# The Startup Naming Playbook
### A Complete Guide to Naming a Company That Lasts

*By Ogilvy Strategy Group — 2026 Edition*

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## Why This Guide Exists

Most founders spend 6 months on product and 6 minutes on naming. Then they live with the consequences for a decade. A bad name doesn't kill a company, but a great name gives you a head start that compounds — in memorability, in word-of-mouth, in perceived quality, and in the story people tell about you when you're not in the room.

This guide is the naming process we use with clients who pay five figures for naming engagements. We've compressed it into a methodology you can execute yourself. It won't replace a world-class verbal identity firm, but it will get you 80% of the way there and — critically — help you avoid the mistakes that haunt companies for years.

---

## Part 1: Naming Principles

### The 7 Laws of Startup Naming

**1. A name is not a description — it's a container.**

Your name doesn't need to explain what you do. "Apple" tells you nothing about computers. "Google" tells you nothing about search. The name is an empty vessel that you fill with meaning through everything you do. Stop trying to cram your value proposition into two syllables.

**2. Sounds carry meaning even without definitions.**

Phonemes have psychological weight. Hard consonants (K, T, P) feel precise, technical, fast. Soft consonants (L, M, N) feel warm, approachable, human. Front vowels (ee, ay) feel small, quick, light. Back vowels (oh, oo) feel large, slow, substantial. This isn't poetry — it's psycholinguistics, and it's been validated in hundreds of studies.

**3. The best names have "handoff energy."**

Test: Can someone who heard your name at a party tell someone else about it the next day without misspelling it? If not, you have a referral tax on every piece of word-of-mouth you'll ever generate.

**4. Short is overrated. Distinct is underrated.**

"Shopify" is three syllables. "Salesforce" is two words. "Patagonia" is five syllables. Length matters less than distinctiveness. A two-syllable name that sounds like everything else is worse than a four-syllable name that sounds like nothing else.

**5. Your name must survive the phone test.**

Say it out loud to someone. Can they spell it? Can they Google it? If you have to say "it's like [word] but with a Y instead of an I," you've already lost.

**6. The URL doesn't have to match exactly.**

You do not need the exact .com. "get[name].com," "[name]app.com," "[name]hq.com" all work fine at the startup stage. Stripe was stripe.cc for years. Don't let domain availability kill a great name.

**7. Avoid the naming uncanny valley.**

Names that are almost-real-words but slightly wrong ("Xobni," "Qwilr") create cognitive friction. Either be a real word, a clearly invented word, or a recognizable compound. Don't be an awkward misspelling.

---

## Part 2: The Naming Taxonomy

Every company name falls into one of these categories. Know which territory you're playing in.

### Category 1: Real Words
Using an existing dictionary word in a new context.

| Name | Word Origin | Company Context |
|------|------------|-----------------|
| Apple | Fruit | Computers |
| Slack | Adjective (loose) | Team messaging |
| Notion | Concept/idea | Productivity software |
| Stripe | Visual pattern | Payments |
| Square | Geometric shape | Payments |
| Ripple | Water movement | Cryptocurrency |
| Plaid | Fabric pattern | Financial APIs |
| Figma | Latin "figment" | Design tool |
| Loom | Weaving device | Video messaging |
| Canva | Shortened "canvas" | Design platform |

**Pros:** Instant memorability, easy to spell, rich associations.
**Cons:** Trademark complexity, SEO competition, domain cost.
**Best for:** Consumer brands, companies that want warmth or simplicity.

### Category 2: Compound Words
Two real words combined into one name.

| Name | Components | Signal |
|------|-----------|--------|
| Salesforce | Sales + Force | Power in sales |
| Snowflake | Snow + Flake | Unique, data (cloud) |
| Cloudflare | Cloud + Flare | Cloud security/visibility |
| Datadog | Data + Dog | Data watchdog |
| HubSpot | Hub + Spot | Central place |
| Mailchimp | Mail + Chimp | Email + playful |
| Coinbase | Coin + Base | Crypto foundation |
| Webflow | Web + Flow | Smooth web building |
| Airtable | Air + Table | Lightweight tables |
| Basecamp | Base + Camp | Project home base |

**Pros:** Descriptive, memorable, easy to understand.
**Cons:** Can feel literal, harder to trademark generics.
**Best for:** B2B, tools where clarity beats mystique.

