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.

Gladys Stocks

Just Love Self was inspired by my son Jabari, and I used his initials for the name. After years of od dealing with depression over losing my son, I decided to turn my pain into passion, and I wanted something that had meaning to me. I kept brainstorming so many different ideas, but JLS would not leave my brain, so I stuck with it. To Just Love Self means to be unapologetic about your love for yourself. Loving yourself should be a top priority for anyone, but especially women because we tend to wear so many hats and it includes more than just spending a day at the spa. It’s about the little things like setting boundaries for how you allow others to treat you, spending time with nature and lastly, taking mental health breaks when you need it! Read more>>

Roxana Mincu

Naming my bakery was not hard at all for me, I quickly knew what I wanted and am beyond proud that it is so original. My husband, our dog and I are a small family of immigrants. I am Romanian and my husband is Turkish. We call ourselves Roturks and that’s where the name comes from. I will admit many ask me to repeat it when they first hear it but once they know the story behind it it’s so easy to remember it and that’s what makes it so special! Read more>>

Maryana Dokhvat

Choosing the name for my mobile paint and sip business was a journey in itself. I wanted something that would immediately capture attention and convey the essence of what we do. After brainstorming a myriad of names, I realized that the perfect name needed to embody both our unique service and our artistic flair. ‘Portable Picasso’ emerged as the clear winner for several reasons. Firstly, ‘Portable’ directly reflects the mobile nature of our business, emphasizing our flexibility and convenience in bringing the art experience to our clients’ locations. Whether it’s a private party, a corporate event, or a community gathering, our name hints at our ability to transform any space into a vibrant, creative environment. Read more>>

Christina Thompson

The funny part to me is that I wanted something to be outside of the box and not trap me in one genre. I wanted to make sure it represented me and didn’t make me sound crafty or as though this business wasn’t something I wanted to grow outside my home and friends. I came up with OXTEXVIDA because these are things that I love. Ox- Oxford,MS – my husband and I met at Ole Miss and we are die hard rebel fans! I still have the best of friends I went to school with and I hope everyone had the college experience that we did! Hotty Toddy! Read more>>

Brian Hoyt

It always makes me chuckle when people ask if “Poor Man” means we’re cheap. We ar enot the cleaner for the Poor Man, we are the Poor Man cleaning windows. I’m Brian Hoyt, the founder of Poor Man Window Cleaning. My journey didn’t start with a squeegee in hand—I was once a network engineer/sytems adminstrator living the techie life. But in June 2001, life took a brutal turn. A hit-and-run motorcycle wreck left me unconscious by the side of the road. 13 months later, I was injured, broke, and unemployed—rock bottom doesn’t even begin to describe it. The future looked bleak, but with my ever present buddies Brute Force and Ignorance, i took matters into my own… Life had dealt me a rough hand, but I was rougher. Read more>>

David Yoshimura

Nisei means second generation in Japanese, born outside of Japan. I am half Japanese and half American, so the name fits perfectly for my restaurant and concept. The cuisine at Nisei is not so much a “fusion” of two culture, but a personal reflection of my experience as a Japanese American. Dinner at Nisei includes as many local farms and producers as possible, but the dishes at Nisei are inherently Japanese. I intentionally try to support other Asian American farms, producers and artisans to bridge the concept together with the community. Read more>>

Jasmeet Pabla-saini

The name of my company is Mila & Co. Mila, my daughter, is the inspiration for the name of the brand. Naming my business after my daughter has a deeper meaning. My Journey: Ever since I was 14 I kept a folder with many “business” ideas. Fast-forward 20 years and here I am doing what the young girl set out to do. The true drive to start didn’t come until I became a mother. I suffered from PPD and I was left unraveled. During that time, with my community of folks beside me, I bloomed to be stronger, confident, and wiser. The drive to start my own business has always lived in me. Mila ignited and sparked the light within me. Read more>>

Michael Miles

When I started creating video content for social media back in 2018, I knew I wanted to fuse two interests/passions of mine: Marvel moves and the Bible. The idea was to use the films to create an intersection between faith and culture via a common interest I share with my audience. I had the idea and the content, but it needed a name. Initially, I did some personal brainstorming and came up with a few movie-related names (many of which I’m glad to have forgotten!). Then, I did what I normally do when making key decisions: I reached out to friends of mine for suggestions who are creatives in their own right. After explaining the concept, I put the names in a group chat and got some feedback. Read more>>

Cass Grunewald

Our name is RePete Candle & Coffee Bar. We’re frequently asked where the “RePete” comes from. Long story, short the business is named after our kids. When my husband, Brandon, was young, his family adoringly nick-named him Sweetie Petie. Over the years, friends and locals caught on and began just calling him Petie or Pete. As we started having children, the nick-name transitioned to them, and friends began calling them RePetes. Read more>>

Dr. Tonicia Freeman-foster

The name LEIDOSWEL, pronounced (lead-us-well), is a reminder that being a leader extends far beyond a title or role. Leaders carry enormous weight as their decisions present intersections for positive or negative change, opportunities or barriers, thriving or oppression. For me, our brand is a reminder that leaders have one of the most honorable assignments: caring for the world’s most precious gem, human beings, and we should lead them well. It’s both an expectation and a responsibility. Team members, patients, and clients should expect and hold their leaders accountable for leading them well, and leaders should hold themselves responsible for leading well. Read more>>

