Resources
Guides & resources
Practical, honest guides on naming, plus a developer guide to connect your AI agent to Namoly: what makes a name stick, how it survives other languages, what to do when the .com is gone, and how to run analyses from your own agent. Written by the team behind Namoly's free brand name checker.
- 50 Brand Name Ideas for Tech StartupsFifty brandable, likely-available names across AI, SaaS, fintech, dev tools, and data, plus the method for judging your own.
- Why AI Name Generators Fall ShortThe three structural flaws of generative naming, and a workflow that uses AI for volume and deterministic scoring for the verdict.
- Why Is It Called Airbnb? A Naming MasterclassFrom "AirBed & Breakfast" to a verb: the origin story, and the measurable reasons the name works.
- The Cross-Language Safety ChecklistFour checks that catch phonetic false friends, slang collisions, and rendering problems before you launch.
- Your Dream .com Is Taken? How to PivotAlternative extensions, natural-language affixes, the phone test, and how to measure a backup name before committing.
- How to Check If a Brand Name Is AvailableA step-by-step way to check if a brand name is available across domains, trademarks, and social handles, plus a free tool to score your shortlist.
- What Makes a Brand Name MemorableWhat makes a brand name memorable: the traits that make a name stick, with real examples, plus a free tool that scores your name’s memorability.
- Why Is It Called Google? A Naming BreakdownWhy is it called Google? The name comes from googol, a 1 with 100 zeros. The origin story, the spelling accident, and the lessons for founders.
- Descriptive vs. Abstract Brand NamesShould your brand name describe what you do? A framework for choosing between descriptive, suggestive, and abstract names, with the trade-offs.
- How Long Should a Brand Name Be?How long should a brand name be? Most strong names run two to three syllables. The reasons, the exceptions, and how to test your own name length.
- Trademark Basics for Startup NamingTrademark basics for founders: what a mark protects, the distinctiveness spectrum, run a knock-out search, and why a domain is not legal clearance.
- How to Test a Brand Name Before You CommitSeven cheap, decisive checks that tell you whether a name works before you buy the domain or print anything.
- How to Choose Between Two Business NamesEnd the naming deadlock: score both candidates on the same four checks, read the gaps, and break ties with a ladder instead of a debate.
- Why Is It Called Spotify? An Accidental Naming WinA misheard shout, a zero-hit Google search, and a retrofitted meaning: what Spotify’s coinage teaches deliberate namers.
- Why Is It Called Amazon? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Amazon? From “Cadabra” to Relentless.com to the world’s biggest river: the origin story, and the naming lessons founders can copy.
- How to Name a Tech StartupThe five-step naming process, the register conventions of each tech sub-sector, and the package namespaces a free .com will not warn you about.
- Naming a Product vs. Naming a CompanyProduct name vs company name: the four brand architecture models, what every extra name costs you forever, and four questions that settle the decision.
- Brand Name vs. Trade Name vs. TrademarkBrand name, trade name, trademark, and domain are four different things. What each one is, which actually stops a competitor, and which you still need.
- Why Is It Called Häagen-Dazs? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Häagen-Dazs? A Bronx family invented a Danish-sounding name that means nothing. The origin story, analysed check by check.
- When to Rename Your StartupWhen to rename your startup: the four reasons that justify it, the three that do not, what a rename really costs, and a way to decide without guessing.
- Why Is It Called Kodak? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Kodak? George Eastman invented the word to be short, distinctive, and unmistakable. The story, and the deliberate-naming lessons.
- Connect Your AI Agent to NamolyConnect your AI agent to Namoly over MCP to analyse brand names, with Google sign-in and no API key. What it does, how to connect, and the limits.
- Why Is It Called Nike? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Nike? Blue Ribbon Sports took the Greek goddess of victory in 1971, on a deadline, over the founder’s objection. The story, analysed.
- Why Is It Called Adidas? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called adidas? It is Adi Dassler’s own name, not an acronym. The 1949 story, the two false backronyms, and what the name scores check by check.
- Why Is It Called Sony? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Sony? In 1958 a Japanese firm renamed itself with a Latin root and American slang so every market could say it. The story, analysed.
