What’s in a name? A lot apparently, as entrepreneurs, artists, and makers of all kinds spend enormous amounts of energy searching for the right name for their business, project, organization, or creation. Below, you’ll find the stories of how various successful brands, creators and entrepreneurs came up with their names.

Kaylee Havens

Havens To Hold is a family owned and operated company that specializes in wedding consulting, planning, and coordination. The name came from my wedding hashtag. I have always been a planner and I’d been unofficially planning weddings and events since 2011. It wasn’t until 2020 when I was planning my own wedding, in the height of a national pandemic, that I decided to start my own company. When I started thinking of names, I immediately went to my wedding hashtag #havenstohold and an instant logo came to mind and the name was solidified. Read more>>

Brooke Roberts.

In a noisy, strained culture, it is difficult to set oneself apart in ministry with a name that isn’t commonplace. For my part, I chose to use a Latin verb — ite — to intrigue people and to adequately summarize the mission of the apostolate. Ite is a verb that means to “go forth.” At the end of a Catholic Mass, the priest has the option to say say “Ite, missa est” or “go forth, the Mass is ended.” Read more>>

Ceata Lash

I’d been looking into catchy product names and why people remember them. I came up with a few ideas, but none of them were very appealing to me. To be honest, I always come up with my finest ideas when showering or dreaming. I had a dream in which God showed me and gave me the name of the product. PuffCuff was the name. I was overjoyed. It was ideal. I woke up the next morning and told my spouse. He fell in love immediately and didn’t play the devil’s advocate as he normally did. Read more>>

Natasha Boyle

I’ve always been fascinated with the history of Versailles Palace and Marie Antoinette. Learning about how she made political statements with her clothing was always so interesting to me. She lived in a time where women were suppose to be seen, not heard. The Queen took that quite literally and made sure her clothing would make an impact as she ‘quietly’ walked into a room. All of that was possible with her wardrobe designer Rose Bertin. Read more>>

Pamela Bell

The premise behind The Virtuous Beauty came from Proverbs 31. In this chapter of the Bible a description of what is known as The Proverbs 31 woman. “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs‬ ‭31:25‬ ‭NIV‬‬ That verse not only speaks to me, but a lot of women. I can remember being in some of my darkest days but my strength (through God) and dignity was all I had. Read more>>

Joshua Pelling

Though I have been DJing independently since 2012, around 2017 I realized it was time to officially launch a company so that we could take things to the next level. After floating a few names around, my Wife helped me to land upon Love & Light Entertainment, which we felt was the perfect fit. We are focused primarily on Weddings, hence the name love fits in that regard. The ampersand symbol (&) not only stands for togetherness, but personally it’s something that my twin sister and I use to symbolize our “twin connection”. Read more>>

Melanie Allington

Gus & Hue Portrait Studio. I specialize in pet photography. Gus & Hue are the names of my Two English Mastiff puppies. Gus just turned 2 years old in July, and Hue would have been 1 this November, unfortunately she passed away from a misdiagnosed virus this past May at just 6 months old. Gus is my best friend, he goes everywhere with my, loves to assist my on photo shoots, He also doubles as a service dog, so he can be very helpful making others feel welcome and comfortable in any situation. Read more>>

Lydia Korson

Coming up with a name, whether it be for a child, a pet, or a business, is no easy decision. I had thought about creating a business many times before, but never followed through. This time around, it was a little easier to pick a name. There’s a lot that goes into choosing a business name: it shouldn’t be limiting, should sound good when said out loud, have the domain and trademark available, and mean something to you. Read more>>

Majerly Figueroa-Reyes

Boricua Style came to be because I am Puerto Rican. A Boricua is a “native of Puerto Rico or a person of Puerto Rican descent.” I am very proud to be Puerto Rican and love representing my country. A great way to achieve that is by naming my business just that. Another reason is that I always try to add some Puerto Rican style to everything I make- Rich and delicious flavors! Read more>>

