Brand names are sound design, not word choice
Strong brand names sound right before they mean anything. Read your shortlist out loud and listen for rhythm, not definitions.
Two-syllable names with a hard consonant in the middle (Nike, Apple, Stripe) consistently outperform softer multi-syllable options for memorability.
Pick a category position before a name
Are you the premium option? The honest one? The friendly one? The expert one? Names should reinforce a single position — not try to cover all of them.
If your shortlist could belong to any brand in your category, the position isn't sharp enough yet.
Look at the name where it'll actually live
Mock the name onto a label, a homepage hero, an email signature, and a social avatar. Names that look great on a slide often die in the wild.
If it doesn't feel like a brand inside a real surface, no logo will save it.
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