Pros and Cons of Online Business Name Generators

It’s no secret that coming up with a stellar business name isn’t the easiest thing – having one, however, is more important than you may realize. A business name generator can help – here are the pros and cons plus some expert tips to name your company successfully.

Why?

Well, for one, a good business name helps you stand out from competitors and gives potential customers an idea of what you’re all about.

Next, in many cases it’s also the first impression a potential customer will receive of your business and, as you probably know, a good first impression can make all the difference.

An outstanding business name sticks in peoples’ minds, helping with brand awareness and to attract repeat customers.

To sum up: the perfect business name is one that’s unique and catchy, informs customers about your business, and leaves a good first impression.

No pressure, right?

Have no fear, below we’ll provide some tips for coming up with a great name. Firstly, ask yourself…

What’s Your Brand All About?

Think about what you want your brand to stand for – maybe you have a particular cause that could be reflected in your name.

On the other hand, perhaps you simply want to sell a product. In this case, think how you could fit the name of your product – or something related to it – into your brand name.

The goal here is to not only describe your business but, if possible, work, your unique selling point into your brand name so that you stand out from your competitors.

Your brand name should evoke a “feeling” related to your product – for example, if you’re selling electronics, your name should convey technical expertise (think Geek Squad – what a great name!).

Choose a Simple Name

Additionally, you should opt for a simple name that sort of rolls off the tongue – there’s not much use in using a name so complicated no one can remember or pronounce it! The name needs to be catchy, and catchy names tend to be simple – that’s just the way the brain works.

Choose a Unique Name

The name should be unique, too. That being said, you need to find the proper balance between uniqueness and genericness – try your best to think outside the box, but not so far outside the box that a thought or feeling related to your product or service isn’t generated by the name.

So, maybe you’ve already tried all this and just can’t seem to come up with a good name. What to do then?

Well, there’s one tool that is perfect for entrepreneurs in your situation:

Business name generators.

Take the Guesswork Out with Business Name Generators

Business name generators are just what they sound like – they generate a long list of potential names for your business based on words (or variations of these words) you want in its title.

Check out my list of the best free business name generators here

Business name generators use proven formulas to create attractive business names that’ll (ostensibly) drive customers to your brand.

They can either function as a starting point or adjunct for your new brand name (i.e., you can tweak its suggestions), or as an endpoint, giving you a name you really like and decide to go with?

But do you really want to trust your business name to an online tool?

Well, if you’ve been trying to come up with an ideal business name for months but are left scratching your head, business name generators are generally a good option.

Rather than just saying, “Sure, they’re great,” though, we want to provide a thorough, balanced picture here. Therefore, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of business name generators below.

Pros of Business Name Generator Tools

1. Most of them are free

No costly sign-up fees here! When bootstrapping a business, the last thing you need is to accumulate unnecessary expenses.

Which brings us to our next point:

2. You have nothing to lose by trying one out

Since these tools are free and easy to use (most just require you to input a word or two then press “Generate”), the worst that could happen is that you don’t like any of the offered names.

What then? Well, you either try a different tool or attempt once again to come up with a business name on your own. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

3. They Provide a Lot of Options

Business name generators will produce many different options based on your input – you’re sure to find at least one potential business name that’s along the lines you’re looking for. In all likelihood, you’ll be provided with more than one result that piques your interest.

4. They Provide You With Possible Domain Names

Along with names for your business, business name generators will check to ensure the corresponding domain name for that business is available – for example, if you’re selling books and the name “Booksful” is suggested, that means the name “booksful.net” is available (and, in fact, it is!).

5. They’ll Help Get the Creative Juices Flowing

Even if you ultimately don’t opt for one of the names provided by a business name generator, some of those listed may give you an idea for what you want to accomplish with your business name, or simply what kind of “vibe” you want to aim for.

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Cons of Business Name Generators

1. Might Limit Creativity

Many business name generators utilize artificial intelligence – while you’ll probably be surprised at the versatility of names generated by certain tools, the fact remains that they may not be the most “creative” names in the world.

That being said, sometimes a simple name – think “Walmart” or “Burger King” – works just fine. Weigh your options.

2. You Won’t Be the Only Person Using One

As more and more people start using business name generators, you may start to see similar business names around, i.e., your business name could seem formulaic.

You could get around this problem by using name generators simply for inspiration – put your own creative spin on one of the suggestions, for instance.

Or, if you feel the suggestions are too “generic,” you could combine two or more options to come up with a cool, compound name.

3. Doesn’t Include Parked Domains.

One of our pros was that these tools provide you with possible domain names – that definitely is a pro but it’s a bit of a double-edged sword as parked domain names will be left out

Therefore, you could be missing out on some great business names. Of course, if you can’t think of one anyway, this isn’t really too much of a drawback.

Overall, there’s no major reason not to try out a business name generator. As reflected in our list, the pros outweigh the cons, and trying one and scanning the results will only take a few minutes of your time at most. Worst case scenario, you don’t like any of the names and can move on.

The best-case scenario, however, is that you’ll find a great name for your business and finally get your venture out of the starting pen and into the races!

As we mentioned earlier, you’ll probably be surprised by how versatile these tools can be: if you’re selling lamps, for instance, it’s not as if the generator will suggest “the Lamp Company” or “We Are Lamps”! Though lacking human flair, they’re not completely lifeless or robotic.

We hope you’ll try this free tool, which won’t only provide dozens of potential business names but will also check to see if the corresponding domain names are available or not.

If you find a name you really like, be sure to reserve the domain name before someone else does!

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your business!