### Category 3: Invented Words
Created from scratch or by modifying existing roots.

| Name | Derivation | Feel |
|------|-----------|------|
| Google | "Googol" (10^100) | Vast, playful |
| Spotify | Disputed — possibly "spot" + "identify" | Musical, tech |
| Twilio | Evokes "twilight" + "IO" | Mysterious, technical |
| Zapier | "Zap" + "-ier" | Fast, active |
| Shopify | "Shop" + "-ify" | Commercial, enabling |
| Calendly | "Calendar" + "-ly" | Organized, friendly |
| Grammarly | "Grammar" + "-ly" | Precise, helpful |
| Brex | Evokes "breaks" / brevity | Sharp, financial |
| Klarna | Swedish "klar" (clear) | Clean, Nordic |
| Vercel | Evokes "versatile" + "accelerate" | Fast, modern |

**Pros:** Fully ownable, strong trademark, unique SEO.
**Cons:** Requires more brand-building to imbue with meaning.
**Best for:** Tech companies, platforms, anything going global.

### Category 4: Acronyms & Initialisms

| Name | Origin |
|------|--------|
| IBM | International Business Machines |
| AWS | Amazon Web Services |
| SAP | Systems, Applications, Products |

**Pros:** Short, professional.
**Cons:** Forgettable, hard to differentiate, feel corporate. Almost never right for a startup.
**Best for:** Rarely appropriate for new companies. Avoid.

### Category 5: Founder/Person Names

| Name | Origin |
|------|--------|
| Bloomberg | Michael Bloomberg |
| McKinsey | James McKinsey |
| Hewlett-Packard | Bill Hewlett + Dave Packard |

**Pros:** Personal, legacy-building, easy trademark.
**Cons:** Limits future identity if founder departs. Harder to sell.
**Best for:** Professional services, personal brands, family businesses.

---

## Part 3: The Brainstorming Process

### Phase 1: Strategic Foundation (2 hours)

Before you generate a single name, answer these questions in writing. Not in your head. On paper or screen.

**Brand Territory Questions:**
1. What are the 3 emotions you want someone to feel when they encounter your brand?
2. If your company were a person, how old are they? How do they dress? How do they speak?
3. What's the one thing you want people to say about you that they don't say about competitors?
4. Are you premium or accessible? Technical or human? Serious or playful? Established or insurgent?
5. Who is your customer and what language do they use to describe their problem?
6. List 5 brands (any category) whose *vibe* is what you aspire to. Why each one?

**Naming Constraints:**
7. Must work in which languages/markets?
8. Any sounds or styles that are off-limits (e.g., competitor names, negative associations)?
9. How will the name primarily be encountered — spoken? read? typed?
10. Budget for domain acquisition? ($0-100? $1K-10K? More?)

### Phase 2: Divergent Generation (4-6 hours across multiple sessions)

**Do not evaluate during this phase.** Evaluation kills creativity. Your goal is 200+ candidates. Most will be terrible. That's the point.

