I Almost Gave My Business the Worst Name
How I learned that only certain names will help grow my businesss
If you want your business to grow, your name has to be more than catchy. It has to project the future.
The Name Game: Part 2
A three-part series on why names matter… and why they don’t.
The Secret Names We Guarded
Some parents announce their baby’s name the moment they see two blue lines. Others wait months after birth for the kid to tell them what they want to be called.
When I was expecting my three children, Rick and I landed somewhere in the middle. We picked the names quietly, held them close, and only shared them after each baby was born.
Part of that was because we wanted the naming to be part of the ceremony of bringing life into the world. But it was also part of my risk-adverse strategy.
What if another parent stole the name?
What if people hated it and tried to convince us to change it?
What if we changed our minds halfway through pregnancy? How could we explain?
My baby’s name mattered a lot to me because I pictured who my kids would become. Not just their careers, but their character. I wanted their names to belong to kind, faithful adults who treated people well, built strong families, and lived with integrity.
Their names had to be worthy of the kind of people I hoped they’d grow into.
When Naming a Firm Felt Even Harder
Years later, when I sat down to name my law firm, I felt the same tension—but honestly, sharper.
A baby’s name is personal. A business name is personal, legal, and financial. And until I chose it, nothing else could move forward:
No domain
No social handle
No invoices
No identity
No business cards
I knew one thing: if my firm was ever going to grow, it had to be an asset to my business, not a risk.
My name had to be trademarkable.
The Trap of “Cute” and “Clear”
Visionary founders often pick names that sound clever or safe. The problem? Safe doesn’t scale.
Meal Kit or Wedding Registry or Strength Coach won’t pass trademark review.
Generic names can’t be owned.
Descriptive names take years of proof before they gain protection.
Without a trademarkable name, you don’t own your brand.
A Law Firm With the Wrong Name
I considered opening a practice under the name “The Business Lawyer.” It sounded smart at the time: straightforward, descriptive, easy to remember. Clients knew precisely what I did.
But that clarity would come at a cost:
I couldn’t trademark it because it described the service itself.
Other lawyers also call themselves “business lawyers,” which means I’d had no legal grounds to stop them.
Even if I built a strong reputation, I couldn’t build a defensible brand. After years of work, I’d have to rebrand completely. Can you imagine: a new website, new collateral, and new branding? What a nightmare! All because the name I might have chosen at the start was never built to last.
That’s what happens when a founder doesn’t think of their name as an asset, not a liability.
What Happens When You Get Your Name Wrong
I’ve seen what happens when founders don’t protect their names:
A business reaches six figures in sales, then receives a cease-and-desist.
A competitor launches with the same name, causing market confusion.
A company tries to expand and learns that it never owned its identity in the first place.
This isn’t a small error. It’s a crisis. Rebrands cost money, time, and trust. And sometimes, they stop growing altogether.
What Strong Names Have in Common
When I guide clients through naming, I look for four things:
Distinctive: stands apart from everyday words or other brands
Available: clear of conflicts in your industry
Relevant enough: hints at value without being literal
Easy: to say, spell, or type
Examples of names that scale:
Fanciful (made-up): Spanx, Häagen-Dazs
Arbitrary (real word, unrelated use): Goop, Birdies
Suggestive (hints at benefit): Bumble, Away
These categories are the ones that protect your vision and let you grow without fear of copycats.
More Than a Label
When I named my firm, I didn’t want something that only looked good on a business card. I wanted a name that could stand in a contract, a courtroom, as a sponsor of community events, and much more.
A name is not decoration. A name is collateral.
Build With the End in Mind
When Rick and I whispered names for our children years ago, what we were really doing was choosing their futures in a single word.
That’s exactly what you’re doing when you name your business.
If your dream is a million-dollar business, choose a name that will hold that weight. Trademark it. Protect it. Build on it.
Because names are futures. And your future deserves to be protected.
Test Your Business Name Idea With Your AI Friend 🤞
Act as a trademark lawyer and brand strategist. I want to evaluate the strength of my business name idea.
Ask me:
1. What is the name?
2. What industry or class of services does it apply to?
3. What are my top three competitors’ names?
Then:
- Tell me whether my name is fanciful, arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive, or generic.
- Explain the risks of using this type of name.
- Suggest two stronger alternatives that would be more distinctive, easier to protect, and more scalable.
Keep your tone direct and practical, as if you are advising a founder with million-dollar ambitions.
Note: This prompt is for educational purposes only and does not replace formal legal advice. Always consult a qualified trademark lawyer before making final decisions about your business name.
Until next week,
Sonya
P.S. This is the second in a short series on business names. Last week, I flipped the script and shared why your business name does not matter as much as you think. Next week, I’ll reveal my own law firm’s name and put both lessons to the test.