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.

Jersey Virago

The name “Jersey Virago” is deeply personal to me. I was born in New Jersey, and “Jersey” has always been a nickname I’ve identified with. When I started my brand, I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow. I’ve also always been drawn to words that start with the letter V—they feel strong and intriguing to me. While exploring words in a thesaurus, I came across “Virago” while looking up “vixen,” which is another word I love. The meaning and origin of “Virago” resonated with me so deeply—it symbolizes a powerful, bold woman. I felt like it perfectly captured what I want my designs to embody. When I create, I feel like I’m giving each piece a part of my own “Virago.” That’s how the name came to life. Read more>>

Emily Wong

When choosing a name for my brand, I wanted something that reflected the purpose of my work—creating spaces that resonate with others—rather than something that centered on me. Five years ago, wallpaper was still met with some skepticism. Convincing clients that it could be both livable and transformative took time. At the same time, I was learning Spanish, and the word “habitar” kept resonating with me. It means “to dwell” or “to live with.” To me, “habita” perfectly captures my philosophy: creating spaces where pattern and color enrich the way we live, adding depth, personality, and harmony. Read more>>

Meg Cotner

I had moved from New York City (Astoria, Queens) to Portland in the summer of 2016. Back in NYC I had written about food, including a guidebook called “Food Lovers’ Guide to Queens.” I knew I wanted to keep abreast of the food scene here in Portland, which was pretty active and well-recognized. I wasn’t sure how to do it at first, but after a little while I realized that starting small was the way to go. I was in the shower one morning and thought, “Bridgetown Bites” sounds pretty good! “Bridgetown” is one of the nicknames for Portland, and “Bites” added a nice bit of alliteration. Thus, a brand was born. Bridgetown Bites started as an Instagram account in 2016 and transitioned to a website in 2017. Read more>>

The Local Losers

The name Local Losers came together kind of spontaneously. After finishing our first film, we knew it wasn’t going to be the last, so we figured we should come up with a good. Something to let people know it’s us when we come out with a new project. Yoaspire came up with the name, and we all just thought it had a cool ring to it, especially for a production company. The name kind of speaks to our style too. Not that we think we’re ‘losers’ it’s more about our laid-back approach to filmmaking. We are passionate about our craft of course, but we try not take ourselves too seriously at the same time. We believe in enjoying the process, having fun on set, and making sure the creativity flows and the work gets done without the weight of unnecessary stress. Read more>>

Jenny Smith

Deep down, I always knew I wanted to own my own business. . . one day. And, when I finally took the leap, I knew I wanted to do things a bit differently. I wanted to lift up other women, versus throwing them under the bus, thinking there is only room for one of us at the table. There are so many of us struggling with work/life balance. And, with limited capital, entrepreneurs often wear so many hats. I genuinely think if we collaborate, work together, and share wins and challenges, we can create an uplifting community that not only shares in each other’s “triumphs” but also helps disperse the workload—sharing tips, knowledge, processes, experiences gained along the way.  Read more>>

Del Salisbury

My first name is Del and I thought it’d be fun to combine my first name with Charcuterie. So I came up with DelChuterie. Read more>>

Teela Caldwell

Doughlish Sweets literally came to me in the middle of the night. That day I had been mixing cookie dough for a taste testing and kept playing around with incorporating the word “dough”, but couldn’t figure it out. Late into the night I sprung out my sleep and said “DOUGHLISH”! The “sweets” portion was added after I started baking cakes, pies, and fudge. Read more>>

Rosa Benavides

As an adult, there were many instances in which I had something to say, but I didn’t. I stayed quiet. I shyly smiled or looked away, and kept it to myself. Why? Because I felt what I had to say was of no interest to others. That I had to say was of no relevance, no impact. Further, I believed I wasn’t smart enough, prepared enough, good enough, educated enough, to actually have good ideas. I felt overwhelmengly under prepared to speak. The moment I knew what I wanted to say, my body would break into a sweat, my heart racing so fast I would become dizzy and start to lose my balance. At that point, there was no way I could speak. It was physically impossible. My throat, chest, and mouth wouldn’t respond. I would stay there, frozen. Read more>>

Pennylane Shen

The name Dazed and Confucius came to me as a playful, yet meaningful reflection of the journey many artists face when starting out. It’s a nod to the 1993 cult classic film Dazed and Confused, which captures the uncertainty and chaos of young adulthood—a feeling I saw mirrored in countless emerging artists as they stepped out of the academic world and into the reality of the art industry. Many of them found themselves overwhelmed and, frankly, a bit lost when it came to navigating the business side of their practice. I saw the same pattern over and over: brilliant artists making simple, avoidable mistakes when applying to galleries or presenting their work. Read more>>

Feleksan Onar

The name of my company came to me quite naturally—it’s deeply personal and rooted in my story. My name, Felekşan, is Turkish but also quite rare, even in my own country. It was my grandmother’s name, passed down from her great-grandmother, and holds a special significance in my family. As I grew up and began to carve out my own personality, my family started calling me “Fyshan” as a nickname—a term of endearment that has stuck with me to this day. It’s what my closest friends and family still call me. When I created my very first glass piece and had to sign it, I didn’t overthink it. I instinctively signed it as “Fy-shan,” adding a hyphen purely because I found it aesthetically pleasing. It felt right, almost as though it encapsulated the balance of tradition and creativity that inspires me. Read more>>

Miranda Trostle

Sego Lily Pottery takes its name from the state flower of Utah, where I was born and raised. The story goes, when the white settlers who first came to the area were struggling to survive in the harsh desert environment, the indigenous people already living on the land taught them they could eat the bulb of the sego lily flower, saving the settlers from starvation. It was named as the state flower to remember this history of survival. There are layers of meaning in the name Sego Lily Pottery – the unity of beauty and function in one vessel, the deeper story of the land and its peoples, and my own personal connection to my roots and the landscape in which I grew up. I have lived in Oregon since 2010 and call this place home now, but those high desert mountain landscapes of my youth fundamentally shaped my identity as a person and an artist. Sego Lily Pottery is a reminder of those roots and that shaping, of our reliance on the land and each other. Read more>>

Ankit Duggal

The name “Back Alley Bodega” was inspired by my time living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, from 2008 to 2010. Every day, I’d stop by a local bodega, tucked away from the busy high streets, where you’d find an eclectic mix of everyday essentials and unexpected treasures. I loved the idea of a place that felt like a hidden gem—somewhere you could discover things you weren’t even looking for. With “Back Alley Bodega,” I wanted to capture that same spirit: a store off the beaten path, filled with unique finds and interesting pieces that go beyond the ordinary. Read more>>