**Technique 1: Word Mining**
- List 50 words related to your product, industry, and customer emotions
- For each word, list 3 synonyms, 2 antonyms, and 1 metaphorical association
- Pull from a thesaurus in English, then check Latin, Greek, Japanese, Sanskrit, and Scandinavian roots
- Browse etymonline.com for word origins — ancient roots are naming gold

**Technique 2: Portmanteau Construction**
- Take your top 20 words and combine every pair: beginning of Word A + ending of Word B
- Try first syllable of A + last syllable of B
- Try A + suffix (-ly, -ify, -ful, -able, -io, -er, -ist, -ment, -ive, -ous)
- Try prefix (un-, re-, de-, pro-, neo-, meta-) + B

**Technique 3: Metaphor Mapping**
- What is your product metaphorically? A bridge? A lens? A compass? A garden?
- For each metaphor, list 10 associated words
- Explore those words in other languages

**Technique 4: Sound-First Generation**
- What sounds feel right? Make 20 nonsense words that have the right phonetic feel
- Say them out loud. Refine the ones that feel good in your mouth
- Check if any are close to real words you could anchor on

**Technique 5: Constraint-Based Forcing**
- "Name must start with a vowel" — generate 20
- "Name must be exactly 5 letters" — generate 20
- "Name must use only soft consonants" — generate 20
- "Name must be a verb" — generate 20

**Technique 6: AI-Assisted Expansion**
- Feed your strategic foundation + best 30 candidates to Claude or GPT
- Ask for 50 variations on each theme
- Ask for names from specific linguistic territories (Norse mythology, botanical terms, musical terms, architectural terms, etc.)
- Use AI as a thesaurus on steroids, not as a decision-maker

### Phase 3: First Filter (1 hour)

Reduce 200+ to 30. Apply these binary filters:

- [ ] Can I pronounce it instantly on first read?
- [ ] Can someone spell it after hearing it once?
- [ ] Is it 1-3 words / 1-4 syllables?
- [ ] Does it avoid negative associations in primary markets?
- [ ] Does a .com (exact or modified) seem feasible?
- [ ] Does it feel right — does it match the brand territory from Phase 1?

### Phase 4: Deep Evaluation (2-3 hours)

Score your top 30 on this rubric (1-5 each):

| Criterion | Weight | Description |
|-----------|--------|-------------|
| Distinctiveness | 3x | How different from competitors and category norms? |
| Memorability | 3x | After hearing once, will someone remember it tomorrow? |
| Phonetic appeal | 2x | Does it sound good spoken aloud? |
| Spellability | 2x | Phone test — can someone type it from hearing? |
| Emotional fit | 2x | Does it evoke the right feelings per your brand territory? |
| Extensibility | 1x | Can it stretch as the company grows beyond initial product? |
| Visual potential | 1x | Can you imagine a good logo/wordmark? |
| Domain feasibility | 1x | Reasonable path to a functional URL? |

Multiply score × weight. Total possible = 75. Anything above 55 is strong. Take your top 8-10.

---

## Part 4: Linguistic & Cultural Checks

### The Global Shame Audit

Before you fall in love with a name, check it won't embarrass you internationally.

**Mandatory checks for any name:**

1. **Translation check:** Google Translate your name into the 10 most common languages (Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, Korean). Flag anything negative, vulgar, or absurd.

2. **Slang check:** Search "[your name] slang" and "[your name] urban dictionary." You will be surprised.

3. **Phonetic neighbors:** What does your name sound like in rapid speech? "Siri" sounds like "shiri" (buttocks in Japanese). "Alexa" eliminated every human named Alexa from comfortable daily life.

4. **Cultural/religious sensitivity:** Check against religious terms, historical figures, and culturally significant words in your target markets.

5. **Competitor proximity:** Search your name + your industry. Is there a company in any market that's close enough to cause confusion or legal issues?

### Phonetic Analysis Checklist

- [ ] Consonant clusters: Can every target market's native speakers pronounce it? (e.g., English "str-" is hard for Japanese speakers)
- [ ] Vowel sounds: Do they map cleanly across your key languages?
- [ ] Stress pattern: Is there one obvious way to stress the syllables?
- [ ] Rhythm: Does it have a natural cadence or does it feel stilted?
- [ ] Terminal sound: Does it end strong or trail off?

