One of the most creative parts of starting something new is finding a name and it’s also one of the most challenging. Below, you’ll find the stories of how various successful brands, creators and entrepreneurs came up with their names.

Sarah Wells

The name of my business, Swell Design, was a happy accident. Before I branched out into business ownership, I worked a corporate job as a Graphic Designer and Social Media Coordinator and during this time, I also got married and changed my name. After my name change, my email address also changed from [email protected] to [email protected]. This was the first time I saw that there was a sort of “play on words” with my first initial and new last name. Read more>>

Brittany Symone

I am up with “Symone Protective Styles” by just taking my middle name and doing what I do which are protective styles and applying it all together . It just sound right to me and I could see it being displayed on things . Read more>>

Monica Johnson

The name “Pallet to Palate” is a fun little play on words. I wanted to come up with a business name that was unique, creative, and semi descriptive of what I do. I use wood pallet boards in most of my charcuterie experiences and the main focus of what I do involves eating a wide variety of delicious charcuterie items, hence the “palate” part. Read more>>

Krystal Garza

I was actually out for a walk one day when I came upon some wild blackberries & honeysuckle growing on the trail. That moment reminded me of my childhood at my grandparent’s house. Instant peace. That’s when the name came to me. Later I went back out and picked those wild blackberries & honeysuckle and started taking photographs for my website. You see, we were in a season in our family where our daughter went off to college at Texas A&M and our son was leaving the nest soon. In the middle of moving, deciding what’s next, adjusting to the new normal, this momma was a mess at times. I started the whole website/blog in the beginning to simply have something creative to do. Read more>>

Jenee LaPread

I came up with the name Jenesis Naturals after my daughter Genesis. I want to build a strong business that I can leave behind for her and my future generation. Also I strive to provide 100% natural product as well, hence the word naturals Read more>>

Angela Lippens

Unfaulted was inspired by a Bible verse that motived us to start this organization. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts are pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” If God views something as faultless, I want to know about it. As an organization, we want to pursue God’s calling to look after orphans in their time of distress as we chase faultlessness in the sight of God. Read more>>

Ramon Harper

Lol one day I was hanging out with my best friend Kenisha M. and I cooked dinner ,and she looked at me and said “your food taste so good you should start a business” I looked at her and said “I been thinking about it but I don’t know what name I should call it, so she and I sat down and just started play around with names and after having no luck she looked at me and said ZestNThyme and BOOM! here we are today. Read more>>

Beth Levin

I started my company more than 20 years ago. I had just learned that professional organizing was a profession after seeing someone named Julie Morgenstern on Oprah. I remember sitting in my office at my previous job and the name Closet Queen just came to me. I thought it was fun and a cute play on words. I started doing business as The Closet Queen in 2001 and trademarked the name in 2006. Read more>>

Arlene Brooks

I came up with the name of my business first with Coffee Speaks by asking God to give me an idea because I knew I wanted to eventually leave Corporate America and wanted to have something to do after I would retire and also I had lost my mom in 2016 and I wanted to be able to carry on the memory of her. Coffee is the memory of my mom. When I was a child when you would smell coffee in the morning you knew Mom was up! So I get to experience her every morning I open the shop and make coffee. Read more>>

Clinton Mansfield

Ever since I can remember I’ve loved to Coach people on improving themselves or their situation, even their business. Our Coaching style on the other hand has always been “Provoking”. Even though the word “Provoke” gets a lot of negative press, it’s results are unmatched. Our style is similar to a rooster at sunrise, everyday you hear that rooster, same time, same place. Consistently Provoking you to get up and get after it. That’s where we got the name and even the logo for Provoke|Coach®️ Read more>>

Mariah Smith

Belle Âme Creative Agency was inspired by my studies abroad in Europe while attending the University of North Texas. I was studying Merchandising & Home Furnishings Merchandising & was fortunate to be selected for a 2 and a half week trip to Paris, London & Edinburgh. During this magical trip we visited top retailers & their executive teams, met with prominent designers & toured museums. One of my favorite memories was touring Pierre Cardin‘s private museum in Paris. Seeing some of his space age designs right in front of me was a surreal experience I will never forget. Read more>>

Dedra Walker

My company is named after my children’s middle names (my son, Emory, and my daughter, Rose). In 2010, my vision became EmoryRose Photography. 2015, I started revamping my business, and in 2016, my business evolved into EmoryRose Photography, LLC. Read more>>

Dexter II & Cami Burnom

We came up with our name in kind of an ironic way. Did you know that when dogs chase their tails it’s a sign that they’re bored? Well, that’s what our name, logo and concept are essentially based on. A bored dog chasing its tail. One night, a few months into the pandemic, we were in our living room, watching movies and passing the time. Our dog, Gus, started chasing his own tail, out of nowhere, right in front of us. Read more>>

Maxine Bishko

It didn’t take me long to come up with the name Lattice Gems. Having an innate thirst for knowledge, I found myself wondering at the time, “How are crystals formed?” While there are many ways crystals are formed, I knew that it all came down to atoms and molecules. A crystal lattice is defined as the geometrical arrangement of the atoms, ions, or molecules of the crystalline solid as points in space. While I have always had a scientific fascination with crystals, I also believed in their spiritual healing energies. Read more>>

