Help Me Name My Company
I’m going to create a company to represent myself as a web developer in the next week or so. In the future, its likely I will have some employees. Because of that, I don’t want the company to be named after me. Besides I’m just not that vain. So I’ve been brainstorming, and I’ve come up with a few names that I like. I’m asking for your help, dear reader, to assist me in creating the best name. In addition if you any suggestions – please tell me. Express what you like or dislike in the comments below.
- Biourban (pronounced Bee-YOUR-buhn)
- Strummer Studios
- Lime Blue Studios
- Shank Piston
- Mastodon Labs
- Amber Chrome
Ok, so here’s my thoughts. I’m thinking the name doesn’t have to be descriptive of my business. A perfect example is Red Hat. The name Red Hat doesn’t infer that they are a Linux Distro. That association has been created by their marketing department. So this naming style opens up possibilities. I basically, am just thinking up words or phrases that sound cool together. I heard from a friend about an idea to name the company what you might name your kid. Full Disclosure: the name “Shank Piston” came from putting my first and last name into the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. It’s a silly tool that my twitter friends sent me, but i happen to like the output. Any name that sounds feminine doesn’t fit me. Androgynous names like Terry, Pat, and Jaime have the most flexibility. With that said, this feels like the wrong path
One thing I’ve done intentionally is to avoid words that imply technology – systems, design, development, tech, web, net, and synergy. Those aren’t the only words, but they’re the most overused. Another thing I want to avoid is cheap sounding phrases/LOL speak like “websites 4 U”, “U Can Haz Website”, and “The Web R Us” . The message I’m trying to communicate is I want the name to stand out.
Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Lime Blue Studios is my favorite, Amber Chrome is second. :)
Biourban is bad, I’ll read it as “bio-urban” every time without some serious pronunciation cues (diacritics, maybe?).
I like Mastodon Labs, but I think I’m just a sucker for Macaulay’s The Way Things Work (although I guess those are woolly mammoths).
Lime Blue or Strummer. I think those roll off the tongue best.
* Biourban (pronounced Bee-YOUR-buhn)
No matter how you slice it this will be pronounce Bio-Urban. Sounds like a green urban planning firm.
* Strummer Studios
Gonna be mistaken for a recording studio. But I think this is on the right track.
* Lime Blue Studios
Interesting but not compelling. Again, I think this is on the right track.
* Shank Piston
Non-starter since “shank” has a decidedly negative connotation.
* Mastodon Labs
Going extinct? Aside from that, this is my favorite. It is playful and has lots of possibilities.
* Amber Chrome
Yeah, uh… no. There’s just not much there for me.
Overall I’d take a look at:
* what you do
* how you do it
* WHERE you do it
* what separates you from the like 9*10^6 other web dev firms out there.
Put a buncha words that describe each of those (>10 each) up on a whiteboard and stare at them for a day or two. Let ’em soak. Cross ones off that you don’t like (don’t erase them, you may want ’em back). Then come up with another 5 or so and buy a bunch of us beer (yes, this is actually just a loing involved way to get free drinks) and cut us loose on ’em.
That’s how I wish we’d done out last one. :-)