---

## Part 5: Domain & Trademark Strategy

### Domain Strategy Tiers

**Tier 1: Exact .com** (e.g., stripe.com)
- Cost: $0 if available (rare) to $50K+ from domain investors
- Worth it for: Consumer brands, companies where direct navigation matters
- Check: namecheap.com, instantdomainsearch.com

**Tier 2: Modified .com** (e.g., getstripe.com, stripeapp.com, usestripe.com)
- Cost: $10-15/year
- Common modifiers: get, use, try, go, meet, hey, with, join, hello
- Perfectly fine for startups. Stripe was stripe.cc. Notion was notion.so.

**Tier 3: Alternative TLDs** (e.g., .io, .co, .ai, .so, .app, .dev)
- .io: Tech standard, widely accepted. Geopolitical note: it's the British Indian Ocean Territory TLD.
- .ai: Hot for AI companies. Anguilla's TLD.
- .co: Accepted but often confused with .com by users.
- .app / .dev: Google-owned, requires HTTPS, techy.

**Tier 4: Creative TLD hacks** (e.g., del.icio.us, instagr.am)
- Clever but causes confusion in practice. Avoid unless you're genuinely creative.

### Trademark Strategy

**Step 1: Preliminary search (free, do this now)**
- Search USPTO TESS: tess2.uspto.gov
- Search EU EUIPO TMview: tmview.org
- Search your primary markets' trademark databases
- You're looking for identical or confusingly similar marks in your class of goods/services

**Step 2: Understand trademark classes**
There are 45 Nice Classes. Software is typically Class 9 (downloadable) and Class 42 (SaaS). Know your class before searching.

**Step 3: Professional clearance search ($500-2,000)**
If your preliminary search is clean and you're serious about the name, hire a trademark attorney to run a comprehensive clearance search. This catches state registrations, common law marks, and phonetic equivalents that self-search misses.

**Step 4: File your application**
- US: $250-350 per class via USPTO (TEAS Plus filing)
- EU: €850 for first class, €50 for second, €150 for each additional via EUIPO
- Do this early. First-to-file wins in most jurisdictions.

**Step 5: Monitor**
Set up Google Alerts for your name + industry. Watch for new trademark filings in your class.

---

## Part 6: Testing Methodology

### Test 1: The Cocktail Party Test
Tell 10 people your company name in casual conversation. Don't spell it. Don't explain it. Two days later, ask them to text you the name. Track:
- Did they remember it? (Memorability)
- Did they spell it correctly? (Spellability)
- What did they think the company does? (Associative power)

### Test 2: The Logo Squint Test
Mock up a simple wordmark in 3 different fonts. Show people at thumbnail size (like an app icon or browser tab). Can they read it? Does it look like a real company?

### Test 3: The Sentence Test
Put the name in context:
- "I just started using [Name]."
- "Have you heard of [Name]? They do [category]."
- "I work at [Name]."
- "[Name] just raised $50M."
- "[Name] was down for two hours yesterday."

Read each aloud. Does the name hold up in every context? Some names sound great in a pitch deck and terrible in a news headline.

### Test 4: The Search Test
Google the name. What comes up? If page 1 is dominated by a strong existing entity, you'll be fighting for SEO for years. If the name returns random or weak results, that's actually ideal — you can own the SERP quickly.

### Test 5: The Competitor Contrast Test
List your name alongside 5 competitors. Does it stand out or blend in? If your entire category uses techy, sharp names and you're also a techy, sharp name, you've gained nothing. The name that breaks pattern wins attention.

### Test 6: A/B Landing Page Test (Optional, $50-200)
Create two landing pages with different name candidates. Run identical Facebook/Google ads. Measure click-through rate and email signup rate. The market will tell you which name creates more curiosity.

---

## Part 7: 50 Name Breakdowns

### Consumer/B2C Names

**1. Airbnb** (Air + Bed & Breakfast)
Category: Compound. Phonetics: Soft, rolling. Why it works: "Air" adds lightness and aspiration to the mundane "bed and breakfast." It signals something new and elevated. Challenge: Hard to say in some Asian languages. The abbreviation works better than the full concept.

