How to pick a business name you can actually own, starting from protectability rather than marketing appeal.
A protectable business name is distinctive, not descriptive or generic. Personal names, location names, and common words face uphill battles. Trademark-first naming means filtering candidates for protectability before falling in love with one.
Trademarks fall on a strength spectrum. Fanciful and arbitrary marks are strongest and easiest to protect. Suggestive marks are middle ground. Descriptive marks require proof of secondary meaning. Where a name sits on this spectrum determines how defensible the brand actually is.
The most expensive naming mistakes happen before launch: picking a name too similar to an existing trademark, using it publicly before a clearance check, or building equity in a name you will later have to abandon. Most of these are avoidable with a short, disciplined pre-launch checklist.
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