What’s in a Name? The Pros and Cons of Giving Your Business a Memorable Moniker

Choosing a business name can be surprisingly difficult. Do you play it safe with something solid and professional, or choose something clever, amusing or downright quirky that people are unlikely to forget?

There are plenty of businesses that have taken the second route. 

A good example is estate agency EweMove, a name that immediately suggests both property and moving while throwing a sheep-related pun into the mix. 

Whether you groan or smile, you've probably remembered it... and that's rather the point.

For a new business, memorability is one of the biggest advantages of an unusual name. If somebody sees ten estate agents advertised and nine have conventional names while the tenth is called EweMove, which one are they most likely to remember later?

An entertaining name can also give a business an instant personality. It suggests that there are human beings behind the company rather than an anonymous corporate machine. That can be particularly useful for independent businesses competing against much larger organisations with substantially bigger advertising budgets.

There's also considerable marketing potential. Clever names can make good vehicle graphics, shop signs and social media content. People might even photograph a particularly funny business name and share it online, providing valuable publicity that didn't cost the company anything.

But there are drawbacks.

A joke that seems hilarious when you launch the company might feel rather tired after you've explained it for the 10,000th time. Humour also varies enormously between people, generations and cultures. What sounds witty to one person can sound childish, confusing or even inappropriate to somebody else.

There's also the question of credibility. Calling a café, brewery or pet-grooming business something amusing may work beautifully. Customers might be less enthusiastic about handing their life savings to an investment company whose name sounds like a punchline.

And before falling in love with your brilliant new name, there are practical matters to consider. Is the company name available? Can you secure a suitable website domain and social media accounts? Could it be confused with an existing brand or potentially infringe somebody else's trade mark?

Most importantly, does the name still work when the business grows?

A wonderfully specific name could become restrictive if you later expand into different products, services or territories.

Perhaps the best business names manage to combine personality with practicality. They are distinctive enough to be remembered, simple enough to spell and search for, and flexible enough to survive as the company develops.

After all, being called something slightly unusual can be a tremendous business asset.

Provided, of course, that customers remember the name for the right reasons.