A great business name does three quiet jobs at once: it's easy to remember, easy to spell, and it doesn't box you in as you grow. Everything else is taste. Here's the checklist we run every name through.
1. Say it out loud
If you have to spell it every time you say it, it's too clever. The best names survive a noisy bar and a phone call. Read your shortlist aloud to someone who's never seen it written down and watch their face.
2. Check the spelling trap
Deliberate misspellings (think dropped vowels) were a 2010s fad that mostly created support tickets. If a customer can't guess the spelling from the sound, you'll pay for it in lost traffic forever.
3. Make sure it has room to grow
A name that describes exactly what you do today can trap you tomorrow. “Boston Coffee Carts” is a hard name to keep once you sell tea in Denver. Descriptive is fine; over-specific is a cage.
4. Get the .com — or a very good reason not to
The matching .com still signals legitimacy more than any other extension. If it's taken, a strong .co, .io, or .ai can work, but know that you'll spend years correcting people who typed the .com out of habit.
5. Run a five-minute trademark sanity check
Before you fall in love, search your national trademark register and plug the name into a search engine with your industry. An available domain is not the same as a free-and-clear name.
When you're ready, describe your idea in the generator and let it hand you ten candidates that already pass tests one and four.