Naming your craft business can be one of the hardest things! And without a good memorable name, it’s really hard to get started. So here are my best tips and brainstorming ideas to help you name your craft business!
One of the biggest we struggles we see within our Crafting for Profit events and podcast is seeing people try to name their craft business. And that is because it can be HARD. There are so many companies that already exist and finding a unique and memorable name for your craft business that feels like “you” may feel impossible.
So in today’s post, I’m going to share some creative strategies for brainstorming a craft business name, as well as tools to check whether the name is available. The last thing you want to do is come up with the best name ever only to receive a cease and desist notice from someone who has the name trademarked!
Define Your Brand’s Vibe
To start, think about the “vibe” of your brand. I feel like this is a great place to start thinking about business names because as you start to brainstorm, you will start to feel if the names you are coming up with mesh with the vibe you have going for your company.
Your vibe is basically a distinctive feeling you want your business to have. Maybe it’s cute and quirky. Maybe it’s sleek and modern. Maybe it’s country and shabby chic. You want to make sure your business’s name matches the vibe of the company. You don’t want to name your luxury candle company “Carol’s cutesy candle creations,” for example. Not the same vibe (and not really a good name in general, as we’ll see!)
If you’re having a hard time defining your vibe, think about why you started your business, your niche, your product line if you have one in mind, your passions and values, and your target audience.
Brainstorming Techniques
Everyone brainstorms differently so I’m going to give you a few different ideas. When I was coming up with the name for my small business Chapter & Craft Studio, I spent a long time pairing different crafty and bookish elements until I found a combination that worked. It took me a long time! Definitely don’t give up after one or two brainstorming sessions.
Word Association
Start by just writing down words that represent your products and your craft. For example, if you’re a candle business, you might write down “warm,” “glow,” “flicker,” and “cozy.” If you make a bunch of things but they are all pet-related, think “paws,” “whiskers,” and “wags.”
Use a thesaurus, to help you come up with even more words that might fit your niche. Instead of using a basic thesaurus, try Power Thesaurus. I swear it finds WAY more synonyms and related words than other thesauruses.
You can also write down adjectives and other words that can modify what you came up with. I have found a rhyming dictionary helpful. Alliteration can be fun, but I do think a lot of people get stuck in alliterative names, so make sure you’re thinking beyond matchy matchy words. Sometimes I’ll google “words related to candles” or “words related to puppies” to find more ideas.
Use AI for Inspiration
AI is a controversial topic, but I do think AI is actually really helpful when it comes to naming a business because it can often brainstorm ideas that won’t come up in word association or mind mapping.
Use tools like ChatGPT to provide suggestions based on your prompt. “Suggest whimsical pet business names that incorporate the word paws” or “I run a luxury candle company and I’m looking for suggestions for business names that will appeal to my high-end customers.”
It will come up with a lot of very terrible ideas but often it can hit on something that sparks an idea for you that you wouldn’t have found otherwise. It’s a great springboard into better names that will work for your business.
Putting it Together
See where these words take you. You can connect these words to each other (like Chapter & Craft) or to larger ideas or describing words (like Cozy Glow for a candle company or Whimsical Whiskers for a pet company). You can also create a portmanteau by combining two words. I almost named my business ChapterCraft, for example.
Another idea is to use metaphors that make customers feel what your business represents. Instead of Carol’s Cutesy Candle Creations, maybe it’s something like The Golden Ember. Names like these are more of a suggestion of an idea and a feeling vs. an obvious statement about what the business is.
Again, make sure whatever name you come up with matches the vibe of your business!
Testing & Refining Your Ideas
Once you have an idea (or a few ideas), try saying them out loud. Does the name roll off your tongue? Is it easy to spell? Easy to pronounce?
I thought Chapter & Craft would be easy as a business name but I have found that I can’t seem to type it correctly! I am constantly typing “Crapter and Chaft,” which is NOT the vibe. I still think it’s a great business name, but you may want to try typing your ideas out to see if you have any issues!
You can also share the name or names with your friends or family and ask for their feedback. Some people will be brutally honest, so prepare yourself! If you have a social media audience of any kind, you can also ask them for feedback and gauge their reaction and engagement.
Also think long term. Maybe don’t put a particular product in your business name, like Cathy’s Cool Tumblers. Maybe you want to add products or cease making tumblers when they aren’t as trendy anymore. Find a name with staying power that allows you to expand into other ideas.
Does It Look Good in a Logo?
One thing I don’t think people consider is whether or not their business name will look good in a logo—both a square logo and a wide logo. The longer the name, the more difficult it is to fit into a logo that can be read on a small screen.
You don’t need to decide on a final logo right away, but you can pop your craft business name ideas into Canva’s free logo templates just to get a feel for how it might behave as a logo. Are letters running into each other? Is the name too long? Does it look good in a few different fonts? Just play around and see what type of logo might work well with your ideas.
Check Availability & Legality
Once you have a name you like, it’s time to see if it’s already out there. Because there are so many companies already out there, you will probably have some trial and error before you can come up with a business name that works with your vibe, looks good in a logo, and isn’t already taken.
Domain Availability
Start by checking to see if the website URL is available. NameCheap is the site I use for all of my domains and you can use it to search for available URLs. I recommend doing this in an incognito Chrome browser so that the site doesn’t see you searching and increase the price of the URL (I am not sure if this actually happens, but better safe than sorry).
I recommend a .com or .co email address, but you can also look for .studio or .craft as well. Just as long as you’re not stepping on the toes of someone with a similar business that has the .com or .co. For example, maybe The Golden Ember is a restaurant. It would be ok to grab the .craft version of that URL for your craft business because it’s not a competitor with the restaurant.
Etsy Availability
Because we are specifically dealing with crafts, Etsy is a great place to see if your craft business name is available. Try various combinations to see if anyone else has your great idea. If they do, especially if they are active and their shop has sales, rework it!
Social Media Handles
Another thing to check is the availability of the social media platform handles associated with your brand. This can be one of the biggest hurdles, but if you plan to do any social media you’ll want to grab the handles. You may want to grab the handles on platforms you aren’t on right now but might want to be on in the future.
You can use sites like Namecheckr to check all the platforms at once, though I found it a bit glitchy.
If you’re struggling, you can do things like @shopgoldenember instead of @goldenember, for example. Try different combos, but try to make them consistent across social media platforms. Some platforms (Pinterest in particular) limit you to 15 characters.
Trademark Search
Caveat: I am not a lawyer!
I would also recommend doing a trademark search. You don’t necessarily need to trademark your company name, although it does offer some legal protections. But there are some rights granted to you if you are the first person to use the name and you have a clear use of it online.
Again, you may still be able to use the name if someone is using it in an entirely different industry, because trademarks are specific to selling certain products and services. Maybe someone has Whimsical Whiskers but they are a barber. You would probably be OK as a craft seller making pet products.
If you do decide to trademark, a lawyer can help ensure your name is legally in the clear.
Business Name Registration
Finally, you may want to check with your local and state business registry (or secretary of state) to see if the name is already in use in your state or county. This may come into play if you need to register your business officially.
All right! I hope you found these tips and tricks for naming your craft business helpful. Take time with this process! Finding a unique name can make all the difference between a business that succeeds and one that doesn’t. Feel free to ask questions or share name ideas in the comments and I’ll give you some feedback!
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