Ask IH: How do you find a name for your product?

I smoke weed.

I brainstorm a list of words that describe what the project is about and then run them one by one through https://leandomainsearch.com to find a second word that makes the name distinctive.

For example, for a product naming service, https://leandomainsearch.com/search/?q=name and (from the first few) I would consider NamePrincess.com, NameOriginal.com, IndigoName.com -- all apparently still available. I like visual/easy to remember second words -- "princess" would make a good logo+mascot, for "indigo" I would make the site and all identity eye-watering indigo.

To come up with ideas, I write down a lot of ideas randomly without judgment. I also look for synonyms at the dictionary.

Google Trends, Keyword Planner, and Twitter are also good tools to see how people search for the products or services I'm willing to create.

When I found some cool names, I usually check if:

• It already exists in the market
• .com or .net domain is available: I usually prefer these, but I've already registered domains in other TLD like .club, .me, etc. If it's a side project or something I'm just validating, I usually go for cheaper domains.
• Social media handles are available: matching the brand name is always better, but if it already exists, I look for alternatives like @myideahq, @getmyidea, @myideaapp @myidea_, @_myidea, etc.

I think what sites my potential users tend to use. I then try to base the name off of the theme of those groups of sites. Tool wise just a thesaurus and https://www.namemesh.com (though it doesn't handle .io correctly).

For me, I use:

• a domain registrar
• a thesaurus

And go from there. I think its valuable to: (a) get a good domain, (b) try to avoid using overplayed tropes like adding "ly" or "io" to your name.

(a) is obvious, but (b) is because I think you instantly make it harder for yourself to define your brand if you go for a trope, as you get associated instantly in a bucket within the minds of consumers.