Start with the brief, not the brainstorm
The best business names come from a one-line brief: who you serve, what you do, and the feeling you want to leave behind. Write it before you generate. It will save you weeks of going in circles.
Hold every candidate against the brief. If it doesn't match the audience or the tone, drop it — even if you love the word.
Score names against three filters
Brandability: is it short, distinct, easy to spell, and easy to say out loud?
Availability: can you get a usable .com or close variant, plus the social handles you actually need?
Longevity: will it still feel right when the company is five years older and twice as broad?
Patterns that consistently win
Invented words (Vexa, Lyra, Folio): unique, ownable, trademark-friendly.
Real-word brands (Atlas, Compass, Halo): memorable, emotional, often pricey to acquire.
Compound names (Northwind, Lumière, Cornerstone): strong rhythm, scalable category fit.
Suffix-anchored names (Halo Labs, Folio Studio): a clean way to add category context without losing brand weight.
How to actually decide
Shortlist five names. Read each one out loud. Type each into a Slack message and a fake invoice. Show it to two people in your target audience and one person who's skeptical of you.
If three of those tests feel right, you have a winner. If they don't, your brief is probably the problem — not the name list.