**2. Spotify** (Disputed origin — "spot" + "identify"?)
Category: Invented. Phonetics: Bright, poppy. Why it works: The "-ify" suffix signals transformation ("to make"). "Spot" evokes discovery. Two syllables, high energy, easy to say globally.

**3. Netflix** (Net + Flicks)
Category: Compound. Why it works: Immediately communicates the value proposition. "Net" anchored the streaming future. "Flicks" is casual and fun. Survived the transition from DVD mail to streaming because "net" was forward-looking.

**4. Uber** (German for "above/over")
Category: Real word (foreign). Why it works: One syllable, universally pronounceable, means "superior" in German. Entered English slang as "ultra" or "extreme." Communicates premium positioning in a single word.

**5. Duolingo** (Duo + Lingo)
Category: Compound. Why it works: "Duo" = two languages. "Lingo" = casual word for language. Fun, approachable, immediately clear. The "-o" ending adds playfulness.

**6. Peloton** (Military term: main body of cyclists)
Category: Real word. Why it works: Cycling term that 95% of people didn't know. Creates a sense of belonging (riding together). Three syllables with a strong cadence. Sounds both premium and athletic.

**7. Warby Parker** (Jack Kerouac character names)
Category: Person name (fictional). Why it works: Sounds like a real person — preppy, smart, approachable. "Warby" is distinctive. The two-name format signals heritage and craftsmanship without being stuffy.

**8. Glossier** (Glossy + "-ier")
Category: Invented. Why it works: Directly evokes the product (glossy skin/lips). The "-ier" comparative suffix implies "more than" — more glossy, more beautiful. French-sounding, which maps to beauty category codes.

**9. Allbirds** (All + Birds)
Category: Compound. Why it works: Light, natural, unexpected for footwear. "All" implies universality. "Birds" evokes lightness and flight — perfect for a shoe that markets on comfort and weight. Easy to say, easy to remember.

**10. Oatly** (Oat + "-ly")
Category: Invented. Why it works: Immediately communicates the core ingredient. The "-ly" suffix is friendly and slightly quirky. Feels like a character name more than a product name, which enables the brand's irreverent personality.

### B2B / SaaS Names

**11. Stripe** 
Category: Real word. Why it works: A stripe is a line — evoking the magnetic stripe on credit cards without being literal. One syllable, sharp consonants (S, T, P), feels precise and technical. Perfect for a payments company that markets to developers.

**12. Notion** 
Category: Real word. Why it works: A "notion" is an idea — abstract enough to cover any productivity use case. Two syllables, soft sounds, feels thoughtful and expansive. Survived product pivots because the name never boxed them in.

**13. Figma**
Category: Invented (from Latin "figment"). Why it works: Short, snappy, feels digital. The hard G gives it substance. Sounds like a tool — something you use to make things. The "-ma" ending feels complete without being heavy.

**14. Linear**
Category: Real word. Why it works: Communicates the product philosophy (streamlined, no clutter) in the name itself. Feels mathematical, precise, clean — which is exactly the brand. Counter-positioned against messy, bloated project management tools.

**15. Vercel**
Category: Invented (evokes "versatile" + "accelerate"). Why it works: The "Ver-" prefix feels expansive. "-cel" carries the sharpness of "accelerate." Two syllables, moves fast when spoken. Techy without being cold.

**16. Retool**
Category: Compound (Re + Tool). Why it works: Perfectly descriptive — it's a tool for re-tooling internal software. The "re-" prefix implies improvement and iteration. Developers immediately get what it does.

**17. Loom**
Category: Real word. Why it works: A loom weaves threads together — metaphor for connecting people through video. One syllable, the long "oo" vowel feels smooth and expansive. Also evokes "looming" — something coming into view, like a video message.

