Naming is hard!
Who would've thought. That's why they say the two hardest things in computer science are cache invalidation and naming things.
I've been trying to came up with a name but everything seems to be or taken, or too obvious (like petstore.com if the site is ... well a pet store) or the social media handlers already taken. Sigh
So, I've been working without a name but every time I try make something (create a document, write some code, create a wireframe) the question keeps bumping in my head "What's the name?, what's the name?"
I've been using https://namelix.com in conjunction with https://namechk.com/ without much success
So I finally decided in going for something that returned 0 results in Google and has everything available( .com, twitter, fecebook etc.etc) , doesn't mean anything in any language, basically I came up with a new word.
Yes, the risk is that it might not be appealing to anything but I doubt "twitter" or "google" were very relatable when they started.
How did you IH'ers found / created your product names.
UPDATE:
Ugh according to my wife, the name I picked "Vazgli" reminds her visually to a renewed vaginal health company "Vagisil", which is certainly an association I'm not interested in keeping (not sure how prevalent would this association be among the female population, if any IH can confirm or deny this, please chime in).
Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess :D
#ask-ih #inspiration
Oh ... the time spent on naming things, especially if you're a team and disagree on the name :D
In my experience, it does not matter much if your name does not mean anything - it may even be an advantage as it stands out more. What's more important is that the name is memorable and easy to pronounce (in multiple languages, perhaps). Bonus points if it gives a hint about what it is about.
I usually just write down words I like look for synonyms then blend and combine. For example - I just came up with the idea for a site to review and rate product warranties.
Heres what i wrote down over a few days so you can see it evolve: you’ll see i just out down gibberish but it evolves...
teety
guware
wowatee
zowatee
yipee
Trackitee
trackarranty
promise
traxee
see
a guarantee with wow
wowitee
wowotee
wowetee
wowotee
wowatee
vowow
wowvow
vowwow
wowieezowiee
woweezowee
warrantx
warrantu
warranthound
wartyx
warranty tool box
guaranteehub
how product warranties work and which one's are best and tracking them then buying them...
guaranteehound
warrantyhound
warranthound
trustyville
trustfuss
The trick Ive found is to not focus on it hard just let it bubble up from the back of your mind. At least that works for me.
I settled on Trustfuss because its a site you can trust for things that might be a fuss to you - ie warranties. I like the way it rolls and it was good enough vs over optimizing.
Hope that helps!
John
Trustfuss roles off the tongue! Good choice
I does help actually
There is a good blog post about naming from the founders of Trello. Conclusion: if the name you come up with isnt shitty, it will do. I am always naming my apps after what they do:
Shift calendar application - Shift Calendar
Discount catalog listing app - Discount Catalogs
News feed app - News
This also helps with ASO btw.
I think pretty much everyone struggles with names. It definitely is a challenge. I don’t think there’s a magic recipe. I like what @jloha312 said about letting it “bubble” up in the back of your mind. Try to get other people’s input too - even if they don’t give you the magic idea, they might open your mind to other possibilities.
I use https://domainr.com while brainstorming as it gave me a quick look at what domains and extensions were available and which were taken and I could quickly rule out any that weren't going to work.
Personally, I like ones that you end up like a phrase which is why we settled on ShoutAbout (https://shoutabout.it). A catchphrase (Everyone has something to ShoutAbout) came up pretty quick once we had decided on the name and it's easy to spin out variations of it. Even our shutdown notice for our original product was "Move along, Nothing to ShoutAbout"
Another one I brainstormed was with a former colleague who was looking to create a job board and he ended up with https://simply.jobs
Hey @OscarRyz - belated, but did you find a name? If not, I'd love for your feedback on naminator.io - I'm the developer. Thanks!
Ah yeah, I came up with something. At this point I don't even remember what was the process but I didn't use any of the "common" approaches, start with an idea and iterate until something sounds good.
I think I literally start saying letters out loud:
A
Ab
Abc...abd...aba....
....
ca, ce, ci
...
And end up with something with V :P
Thanks for checking though.
Hey, btw, I remember I give naminator.io a go back then, but I don't remember staying there for too long, can't really tell you why :/
No worries. You probably didn’t get great results last time, but we recently updated our algorithm. I’d love to hear what you think of it now.
I think you're overthinking it. Just think of a name that sounds cool and go from there. You don't need to have perfect social media accounts / etc.
That's what I end up doing. I started with something that I liked... and kept vocalizing until I found something that sounded fine.
Aaaaaabbbbbbddddddd......vaaoooooliiiiiuuuuuuuaazzzzzzzzz
Hey Oscar, no it's not! I've got the perfect FREE guide for you : )
'How To Create Business Names That Don’t Suck'
A free ebook to help entrepreneurs, makers and side hustlers name their business by Craig Barber
Do’s and don’ts of business naming
Tried and tested business naming techniques
For entrepreneurs, makers and side hustlers
Subscribe to get your free ebook today
https://logobly.com/business-names/
Enjoy : )
Oscar, I wrote this: https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-best-name-for-your-startup-company-f6e2f1512a1a
TLDR, it doesn't really matter as long as it's not a controversial name... and as long as you provide a shitton of value
Very nice writting Daniel, very good point on Craiglist haha :D
Thank you.
Hope it will help! Craig must have been the most popular guy for some time in his area
A previous project I ran was called Scetho. The name was so simple and appealing. Little did everyone know that it was acrually an abbreviation:
Small Companies Expand Their Horizon Online
The abbreviation explained what our project did. A platform to help businesses promote in-store offers. Customers would promote the business on their social media in exchange for access to said offers.
My current product Newny. Its not an abbreviation but a missiom statement. The idea is to help you expand your network and collaborate with your connections (in a networking setting) you can create discussions and invite users to it. NEW connections and collaborations, New You = Newny
Hope this helps!
https://newny.io/how
Ha! I definitely understand the struggle. I made a post recently regarding a name for a pending product https://www.indiehackers.com/post/f978593809 to get feedback.
It's good to get feedback from as many people as you can. A good name should be:
I like the point mentioned by @almarklein . It's definitely awesome if the name gives a hint on what the product or service does e.g postmates
One new technique I discovered is to to have 2-word(or more) names and then remove one or several letters from the end e.g Feedcat -> Feedca
I remember. What name are you going to use after all?
Readabo.
This comment was deleted 7 years ago
This comment was deleted 7 years ago