Rachel Rouse

Naming my company was one of the more challenging aspects of starting a business. Did I want it to be something catchy? Did I want to use my name? What was the point I was trying to get across? I knew I wanted my company name to align with my mission. Every time I saw my company name I wanted it to remind me WHY I was doing what I was doing. So the work began. Read more>>

Anetra Burton

The short story is….my name is Anetra Burton, and my potential is Unlimited! The vision behind my company name is that growing up surrounded by talented athletes, singers, brainiacs, and beautiful people, I never felt like I was good enough or seen. I was the friendly, tall, and kind of invisible girl who cheered for everyone else and always had a camera in her hand. I started capturing incredible moments in elementary school. Read more>>

Jacqui Adkins

Mistake on the Lake was always a tongue in cheek name given to Cleveland, Ohio for its known sports blunders and mishaps. I started Mistakes on the Lake as a Facebook page to share local humor, memes, sports related content and local related articles that I think others would enjoy. I had no idea that it would ever turn into a business let alone my full time job. In 2016 we reached 75k followers and I decided to turn Mistakes on the Lake into a business making apparel that matched our style and humor. Currently, Mistakes on the Lake has over 250k across multiple social media platforms. Read more>>

Danielle Bowers.

My business name, Something Jade, is in honor of my daughter who passed away in 2019. My business formed shortly after her birth and death during childbirth. I wanted to honor her everyday through my jewelry business and honor all the babies lost too soon! Read more>>

Jules Karagiannis

I have a colorful tattoo of a mug with steam and below it reads espresso yourself. Someone told me once to only get tattoos that are meaningful to me, thus the image of the coffee and I relate to empaths and creatives so espresso yourself is a fun play on words. I truly believe that having a safe place to express yourself is so very important especially in todays world. Espresso Yourself Coffee & Cafe was created to be that space for our beloved Southampton Neighborhood. Read more>>

Delonso Barnes

Daddy Everyday came from my then 6 year old son, Kendrick. I would always help Kendrick with his homework. One day I was helping him with his homework and was having a good time with it, (no common core stuff as yet). As we were finishing up, Kendrick laid his head on my shoulder and said I like it when you help me with my homework, you are my daddy everyday. I never knew what people really meant when they said they had their light bulb moment, I knew then. Read more>>

Amethyst Green

The name of my company is A&A Virtual Assistance, LLC. It stands for Amethyst (my name) and Alaina (my daughter’s name). My daughter is my why behind everything I do but particularly the why behind starting my business. After over 5 years in corporate America, I walked away from a legal assistant position with one of the most successful and well known law firms in the world. After returning to work upon the end of my maternity leave in 2019, I missed valuable time with my daughter. Read more>>

Amber Fisher.

Frame Life Photography came from a saying I had always said anytime people would ask me when taking pictures or what was so special about being a photographer. Still to this day I always say “Frame Life, one photo, one moment at a time.” Read more>>

KATINA LEVINGSTON.

Tough Kookie was given to me on a card from my letter carrier. When I was going though cancer she said that I always greeted her with a big smile and the card said I was one tough cookie. Read more>>

NT Genous

First things first, thank you for having me back on the platform! I’m very grateful for the exposure and the opportunity to share my story! Coming up with the name, Tennessee’s Elite OCD Cleaning Services was definitely by design! I have OCD and raising 5 boys (who are always into stuff) left me cleaning 2 to 3 times a day.. I put myself in the Category with the Elites because I’m always challenging myself physically and mentally while striving to become the best version of myself! Read more>>

Kelsey Edwards.

