How to Choose a Startup Name in 2026
Last updated: 12 October 2026
The short version. Decide what the name must do, generate many candidates fast, kill most of them with three simple tests, check domains and trademarks for the survivors, then register the same day. The whole process fits in an afternoon if you stop looking for the perfect name and look for a name you can own.
1. Decide what the name has to do
Most naming sessions stall because the founders have different hidden criteria. Write yours down before you generate anything. The usual ones are: it must be sayable in one go on a sales call; it must be spellable after hearing it once; it must not describe the first product so literally that a pivot requires a rename; it must be free as a .com or at least a credible .io/.ai; and it must not collide with an existing company in your space. Add your own (works in German, looks good in capitals, two syllables maximum) and rank them. The ranking is what settles arguments later.
2. Generate more candidates than feels reasonable
Good names rarely come from a brainstorm of five; they come from a list of two hundred where the obvious ones have been discarded. Use several approaches at once: invented words (Kodak, Zillow), blends of two words (Pinterest, Instagram), real words taken out of context (Apple, Slack, Stripe), and twisted spellings (Lyft, Flickr). An AI generator such as the one on this site is useful here precisely because it does not get bored and does not fall in love with its own ideas. Feed it your actual pitch, not a category label, and run it in each style.
3. Run the three tests
- The radio test. Say the name to someone once, then ask them to type it. One wrong spelling is a warning; two is a veto. This kills clever spellings and most puns.
- The sentence test. Use it in a real sentence: "We use ___ for payroll." If the sentence needs an explanation, the name is doing too little or too much.
- The capitals test. Write it in uppercase and in a 12-pixel font. Some names only work as a logo.
Our Pulse score automates part of this (length, syllables, consonant clusters, digits), but the human tests still matter for meaning and connotation.
4. Check availability in the right order
Check the domain first, because it is the fastest filter: a name whose .com is a five-figure premium is a different decision from one that is free. Then check the social handles that matter for your channel (LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram and TikTok for consumer, GitHub for developer tools). Then search the company registers (Crunchbase, LinkedIn companies, your national register) for existing businesses with the same or a confusingly similar name. Only then spend money on a trademark search.
5. Check trademarks before you fall in love
A free .com does not mean a free name. Search the trademark databases for your main markets (USPTO in the US, EUIPO's TMview for Europe, which covers national registers too) in the classes that match your product. Software is usually class 9 and 42; apparel is class 25; cosmetics is class 3. Exact matches are an obvious problem, but so are names that sound the same with a different spelling. If you plan to raise money, your investors' lawyers will run this search anyway; running it first saves a rename.
6. Register everything the same day
Domains that look free today are registered by someone else tomorrow, often because a co-founder mentioned the name in a public channel. When you have a winner: register the .com (and the .io/.ai if relevant), claim the handles, and reserve the GitHub organisation if you are a technical product. A trademark application can wait a few weeks; the domain cannot.
Mistakes founders repeat
- Naming the company after the first feature. Features are replaced; the name stays.
- Choosing a dictionary word and then paying for the .com for years. Invented words are cheaper and easier to trademark.
- Adding "get", "try", "app" or "hq" to the domain because the real one was taken. It signals that someone else owns your name.
- Letting the name sit in a shared doc for a week. Decide, register, move on.
Ready to generate? Start with the startup name generator or, if you already have a mood in mind, the brandable domain generator.
Related guides
- What Makes a Domain Name Brandable (and How Our Pulse Score Works)
The measurable traits of a brandable name: length, syllables, pronounceability, spelling risk, distinctiveness. How the NamePulsar Pulse score weighs each one and what it cannot measure.
- .com vs .io vs .ai: Which Domain Should a Startup Use?
A clear comparison of .com, .io and .ai domains for startups: trust, price, renewal costs, who uses each, and a simple rule for choosing.
- The .com Is Taken. Now What?
Five realistic options when the .com for your name is registered: find the owner, make an offer, change the extension, modify the name, or pick another name. With costs and risks.