**18. Miro**
Category: Person name (Joan Miró, artist). Why it works: Evokes creativity and visual thinking. Two syllables, vowel-heavy, international. The association with a famous artist positions the tool in a creative/visual space without being literal.

**19. Plaid**
Category: Real word. Why it works: A plaid pattern is woven threads from different sources — perfect for a financial data aggregation company. One syllable, distinctive in the fintech space where most names are abstract or techy.

**20. Ramp**
Category: Real word. Why it works: "Ramp" means to increase or accelerate — perfect for a corporate card/spend management company. One syllable, starts with a strong R, ends with a sharp P. Implies forward momentum and growth.

### Naming Pattern: The "-ify" Family

**21. Shopify** — "to make a shop"
**22. Spotify** — "to spot music"
**23. Testify** — (hypothetical) testing platform
**24. Buildify** — (hypothetical) construction tech

Why "-ify" works: It's a transformation suffix. It says "we turn X into something." Implies agency and empowerment. Danger: overused. Consider "-ize," "-ate," or "-en" as alternatives.

### Naming Pattern: The Compound Clarity Play

**25. Mailchimp** — Immediately clear it's about email. The "chimp" adds personality and prevents it from being generic.
**26. Datadog** — Data monitoring. The "dog" is a watchdog metaphor.
**27. Cloudflare** — Cloud + signaling (flare). Evokes both protection and visibility.
**28. HubSpot** — A central hub. A spot to gather. The compound is descriptive but memorable because of the contrast between "hub" (technical) and "spot" (casual).

### Naming Pattern: The Abstract Real Word

**29. Ripple** (crypto) — Movement through a medium. Change that propagates.
**30. Canopy** (tax software) — Protection, coverage, overhead view.
**31. Harbor** (compliance) — Safety, shelter, a place to dock.
**32. Lattice** (HR software) — Interconnected structure, growth framework.
**33. Lever** (recruiting) — Force multiplication, mechanical advantage.
**34. Outreach** (sales engagement) — The act of reaching out. Literal but strong.
**35. Census** (data integration) — Complete accounting, counting everything.

### Naming Pattern: The Latin/Greek Root

**36. Veritas** (data quality) — Latin for "truth"
**37. Astra** (space launch) — Latin for "star"
**38. Praxis** (hypothetical) — Greek for "practice/action"
**39. Kairos** (hypothetical) — Greek for "the opportune moment"
**40. Luminary** — Latin "lumen" (light) + suffix

Why classical roots work: They feel substantial and timeless. They often scan well across European languages. Danger: can feel pretentious or sterile without strong visual brand execution.

### Naming Pattern: Geographic / Nature

**41. Patagonia** — End of the earth. Adventure, wildness, remoteness.
**42. Sequoia** — Largest trees on earth. Longevity, growth, California roots.
**43. Everest** — (hypothetical) Pinnacle, ambition, challenge.
**44. Tundra** — (hypothetical) Vast, clean, resilient.

### Naming Pattern: Unexpected Combinations

**45. Purple Mattress** — Color + category. Simple but distinctive. You remember "Purple" because mattress brands don't use color names.
**46. Liquid Death** — Extreme contrast for water. The name IS the marketing strategy.
**47. Atomic Habits** — Science word + common word. Makes "habits" feel powerful and fundamental.
**48. Death Wish Coffee** — Extreme positioning in the name itself.
**49. Impossible Foods** — Challenges the listener. "You think this is impossible? Watch."
**50. Nothing (Phone)** — The name is a provocation and a design philosophy compressed into one word. Impossible to ignore.

---

## Part 8: Common Mistakes

### Mistake 1: Naming by committee
The more people involved in naming, the blander the result. Committees optimize for "no one objects" rather than "someone loves it." Limit final decision-makers to 2-3 people max.

### Mistake 2: Testing too early
Don't test raw names on friends and family. People are terrible at evaluating names in isolation. They'll reject anything unfamiliar. "Google" would have failed any focus group in 1997.