The Ballog is named after my great-grandmother, Mary Ballog. She was the daughter of an immigrant family from Eastern Europe and lived in Gary, Indiana outside of Chicago. The wife of a steelworker, she lived a humble life, however, we found an abundance of love, encouragement, optimism and creativity in her home. She would not allow the television to be on when we visited. Instead, she always taught us something new – painting, baking, fishing, how to polka. Read more>>

Anna Carrejo

I was raised in Brownsville Texas, a primarily hispanic city that borders Matamoros Mexico. My family and I moved to Austin from Brownsville almost 4 years ago. I felt Velas512 was a way to honor my heritage and past while being representing the city that has welcomed and embraced my family. Read more>>

Dumebi Egbuna.

My brother and I are Nigerian immigrants of the Igbo tribe and we wanted to pay homage to our heritage. “Chezie,” the name of our company, is the Igbo word for “reflect.” We believe all companies need to do some internal reflections about the DEI efforts, in order to ensure that their intent matches the impact. Read more>>

Cassandra Huckabay

When I started My Fair Ellie, it was out of necessity. I was on bedrest with our second child, I had two weeks left of PTO as a full time NICU nurse. Two weeks of paid time wasn’t going to fill the gap in pay for the next three months and we were reliant on two incomes in our house. My two year old’s swim lesson registration was due and to be honest, I didn’t have $65. So I started making anything I could find on Pinterest that I could create from bed. It started with bows and badge reels, making them for the baby I was carrying, and my friends in the NICU. Read more>>

Maria Quan

It is essential to remind ourselves to take at least one moment of the day to indulge in self care and self love. And this is what Self Qare Love by Maria Quan is all about. Read more>>

Whitney Ingram-Finley

The name of my business is AngelicFaces. My inspiration behind the brand is in loving memory of my beautiful mother, my angelic Angel, Angel(a). To know her, was to love her. She was divine, spiritual and of course angelic. Read more>>

Kym Williams.

I named my jewelry business Studio Two Eleven as a nod to my phenomenal grandmother whose birthday was February 11th. She left me with so many wonderful memories and nuggets of wisdom. Her support of me completely and fully encouraged me to be myself. Read more>>

Jada Bracken

When coming up with my name for my business i wanted something that hit home, but was also unique in its own way. When my brothers and I were kids, we were messing around out of boredom and for some reason we were interested in figuring out the pronunciation of our names backwards. As we were going down the list of names my name read: “Adaj” pronounced like, “A-Dodge” and my brothers and i looked up at each other and we all agreed that that was pretty cool, and i knew for sure i would use that someway somehow one day. Read more>>

Lisa Bueker

Two Little Flames is named after my two daughters Brooklyn and Madison. I wanted something catchy and something with meaning. I am proud that the name represents two of the most important people in my life and a big reason I work so hard and put a little extra love into each candle. They are my two little flames. Read more>>

Kari Crispo

Crisp Events & Design is named after my new last name (Crispo) and as a tribute to my sweet husband whose never-ending love and support pushed me to finally start my own business after talking about it for years. Crisp, by definition, is an adjective that is: clear, effective, concise, and to the point. I make it a goal of mine to always act in this manner when dealing with couples, vendors, and overall business. Read more>>

Kimberly Jenkins

I get this question a lot! There actually is a story behind it, of course! There was a popular show in the early 2000’s called The Parkers. The main characters name was Kim, like mine. In one particular episode she started a clothing line and called it ‘Kimberlale’. That play on my name always stuck with me as I considered it my alter ego and used it on social media platforms. When my company started, I wanted to name it something that wasn’t specific to what I sell since I do plan on offering a variety of health and beauty items in the future, Read more>>

Tamara Allen

Speaking Out! Media. I came up with the name in 2004 when I decided to start a local access television program and magazine. It was the perfect way to describe me – a woman who had always been vocal about advocacy and change. At the time, I was trying to change the face of “Christian culture” and usher in a new generation of worshippers. I was tired of tradition and had taken on the cause of what they called at the time “Holy Hip Hop,” which was founded by one of the members of Kid N’ Play, Christopher Martin also known as “Play.” Read more>>

