How to Decide on Your Company Name

Build a business while you learn

Start your Shopify free trial, no credit card required.

Start Shopify free trial

Course content (31 lessons)

Deciding on your business name is a defining moment in your entrepreneurial journey.

There are many factors to consider when deciding on your name. From being able to purchase the domain name and getting social handles to ensuring you are legally entitled to use the name, it’s important to take the time to name your business the right way.

Ideas to Decide on Your Business Name:

Hold a brainstorming session with family and/or friends
Try out the Shopify Business Name Generator

Resources:

Read #6 in the blog post: What Should I Name My Online Store? (Includes links to the US and Canadian Intellectual Property websites)
You can also learn more about the legal aspect of starting your business in our [Legal Guides]

[MUSIC PLAYING] It's a very exciting moment in your entrepreneurial journey. It's time to decide on your company name. And then once you've done that, it's time to claim your space on the internet and buy your domain. Afterwards, you'll develop a logo, a key component to your brand identity. So let's get back to naming your business. A memorable impactful name for your business is an important step in creating a valuable brand, though it can definitely be challenging to come up with the perfect name.
There are a few ways you can approach naming your business. You can use a suggestive word or metaphor, like Buffer, describe it literally, like The Shoe Company, alter a word by removing letters, like Tumblr, combine two words, like Pinterest, which is "pin" and "interest," or Facebook, which is "face" and "book," or create an acronym, like BMW. When we chose a name for our business, we held a brainstorming session with a few family and friends.
We made sure that they knew the core element that we were looking to communicate through our name. In our case, it was authenticity. So after the brainstorming session, we had a few names short-listed. We went through all of them and did some research to find out if any of them were already taken. Ultimately, we landed on Jaswant's Kitchen because it communicated our story, which is our mom's name. Even though the name is a bit tough to say, we liked it because it was true and it sounded authentic, which we thought would really resonate with our ideal customer.
Naming your company is a very personal journey, so it can be challenging, though we highly encourage you not to get stuck on this and dwell too much on it. Another helpful tool you can use is the Shopify Business Name Generator to help you come up with something creative and original. Once you've come up with your name, ensuring a check that you can get the social media handles for it and do a search online to make sure that you're able to use the name that you created legally.
You can do a quick Google search to make sure that there aren't any similar businesses using the same name. Don't stress about naming. But down the road, when you get to incorporation, there will be more steps to take. For now, your main goal is to choose a name that represents your business and lets it stand out amongst competitors. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Build an online store for your business with your new skills.

Shopify has everything you need to start selling, all in one place.

Start Shopify free trial

Start your Shopify free trial, no credit card required.

<h1>Build an online store for your business with your new skills.</h1><p>Shopify has everything you need to start selling, all in one place.</p>

How to Decide on Your Company Name

Course content (31 lessons)

Welcome!

01 |Profit with Your Product

02 |Brand and Design Your Shopify Store

03 |Shipping Products on a Budget

04 |Marketing Your Business

05 |Launch Your Store!

Ideas to Decide on Your Business Name:

Resources:

Build an online store for your business with your new skills.