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.

Julie OConnell

There were many names that I considered while in the concept phase of Aurenda. I was learning about auras, practicing reiki and energy work. From my own practice, I knew the power of intention, energy, light and movement and wanted to create products that would help people harness and embody their energy and life force energy. And just like a special message for me from the universe, I came across the word Orenda. Read more>>

Ashley Peterson

To make a long story short, in 2014, my husband was offered a position in NorCal. At the time I couldn’t wait to get away from San Diego. I was struggling, mentally, and felt that if I moved away from San Diego, my problems would remain there. I was letting my ego lead and allowing myself to live in fear of scarcity. We bought a home and from the first day, I knew we had made a terrible mistake. We owned a condo in San Diego with a mortgage that was under $1K a month. We didn’t realize it at the time, but we were literally living the life so many dream of. Read more>>

Nick Droege

We chose the name Texas Tail Distillery because of our love of the Texas outdoors. From hunting in the hill country to fishing along the coast, we wanted our product to capture the unique tails of Texas. When you visit the distillery you will find a large neon sign with “Never Stop Chasing Tail” highlighting the importance of never giving up on a dream. Cheers to pushing forward and exceeding your own goals! Read more>>

Bonnie Lee

I had already acquired the name unleashed from my 1st business venter (carnival) and I wanted this new business to act as a branch of my already established name, if you take a look at my 1st logo it is a lion busing out unleashing his joy and love for life on the world my new business logo is also a lion but in a softer more parental friendly manner and a lion cub playing with sed lion and a butterfly . over all my brands are an example of my own growth and maturity i have a child now and i want to cater to parents and children in the same way my 1st brand catered to our adults, Read more>>

Keisha Ash

Our business name came from a place in the depths of my souls. Agapé is the Greek word meaning unconditional and selfless love. It is the highest power of love and the purest form of love. It is used in the bible to describe the love God has for His children. It is this kind of love that portrays my genuine love for people and my business. Read more>>

Mary Catherine Poe

Elevated Living Company was created in order to bring a new meaning to the term “home”. My favorite thing about design at Elevated Living is the people we design for. I believe design is so much more than fabrics and furniture. I want to create spaces that evoke memories and stories which allow you to feel at peace in your environment. My goal is to create a space for you to celebrate every aspect of life, from small moments to big ones and reach beyond just a pretty aesthetic to curate feelings and emotion in your space. Read more>> 

Colleen Pannell

When I began my Bellydance journey many many years ago I was not sure how I would feel about it. After a few classes and starting to meet with other dancers in the community I truly began to love the Art of Bellydance. I discovered that this dance is for any and everyone, it offers multiple forms and techniques and can be adjusted to fit your body and any disabilities or abilities you may have. As I continued to learn and take from different teachers I learned that as a Plus Size dancer I was somewhat unique and felt like it was important for me to let others know that if I could do it, so could they. Read more>>

Jeanette Reitz

We came up with it by the way people look things up! It needed to be something relevant so Picnic Party and since we are local SD for San Diego. Read more>>

CLINK San Diego

It was a Friday night after a long day at our day jobs, brainstorming with the last two brain cells we had left. We stared at each other from across the table, throwing out ideas like, “what about…nevermind”…“ what do you think about…nah, that won’t work.” We needed a name that would carry the essence and passion we developed for an idea that had not been brought to life yet. A name that would encompass the curation of feelings like joy, the purity of the purpose of bringing people together, and the drive and energy we wanted at the forefront. It needed to be simple, universal, timeless, and easy to remember…“CLINK!” Read more>>

A’Keitha Carey

My company name is CariDance International which houses two products/services CaribFunk Dance Technique and the fitness enterprise CaribFunk Fitness with multiple platforms (CaribFunk Dance Fitness; CaribCore, CaribToning, CaribConditioning, CaribBarre, and CariBanda). I am a professional dancer and educator so naturally “dance” would need to be in my company name. “Cari” is a play off of my surname Carey and Caribbean. I am from the Bahamas and wanted to maintain my Caribbean connection while utilizing the “Cari” to be creative in designing the platforms. Read more>>

Dr. Issiah Thomas Jr

Networking Knights was created as an organization to help connect people to captia, resources, knowledge and most importantly connecting people to each other. The Knight piece on in a chess game is the only piece that can strategically move out side of the other pieces. In life we have to face challenges obstacles and set backs with confidence in knowing that we can step back take a deep breathe and strategically move in ways to overcome. Read more>>

Ashad Ruffin Michelle Reyes

The name for Lucy Mae’s Kitchen just fit and made sense as it was a way to honor Ashad’s late grandmother who unfortunately passed away from COVID. Grandma dedicated her life to her family, her friends, the church and good home style cooking. Growing up at her house in Baltimore, Ashad picked up on her recipes and cooking style at a young age. Ashad hopes to bring over her dishes (with his own twist) and cooking style she taught him as a young kid to California as a way to keep her legacy alive. Read more>>