- Why Is It Called Starbucks? Name OriginWhy is it called Starbucks? A rejected “Pequod”, an old mining-camp map, and a first mate from Moby-Dick. The origin story, analysed check by check.
- Why Brand Names Sound the Way They DoSound symbolism in brand names: why some names feel fast and sharp and others soft and rich, what the research actually shows, and how to use it.
- How to Brainstorm Brand Names: 7 MethodsHow to brainstorm brand names: seven generation methods that beat staring at a blank page, a session format that works, and how to cut the list down.
- How to Change Your Company NameHow to change your company name without losing customers or search traffic: the migration checklist, the order to do it in, and the launch-day plan.
- How to Secure a Brand Name You PickedYou picked a name. Here is the order to lock it down: domain, handles, entity, trademark, code namespaces, and what to skip until you actually need it.
- Is Your Brand Name Too Generic?Is your brand name too generic? Four tests for whether customers can find you, what a generic name costs you forever, and what to do if yours is one.
- How to Name an App: A Practical GuideHow to name an app: the store rules that constrain the name, the searchability trade-off nobody warns you about, and the checks to run before you submit.
- What Is Namoly? A Free Brand Name CheckerWhat is Namoly? A free brand name checker that scores a name on domains, memorability, phonetics, and cross-language safety, and explains every score.
- The Namoly Roadmap: What Ships NextWhere Namoly is headed: AI-assisted nuance, trademark screening, social handles, name monitoring, an agency layer. What ships next, in what order, and why.
- Why Is It Called IKEA? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called IKEA? It is a 1943 acronym: Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd, the founder, his family farm, and his village. The story, analysed.
- Why Is It Called Netflix? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Netflix? Net plus flicks, picked in 1997 for a DVD-by-mail startup that outgrew both words. The origin story, analysed check by check.
- Why Is It Called Samsung? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Samsung? It means “three stars” in Korean, a 1938 wish for something big, bright, and lasting. The origin story, analysed check by check.
- Should You Misspell Your Brand Name?Flickr, Tumblr, Lyft: why startups misspell their names, when a creative spelling helps, the spell-it tax, and how to test yours before you commit.
- Should Your Brand Name Be an Acronym?IBM, BMW, and KFC earned their initials after decades of fame. Why an acronym is a weak starting name, the real exceptions, and what to do instead.
- Should You Name a Business After Yourself?Naming a business after yourself: when a personal name works, what it costs when you hire, sell, or scale, and the checks to run before you commit to it.
- Domain Hacks: Are Clever URLs Worth It?What a domain hack is (bit.ly, del.icio.us), when the clever URL helps a brand, the ccTLD risks nobody mentions, and how to test the name underneath.
- The Economics of Weird Startup NamesWhy do startups have weird names? Scarce .coms, trademark law, and global pronunciation push founders to invented words. The real economics, explained.
- How to Name a StartupThe six-step startup naming process, the five pressures that only apply to a startup name, and the checklist to run before you commit to one.
- Best Startup Names: What the Great Ones ShareTwelve well-built startup names analysed against measurable checks: the five patterns behind them, what they all share, and how to judge your own candidate.
- Tech Startup Domain Names: How to ChooseWhat .com, .io, .ai, .dev, .app, and .co each signal to a technical audience, the caveats attached to each, and why the name gets decided first.
- Why Is It Called Slack? Name Origin & AnalysisA failed video game, a placeholder name nobody replaced, and an acronym the founder says came after the word: what a common dictionary word really costs.
- Why Is It Called Tesla? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Tesla? Martin Eberhard named his 2003 startup after Nikola Tesla, not Elon Musk, and the name had to be bought twice.
- Why Is It Called Uber? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Uber? From the German über, via English slang, and it began as UberCab until two regulators arrived in October 2010. The story, analysed.
- Why Is It Called Stripe? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Stripe? The company was first named /dev/payments, until Delaware and the banks refused the slash. The rename story, analysed.
- Why Is It Called Shopify? Name Origin & AnalysisWhy is it called Shopify? Shop welded to the verb suffix -ify, born from a snowboard store called Snowdevil. The origin story, analysed check by check.