Erika Livingston

Our company, A Cakeful of Joy, was named after my late mother Sylvia Joy Livingston. She is the reason our business is here today. I learned everything I know about baking from her. Everyone would be so excited when she would make them a cake or cheesecake, so the name kind of came naturally when thinking about it. Read more>>

Cory Shubert

As a small, one person business, it seemed natural to name my company me! I started out as Cory Shubert Photography but over time and with my growth in other areas, ie. web and video, I ended up changing it to Shubert Media. This seemed to encompass more of what I was doing on a yearly basis and didn’t pigeon hole me into just photography. Read more>>

Larra Utley

The way I came up with House of Beauty Austin 3 years ago, When I first started my business’s my name was LashedOutbyLarra, I quickly learned that I wanted a team after 3 months into lashing,I wanted to provide more services than just lashes to the community and people around the world, I wanted to build a brand and a team. So after that I sat down with a group of my friends drinking mimosas and brain stormed. Read more>>

Demario Scott

I just had took an opportunity one day to visualize what would be a great company brand name and that’s when I thought and Royalty Kings and Queens Corp. It was one of the best decision of my life to enrich Kings and Queens in today’s society. Read more>>

Five

I came up with FiveXMedia because I wanted a name that represented me as well as the overall business and what it will be and not just the photography I do today. Which is why I choose the name of my business to be an equation. “Five” represents me I am the artist behind the business, “X” represents the multiplication symbol and “Media” is an umbrella to cover the different media outlets the business will produce in the future. In all Five X(times) Media = Art, storytelling, and the Creativity I produce. Read more>>

Cynthia Diaz.

My name is Cynthia Diaz owner of Must B Cynful Lashes, here is a lil background of how I came up with my Business name I have love for eyelashes for years. I wanted to take that leap of faith to start my eyelash business after taking that leap of faith I started my business, months before I worked with a manufacture to create my eyelashes and it’s packaging I launched and came up with my business name a year ago January. Read more>>

Flip and Dani Robison r

The driving force behind the family of companies is the vertical integration that controls all aspects of the real estate transaction by having everything in house. It’s easy for a contractor or an outside Realtor or a property management company to kill a deal because their interests aren’t aligned with ours. By creating all companies under one umbrella, the entire team is aligned with one focus of taking care of our clients from A to Z and that’s how we sustainably grow and win together. Read more>>

Tamarika Jackson

My business partner/best friend and I came up with our business name Diva’s Care Cleaning from what we called each other. I love the name Diva because it’s not just an attitude, it’s how you conduct business and carry yourself. Being a Diva is more than looks,it’s about lifting others up even if you’re on the same path. Being a True Diva will always leave an incredible mark on anyone you cross paths with. Your work,personality, passion, and inspiration will speak for itself. Read more>>

Jasmine Andrews

Black Dynasty just came to me. When the thought of starting a business became something that I was serious about, I knew I wanted to help my people. I love being a black person. I love helping other black people and people of color, and I know one day I want to build an empire for my people. So the name Black Dynasty just rolled off the tongue. Read more>>

Twyla Jackson

When selecting the name for my business, I often kept in mind what are the most outstanding benefits of life coaching. How does life coaching assist and benefit individuals that are in need? A life coach offers assistance with clarifying goals, identifying obstacles, and lastly creating a strategy for overcoming each obstacle in a healthy and positive manner. Steps like these are processes. Processes are a part of a journey. Read more>>

Mimi Bishop

The question my business partner Jackie and I get the most is, how did the two of you meet? It’s a fun story. We knew OF one another through a mutual professional/personal friend and had heard about how we needed to meet one another. As a side note, I sat three rows behind Jackie at an industry conference and she stood out to me because I loved what she was wearing. I’m sure it was an intuitive energetic pull that I didn’t recognize at the time. Read more>>

Brittany Sullivan

The name of my business came from President Obama’s farewell speech. He had thanked Michelle for her “grace and grit” during his time in office and I thought that was exactly what one needs in this industry. Read more>>