10 creative examples of company names

Introduction

Coming up with an original company name is considered a big challenge by many entrepreneurs. For your products or services themselves, you are always brimming with ideas. But coming up with a good name sometimes seems like the most impossible task. We would like to give you some inspiration in coming up with an original company name. With 10 examples of creative, original and fun company names that are memorable ánd how their name came about!

10 original company name examples

1. Google

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, first planned to call their search engine BackRub, because the search engine searched backlinks. The next suggestion was googolplex: the name for the number consisting of a 1 with googol (10 to the power of 100) zeros. They liked the shortened name googol even better. A student friend found out if the domain name was still available. He just didn't know how to write googol and presented the domain google.com to his friends. They liked the misspelled name so much that they decided to keep it.

2. Ikea

Coming up with a creative name doesn't always have to be complicated. Ikea is not an existing Swedish word, as you might think. No way, it is simply an acronym of the initial letters of several words important to founder Ingvar Kamprad. The observant reader can already see that Kamprad's initials form the beginning of this original company name. The E comes from Elmtaryd, the farm where he grew up. This was located in the town of Agunnaryd, thus determining the last letter of the name.

3. Skype

Skype is an example of an original business name created by putting several names together. In fact, one of the first names for the project was sky peer-to-peer. The English word sky here refers to the idea of communicating via signals through the air. Peer-to-peer is a designation for a type of network. The project name was first shortened to skyper. Also an original company name, but unfortunately several domain names had already been registered for it. The letter -r was then taken off. The name Skype remained, whose domain was free.

4. Pepsi

A unique example of a nice company name that has absolutely no relation to the final product. Originally, the popular drink was called "Brad Drink," after its creator's last name (Caleb Bradhem). Because Pepsi was intended to cure stomach pains, Bradhem chose the name Pepsi, which is derived from the condition dyspepsia (disturbance in the digestive system).

5. Lego

Lego is a good example of a creative name created by the merging of two words. In 1932, Lego was founded by Dane Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The carpenter who was busy making all kinds of products (including toys) came up with the name Lego for his own company. The word Lego is an amalgamation of two Danish words "leg" and "godt" which stands for "play nice.

6. Amazon

Amazon was not the first choice of founder Jeff Bezos. The first choice was Cadabra, which didn't become him because it sounds like Cadaver which evokes wrong associations. Then Bezos came up with the name Relentless, but again the same problem. Bezos decided to browse the dictionary where he finally came up with Amazon. It is "exotic and different" and refers to the largest river in the world, which is what Bezos wants his company to do.

7. Starbucks

Starbucks is a creative example of how a directory and book can help you. The founders wanted an adventurous name for their company and, in addition, the link to seafaring, which is where the coffee business used to take place. From the novel Moby-Dick, they originally came up with Pequoud, but that didn't sound so appetizing after all. The founders then started looking at the map for place names and found Starbo. This reminded him of the character from (again) Moby-Dick: Starbuck. They only decided to add the letter 's'.

8. Virgin

Richard Branson was 20 years old when he founded his company Virgin. Back then, Branson was selling music singles through the mail which allowed him to keep costs lower than competitors. At that age, Branson had no business experience at all and therefore came up with the unique company name Virgin. Once Branson made enough money, he founded his own record label: Virgin Records.

9. Volkswagen

The name actually gives away how the original company name Volkswagen came to be. In the late 1930s, cars were mainly for the rich. Ferdinand Porsche then came up with the idea of developing a cheaper car for the people. So after this car was developed, it was named the Volkswagen, exactly who it was designed for.

10. Spotify

Spotify is a funny example of how a nice company name came to be. Initially, the founders stated that Spotify was an amalgamation of the words "spot" and "identify. But it later emerged that this was made up after the name was already determined, the original story may not have been the most creative origin. While the founders were brainstorming for a name, Martin Lorentzon called out a name that Daniel had misheard. Namely, what he had heard was Spotify. They both liked the sound of this and decided to keep it.

Dutch company name examples

• Ahold
• ANWB
• ASN Bank
• Bol.com
• DSM
• Heineken
• ING
• KLM
• NN Group
• Philips
• Rabobank

What do we learn from these unique business name examples?

That an original business name can come about in a variety of ways. The dumb luck of misspelling, the logical combination of some initial letters or the clever joining of several words. There is no right or wrong in coming up with an original and fun business name.

But what these company name examples also show is the importance of an available domain name. Indeed, for both Google and Skype, checking the availability of the corresponding domain was the key moment in the creation of the final company name.

Looking for original company name examples whose domain is available? Take a quick look at our collection of company names!

4 tips for coming up with an original business name with your own name:

• The first thing you need to do to create an original business name with your own name is to look at your own name. Look at the meaning of your name and whether there is a word that can enhance your name. You can also combine your own name with another word that fits your business. Try to use words that have to do with your business and that reinforce your name.
• Another way to create an original business name with your own name is to use abbreviations. You can combine your own name with abbreviations of words related to your business. For example, if you have a company that specializes in web development, you can combine your name with the abbreviation "WWD" (Web Development).
• It is also possible to play a game with your own name and another word to make an original company name. To make company name thinking easier.
• One final way to create an original business name using your own name is to use an acronym.

By keeping these tips in mind, you can create an original business name using your own name. Be creative and think of ways you can combine the best business names with other words or acronyms related to your business. Do some research and you will find an original business name that suits you.

Have you become curious about the next steps you could take? Then feel free to take a look at the relevant topics regarding business name examples such as our business name generator, start your own business ideas and business plan examples.