Naming a company in a few simple steps – a how to guide for creative company names

by | Mar 30, 2018 | Blog

Resources for coming up with a name for your company 

 

Coming up with a name for your company is no easy task. You’ll want to make sure the domain name is available, and that you can trademark it, and making sure there aren’t competitors with a similar or potentially confusingly similar name. And it needs to be memorable, and say something important about the company.

 

So what to do? 

 

The “proper name” for trademarking with USPTO or the state, you need a pretty unique name first of all. Names are registered within categories. So if you sell food,  like, say, cannabis-infused peanuts, there can be another brand with the same name who sell nuts and bolts and that’s okay.  You just have to be the first to register a business in the category you are in. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. A lot of good trademarks are already registered, so you’ll have to get creative. There’s no way you could open a national chain of anything called “Greens.” Those trademarks are gone. 

As for generic words,  those can be tricky. The Cannabis Cookie Company is not a really a brand, it’s just what the thing is, no more, no less. Yummies Funnies Nom Noms, however speaks to the idea of deliciousness and happiness. 

There are many overused words in cannabis – words like “green, leaf, canna, mari, mary, kind, dope, weed, elevated, emerald” etc.  – there’s too many of them already. Just go ahead and Google “greenleaf” and see how many results you get. 

What to do instead? Use abstract and creative concepts! Is there a sport you really like and you’re making a pain-relief product? Then call your company Sticky Wicket Cannabis Co. Go ahead and Google it. It doesn’t exist yet. It’s because the relationship is so personal, so unique that no one else would think of it. 

 

Simple DIY naming workshop to come up with a name for your company 

(NOTE: video is from an old presentation, so things may have changed since the time it originally aired) 

 

 

More words

http://www.thesaurus.com/

http://www.Wordhippo.com/

https://www.rhymezone.com/

Suffixes and prefixes

http://users.uoa.gr/~nektar/history/language/greek_latin_derivatives.htm

A BIG List of Prefixes and Suffixes and Their Meanings

 

Making sure it doesn’t mean anything bad

urbandictionary.com

images.google.com

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&q=Dictionary

 

Trademarks

https://www.brandandbranch.com/

https://www.uspto.gov/

https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/trademark-basics/trademark-patent-or-copyright

 

Keyword planner

The direct domain name isn’t everything, if you search well. If your name is California Green, it’s not going to search well.
You can use Google for checking how your name would search and what comes up, or use a tool like:

https://adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/#?modal_active=none

For a generic example, California Green, it brings up green burials, green building, state parks etc.
Change it to Humboldt Green, and there’s no competition.

 

Domain names

Domain.com

A Small Orange: www.asmallorange.com

 

Sources for additional workshopping ideas

https://medium.com/@danyacg/create-the-best-brand-name-the-process-i-used-to-name-arq-d4d0964d9ba9

https://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2009/06/33-tips-tactics-for-generating-names.html#.Wr3YttMbPUI

https://smashingideas.com/five-warm-ups-ignite-design-thinking-workshop/

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