### Mistake 3: Over-indexing on the domain
Don't kill a great name because the exact .com costs $5,000. If the name is right, the domain problem is solvable. If the name is wrong, a cheap domain won't save you.

### Mistake 4: Describing the product
"SmartSchedule" and "QuickBooks Pro Lite" are descriptions, not names. Descriptions become generic. They're impossible to trademark strongly. They don't create emotional resonance.

### Mistake 5: Chasing trends
In 2020, every company wanted to sound like a wellness brand. In 2023, everyone wanted an AI name. Trends date you. Choose a name that works in any era.

### Mistake 6: Ignoring pronunciation
If you have to tell people how to say your name, you've added friction to every introduction for the life of the company. Xilinx. Xobni. Qwiket. Don't.

### Mistake 7: Confusing cleverness with quality
Puns, letter substitutions (Lyft), and number replacements (Thr3e) feel clever to the creator and cringey to everyone else within 18 months.

---

## Part 9: The 2-Week Naming Sprint

### Week 1: Generate & Filter

| Day | Activity | Output |
|-----|---------|--------|
| Mon | Complete strategic foundation (Phase 1) | Brand territory document |
| Tue | Brainstorm Session 1: Word Mining + Portmanteaus | 80+ candidates |
| Wed | Brainstorm Session 2: Metaphors + Sound-First | 80+ candidates |
| Thu | Brainstorm Session 3: AI-assisted + Constraint-based | 60+ candidates |
| Fri | First Filter: Reduce to 30. Begin linguistic checks. | Shortlist of 30 |

### Week 2: Evaluate & Decide

| Day | Activity | Output |
|-----|---------|--------|
| Mon | Deep evaluation scoring on 30 candidates | Top 10 ranked |
| Tue | Domain + preliminary trademark search on top 10 | Top 6-8 (legal-clear) |
| Wed | Cocktail Party Test begins (tell 10 people each name) | Tests running |
| Thu | Logo Squint Test + Sentence Test + Search Test | Qualitative data |
| Fri | Final decision. Secure domain. Begin trademark filing. | THE NAME |

---

## Part 10: After You Name

### Immediate Actions (Week of decision)
1. Register the domain (primary + common misspellings)
2. Secure social handles (Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, TikTok — even if you won't use them all)
3. File trademark application in your primary jurisdiction
4. Set up Google Alerts for the name
5. Brief your team — share the name, the rationale, and the pronunciation

### First 90 Days
6. Develop the verbal identity system: tagline, boilerplate, brand voice guidelines
7. Design the visual identity: logo, wordmark, color palette
8. Build the story: origin story of the name (even if you have to construct one — every great name has a story people can retell)
9. Audit all touchpoints for consistency: website, email, social, docs, product UI
10. Register trademark in secondary jurisdictions if going international

### Ongoing
11. Protect the name: monitor for infringement, enforce trademark, maintain registration
12. Build the brand: the name is 5% of the work. The other 95% is what you pour into it.

---

## Appendix: Resources

### Domain Research
- instantdomainsearch.com — Real-time availability check
- namecheap.com — Registration and aftermarket
- sedo.com — Premium domain marketplace
- brandsnag.com — Cross-platform name availability

### Trademark Research
- tess2.uspto.gov — US Patent and Trademark search
- tmview.org — EU and international trademark search
- trademarkia.com — User-friendly trademark search

### Linguistic Tools
- etymonline.com — Word origins and etymology
- lexilogos.com — Multi-language dictionary gateway
- rhymezone.com — Rhymes, synonyms, related words
- wordnik.com — Alternative dictionary with usage examples

### Name Generators (for inspiration, not final answers)
- namelix.com — AI-powered business name generator
- squadhelp.com — Crowdsourced naming + marketplace

---

*The Startup Naming Playbook — © 2026 Ogilvy Strategy Group*
*This guide is licensed for individual use. Company-wide distribution requires a team license.*