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Business naming guides

How to name a company, a shop or a product. Every guide is built on three things: the statistics of real names in that trade, a step-by-step process, and names the AI actually generated for a realistic brief, with the meaning and the case for each one.

Start here: how to name a business

The rules, the process and the costs, in one place.

How to name a business: the rules, a six-step process, and what 900,000 real names say

The legal rules, a six-step process, and what the statistics of 900,000 real business names show: most put the trade word last, average 3.3 words, and only 4% start with "The".

How to check if a business name is taken: five free searches, in order, in about twenty minutes

Five free searches in the right order: state registry, USPTO trademark, domain and handles, Google and Maps, county DBA. What each one tells you, and what to do when a name is partly taken.

How much does it cost to name a business? Agency, freelancer, contest, AI and doing it yourself, compared

Agencies from $5,000, freelancers from $500, contests from $300, AI from $0 to $119. What each delivers, how long it takes, what none of them include, and which fits a one-person start-up.

By industry: how to name your shop, practice or company

Each guide reads the statistics of real US names in that trade, then shows names the AI generated for a realistic brief.

How to name a coffee shop: 5 steps, the statistics of real names, and AI-generated examples

63% of real US coffee-shop names put the trade word last. The five steps, where Starbucks and Blue Bottle got their names, the legal checks, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a bakery: 5 steps, what 5,300 real bakery names show, and AI-generated examples

70% of real US bakery names put the trade word last and nearly a third use "&". The five steps, where Levain and Tartine got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a restaurant: 5 steps, what 5,700 real restaurant names show, and AI-generated examples

82% of real US restaurant names put the trade word last and 38% use "&", the highest of any trade. The five steps, where Chipotle and Shake Shack got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a hair salon: 5 steps, what 5,700 real salon names show, and AI-generated examples

Salon names break the usual pattern: only 44% put the trade word last, and "Studio" and "Spa" are as common as "Salon". The five steps, where Drybar and Aveda got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a cleaning business: 5 steps, the patterns in real names, and AI-generated examples

The trust problem is the whole naming problem: a stranger is letting you into their home. The five steps, the words that signal reliability, where Molly Maid got its name, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a landscaping business: 5 steps, what real names show, and AI-generated examples

Half of real US landscaping names put the trade word last and a quarter use "&". The five steps, why native-plant names work, where TruGreen got its name, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a photography business: 5 steps, what real names show, and AI-generated examples

77% of real US photography names put the trade word last, and "Studio" is the most common word beside it. The five steps, why "Snap" and "Shutter" no longer stand out, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a consulting business: 5 steps, the patterns in real names, and AI-generated examples

Consulting names run on three trade words: Advisors, Partners, Group. The five steps, why "Solutions" and "Strategic" say nothing, where Accenture and Deloitte got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a clothing brand: 5 steps, the patterns behind famous labels, and AI-generated examples

Clothing is the one trade where the trade word is usually left off: Everlane, Patagonia, Uniqlo. The five steps, why textile craft words work, where Nike and Zara got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name an app or startup: 5 steps, the patterns behind famous names, and AI-generated examples

The -ly and -ify era is over. The five patterns behind Slack, Spotify and Airbnb, how to test a name as an App Store title and a spoken word, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a gym or fitness studio: 5 steps, what 4,600 real names show, and AI-generated examples

"Beast", "Iron" and "Grind" are in thousands of gym names already. The five steps, what 4,600 real names show, where Orangetheory and Equinox got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a dog-walking or pet-care business: 5 steps, what real names show, and AI-generated examples

Pet-care names break the pattern: only 15% put the trade word last, and "Paws" is in thousands of them. The five steps, where Rover and Petco got their names, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a dental practice: 5 steps, what 6,000 real names show, and AI-generated examples

"Smile" and "Bright" are in thousands of dental names. The five steps, what 6,000 real names show, the dental-board rules most guides skip, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

How to name a real estate business: 5 steps, what 5,000 real names show, and AI-generated examples

"Premier", "Elite" and "Luxury" are in thousands of real-estate names. The five steps, what 5,000 real names show, the licensing rules on team names, where Compass and Redfin got theirs, and three AI-generated names with the story behind each.

Name ideas

Lists to browse when you need a spark, with the meaning of each name.

50 coffee shop name ideas with meanings, sorted by style

Fifty names with the meaning of each, in five styles: word + Coffee, fire and roasting, place, old English words, short marks. Ten were generated by the AI for a Portland brief and are shown with the full case.

50 bakery name ideas with meanings, sorted by style

Fifty names with the meaning of each, in five styles: word + Bakery, old baking words (leaven, barm, sheaf), the overnight rhythm, "&" pairs, short marks. Three AI-generated names shown with the full case.

50 hair salon name ideas with meanings, sorted by style

Fifty names with the meaning of each, in five styles, and not one pun on shear, mane or tress. Three AI-generated names for a Nashville salon shown with the full case.

50 cleaning business name ideas with meanings, sorted by style

Fifty names with the meaning of each, in five styles, and none of them sparkle, shine, squeaky or maid. Three AI-generated names for a Phoenix brief shown with the full case.

Where famous names came from

The stories behind names everyone knows.

Where 60 famous brand names came from: Amazon, Nike, IKEA, Starbucks, Google, Lego and the rest

Amazon, Apple, Google, Nike, IKEA, Lego, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Volvo, Sony, Bluetooth, Häagen-Dazs: the stories behind 60 names, sorted into the seven ways names are built.

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