Choosing a Name For Your Business

Some time ago, I met a man who told me that it was “very necessary” for my son to have an English name, but he could not give me a reason why. For someone who has lived her entire life (within and outside Nigeria) without an English name, and with no problems associated with that fact, it would take a lot to convince me that it is “very necessary” to have an English name.

When I was growing up, I desperately wanted to have an English name. I did not think that it was fair that almost everyone that I knew had an English name. My grandfather who did not think that an English name was necessary, the same man who had given an English middle name to all his children, had three very English names himself – Roland, James, Erasmus.

I imagine that the same considerations go into naming a business as with naming a child. A lot of thought goes into the process because this name will carry on for many years, and will tell a story to the world.

When thinking of a name for your business, the easiest thing to do, especially with businesses in professional fields like law and accounting, is to name the business after given legal names of the founding member(s) of the business. These days, however, people are more adventurous in deciding on a name for their business. Naming the business after yourself is arguably the easy route, but it can come with some challenges. What if you have a name like “Tric Turner”? I don’t know if that is someone’s real name or not, but a profile with that name once requested to connect with me on LinkedIn, and red signals started blaring in my head. What would be the first impression people get when they hear the name “Trick Turner & Associates”? I know what my first impression was, and it was not a positive one. If you have a common first and last name combination, you may have difficulty distinguishing yourself and your business from all others who share the same names. 

Another instance where naming your business after yourself may be a challenge would be in a partnership. If the partnership is named after the members, what happens when they fall out and only one partner remains? Or, what happens when there are six partners all of whom have names with at least six syllables. In that case, normal daily use would force the shortening of the name, and whose name would be left out? 

Some people feel that their companies cannot have global appeal if they use their given names. They fear that the names will be too difficult to remember or pronounce. We have all come to learn how to pronounce “Schlumberger”, for instance, so if Shokolokobangoshay & Co., offered good service and built up their brand, in no time the world would learn how to say Shokolokobangoshay.

For those who choose not to name their business after themselves, here are a few things to consider when naming your business:

The Rules (The Legal Profession, For Example)

Every profession has rules, but none quite as intrusive as the legal profession. The legal profession has a long list of rules of professional ethics, with the overall purpose of maintaining a certain prestige in the profession. Practitioners cannot do anything that brings disrepute to the profession. I believe that would include giving a law firm a name that would bring ridicule to the profession. If you are offering professional services, you probably want a name that evokes seriousness.

Message 

You might want to send a message about your skills, product, service, or ideology with the name of your business. Using keywords that send the message about what your business does is a way to achieve that. For instance, if you are setting up a law business, using the names Tech Law Partners or Lagos Maritime Law Partners, etc., send a clear message about what potential clients can expect from you.

Scaling up 

Your business name will go on letterheads, call cards, signage, etc., and you may even want to set up a website and create email addresses. It is a good idea to search the internet to see if there is another firm or company in the world using the same name or one similar to that which you have chosen. You don’t want potential clients confusing you for some other people somewhere in the world. Furthermore, a name that translates easily into a url address is helpful – one that is not too long so that it does not have to be mercilessly abbreviated to get a manageable url address. For instance www.techlaw.com is an intuitive abbreviation for Tech Law Partners, short and easy to remember. What if you had a business with the name “Wide Winning Briefs and Associates”? Using the whole name for the url might be too long, imagine what it would look like on paper. How much space would that take up on a call card? Would you use the first letter abbreviation (WWBA)? What if some other company had that url address? So, “WiWiBA”? Hmmm.

Whatever you choose to name your business, remember that you will be creating a brand around the name. Whether it is your business name or a brand name that emerges subsequently, you want the names associated with your business to have longevity, evoke confidence, and be able to adapt to change. 

It is not a bad idea when you have narrowed down your choice to four or five names to test them out with your friends and family and get their thoughts on the name.

Next time, I will talk about brand names and consider the question of naming your brand after yourself.