Consider brand names in haute couture, or the sports car manufacturer Koenigsaggjillminehaiirhngeggsbourg.

6. Can it grow with your business?

Adding a geographic marker to your name gives a business much more flexibility in getting the trademarks, domain names and social handles they’re after, but would a business with the name Brighton Office Chairs operate successfully in Wigan?

Gulliver’s Office Chairs would travel a lot better.

Geography can give a certain cachet to products such as Worcestershire Sauce, Kendal Mint Cake, the Oxford English Dictionary, etc, but consider including that cachet in the tagline, product name, or other copy, not necessarily in the brand name.

7. Competitive analysis

Similar to trademark checks, but check no-one else is using it in a non- trademark way. Search for the name on the web, on social media, in foreign dictionaries, etc. Set up Google Alerts to be alerted to any mentions and discover how it’s being used. Is it totally unrelated, or could it be a PR disaster?

8. Let it marinade

You’ve got a good name, it’s passed all the above checks, you like it, you’re happy, now sleep on it. Let it sit with you for a bit as you continue your normal working life. Keep it in the background and see how it fits with the industry, against competitors, how does it roll off the tongue, does it grow inside your mind into a fully fledged company name? Imagine using it in conversation, whilst networking, on company paperwork, on the website, with product names, does it grow with your future plans?

Take this time now so you don’t have to do a Snickers in 5 years.

9. Test drive it

Tell other people, trusted co-workers and friends to see what they think of it. Ensure you haven’t missed something obvious. Also, if this name has been thought of within the office walls, then it’s good to get out of the office politics of it all and get an unblemished, independent opinion.

Just because the CEO thought of it, doesn’t mean it’s the best option.

Obviously, there’s a fine line between garnering opinion of a sensitive piece of business information and risking someone else nicking it. So proceed with caution, and once the name has been finalised, act fast in getting the domain name and social media handles.

For the hard part of thinking of a name, hire a copywriter.