Maliyah Mayfield

My jewelry line Kalua Rae was originally called Maliyah Rae (my name). However, in 2017 I took the opportunity to rebrand my line for my senior Fashion Marketing project at Savannah College of Art & Design. Kalua comes from the Hawaiian word meaning second child. I am the middle child of two sisters. I wanted to keep the island theme because my name Maliyah (spelled Malia) is Hawaiian for Mary, which is my grandmothers name. Rae is my middle name. I love how the two words flow together. Read more>>

Cheryl Shiver

It’s is interesting how I can up with the name of my company. I am a bikini fitness competitor and would always wow the audience, other competitors and even some judges when the realized how old I was. The arena was not full of 60+ bikini competitors. I begin the think, this is an untapped phenomenon. Not so much bikini competitors, but it made me wonder about how 60+ are perceived in society. My followers on social media had began to grow, I started to receive daily DM’s advising me how I inspired them and others stated how I motivate them, Read more>>

Twylla Brown

The name, Twylla’s Spices and Essentials, was chosen for multiple reasons. Using my name was definitely a must, my name being unique and we’ll, MINE! Lol. Not many people share my name, and hardly no one spells it the same as I do. The uniqueness would be the extra boost I needed when building my brand. The word spices was obvious, since that’s what I was selling. The essentials part of my name came from my wanting to incorporate essential oils into my brand. I believe in the healing properties of essential oils, and they were a huge part of my life. Read more>>

Tien Nguyen

The name “Formless, Shapeless” derived from a famous quote by Bruce Lee. The quote went like this “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” Read more>>

Christia May Alega

After much deliberation, I decided to name my company PIC_CHA because it represents my personality and creativity. Also, PIC_CHA relates to the word “picture”, as well as my name. At first, I was going to stick to the common photography names like Christia Alega Photography or CMA Photography. Since my first name is difficult to pronounce, I integrated it into the name of my company so people are able to correctly pronounce my name. Read more>>

Tyrone Everett

The Crown Xchange Clothing Brand name means that a King can represent in an Urban Fashion or Professional look and still get their point across clearly. Basically, we cater to both sides of the Crown and not limit to inside of the box. Read more>>

Victoria Ramos

I came up with Sweets by Victoria years ago before officially starting my business. I was asked to cater cupcakes for an anniversary party for a local business and I wanted to provide business cards in order to gain clientele and I knew I needed to come up with a name/ logo/ etc as soon as possible. I even used a generic card and logo style before coming up with my current branding. Once I officially started my business, Sweets by Victoria still felt right for the name of business. It is amazing to see the growth in the last few years. Read more>>

Jillian Skalky

I had been working with a trainer that trained Service Dogs, and also working at a Vet’s office as a vet Tech. My health had become much more complicated, and I had learned how invaluable a Service Dog could be after training my own. I had recently changed the direction I was planning to go with my life due to my chronic illness, and decided it was time to create new tales of my own. So the company became Creating New Tails LLC. Read more>>

Asiah Gregory

As a child, I was a bit tomboy mixed with a little girly. So it was obvious, for me, to showcase my childhood style into my brand. Crocheting-which started as a hobby- became my business. Considering I wanted to expand, I added street-wear. Therefore my brand image is a little soft with an edge. So what better name to give it other than Brickxlace. Read more>>

Alexis Airington

Aside from baking, I am also an actress. If you ever take an improv class you will learn the number one rule is to always say “Yes.” You never want to shut down a scene or opportunity by saying “no.” That being said, I always grew up with a love of baking that came from my mom, but I had never tried the royal icing decorated sugar cookies because they looked so intimidating. So when my son’s room mom asked if I could make them for an event at the school, I decided to just say “yes,” and try it out! Read more>>

Anne Shackelford

“My previous prejudice against the photinia intensifies my current admiration for this resilient and beautiful plant. Fact is, although natural beauty is certainly desirable, beauty that is hard won is even more impressive. It is for this reason, I believe, that our fascination with the butterfly is universal and enduring. The butterfly’s story has been told over and over again. All school children are familiar with the phenomenon of its life cycle: how it transforms itself from a not-too-attractive worm into that graceful, jewel-in-flight we know as the butterfly. Read more>>

Benjamin Hernandez

I operated a fairly popular coffee shop in the Dallas area in 2016. Most will remember 2016 as one of the most polarized and controversial presidential election years we’ve had in a long time, and I remember it vividly. Tensions were high, people were more divided than ever, and the norm seemed to be cutting ties, destroying relationships and cutting down anyone who didn’t vote the way you were voting. What struck me, though, was seeing that attitude completely disappear the moment people entered our shop. Read more>>

Andrew Williams

The names for both of my companies, TRAVEL AT WILL & SPACE AT WILL, actually stem from a nickname that I earned in High School and College. A lot of times when you play sports in school, people end up calling you by your last name because that’s how the coaches identify you. Some friends and Teammates started calling me Williams, then Will and eventually Aj Will (Andrew Jr) because that was my online gamer tag. Read more>>

Tara Vicknair

Honestly, it was a total whim! I told my husband I was going to post my glitter balm on Facebook marketplace and when doing so I hash tagged #GlitterOverNola and he jokingly read the post I made out loud. After he read it, I sat there for a moment and said, “welp there’s my business name..” Read more>>

Robine Rene’

I came up with the name of my company 6 months after I decided I would enter the fashion/beauty industry. It was originally going to be named after me, but it just didn’t do it for me. Everyday for about 6 months I would say “Come on God give me a name, I know you can.” So I searched what “God Can” meant in different languages. That’s how I got the name Dio Puo, it means God Can in Italian Read more>>