Naming your company

Avoid:

• Your own name (although contractions can work, such as Adidas, from German athlete founder Adolph “Adi” Dassler).
• Descriptive names (Cool Air-Conditioning).
• Generic names (Babysitting Services).
• Trendy names (remember all the .com endings?).
• Names that are rude in other languages.
• Names that tie you to one country (America On Line, National Australia Bank).
• Too many syllables.
• Names that are hard to pronounce or spell.

Think about:

• Whether you want to be near the top of alphabetical lists.
• Using an existing word that has nothing to do with your business (Apple, Virgin).
• Making up a word (Coca-Cola).
• Foreign words (Reebok, an African antelope).
• Clever contractions (Vodafone, from voice, date, telephone).