Laronda Bolden

You know, the name “Fit 2 Soar” actually came from a pretty personal place. As a teenager, I went through some really tough times. I lost my dad, and soon after, I faced some traumatic experiences that left me struggling emotionally. Well, I was forced to take a weightlifting class and instantly fell in love. Not because of the physical benefits, but because of what it did for me internally. I was too young to understand it then, but I later learned that exercise was actually helping to heal my emotional pain. It really opened my eyes to how connected our minds and bodies are. Read more>>

Kelly Garrett

When I decided to start my business, my main focus was to educate people on taking care of their skin to achieve smooth blemish free skin, and help with hyperpigmentation, and other skin concerns. So Bare Skin was born. Read more>>

Debbi Anderson

When making the move full time to the mountains and opening a wine bar I decided I wanted to bring the community feeling I had with our friends in Denver to Frisco with us. My husband and I would host dinners at our house and we loved entertaining and sitting in the back yard enjoying delicious wine with our friends. When thinking about a name it was important to have the feeling of community with a nod to our friends. I had lived on Vine Street in Denver in two different areas for almost the entire 24 years. Our good friends and neighbors dubbed ourselves the Vine Street Social club for our get togethers. The name stuck and so I thought what better way to bring them with us to Frisco than the bring the name as well. We dropped the club because the idea is that everyone is welcome. It is exactly the feeling we are trying to create in Frisco with our new neighbors. We want to create community and have the wine bar be a place to not only enjoy good food and wine but to meet up with friends or make new ones. Read more>>

Chosen Rentrope

While in school I had a name already picked out with the acronyms to match! While spending time with Jesus one day, He told me that I’m “Chosen”. I then instantly thought about my business name again and instantly it clicked. I won’t be doing services like everyone else I will be doing them God’s way, the CHOSEN way. Thus came Chosenswayskincare. Read more>>

Lindsey Brewster

My style changed once I became a mom. Especially as my boys get older! I need pieces in my closet that are quick to style, but still cute. Gone are the days of getting all dressed up to go out. Now it’s ball games, school events, and quick last minute date nights! I took all of those things into consideration when coming up with a name for my business and that’s when Simply Styled was started. Read more>>

Jessica Mckinney

I truly struggled finding a name for my company that symbolized who I am and what I stand for. Originally, my mom suggested ELM Corporation because E L M are my daughter Everest’s initials and elm trees are strong… as are women. I know that for a fact because I have met and worked with many strong women over the last 17 years – women who have endured the trauma of rape and remained determined to move ahead with their lives. While I liked the connection of my daughter to these strong women, ELM did not recognize my son Blake, who is a wonderful young boy with a big heart which he often wears on his sleeve. I really wanted to incorporate their names – or, at least, their initials – in my company’s name. Hence, BElieve Originals was born. If there is one thing I have learned, you do have to “BElieve” in something bigger than yourself to succeed. Read more>>

Jp Giovanni

After writing my first book, I had a sub-title, but I couldn’t decide on anything for the series. I wanted something exciting but concise, something catchy but also something that could look cool at the top of the book. I was meeting with a friend one day and telling them about how I just finished writing a children’s book. This was somewhat out of my wheelhouse and caught them by surprise. I explained the premise of the story and they replied saying that completing this was extraordinary. That kind of stuck with me for a couple days and the next time I was working on story edits it really clicked that Extraordinary should be the name of the series. Read more>>

Eamonn Mcparland

In the matter of about 6 months, my twin daughters were born 8 weeks premature, I left my partnership in my restaurant group and Covid happened. A lot of the reason why I left the partnership was because I only wanted to be held accountable by myself and my family. So when an opportunity arose to start a pop up(which eventually turned into a full time restaurant) I named it roselily after my two daughters, Mariana Rose & Liliana Grace. Read more>>

Lynsey Johnson

Lulu Balloon Events was born one night at my parents’ kitchen table. I wanted to create beautiful event decor that was accessible to everyone, offering creative backdrops and balloon art for families who might not have the budget for high-priced options. My parents were incredibly supportive, and as we brainstormed names, my dad suggested “Lulu Balloon.” The name felt perfect—it combined my childhood nickname with the playful, personal spirit I wanted for the business. It was a name that reflected both my personality and my vision for the company. To make it unique and clearly convey what we do, I added “Events,” and we all agreed it was the right choice. Read more>>

Ashley Coakley

My husband and I adopted our rescue dogs in 2020, a White German Shepherd named Luna and a Husky mix named Arwen. Soon after rescuing the two of them I made them an Instagram account to share their adventures. I began to follow dog photographers that would pop up on my feed and instantly decided that I need photos like that of my dogs. I bought my first professional camera that year and immersed myself in learning and practicing dog photography with my girls. I was soon taking photos that I loved of Luna and Arwen. After getting so many photos that I loved of Luna and Arwen I decided that I wanted to share my photography with other pet parents. When starting my business coming up with the name came pretty easy. My business was inspired by my dogs which is why I named it Dog Inspired Photography. Read more>>

Oliver Waterfield

My name of my company derives from my time in the Marine Corps. I did 2 tours to combat during my 8 years in the Corps, 1 to Afghanistan and the other to Syria. I was in a Weapons Company who’s callsign was WarHammer. My work ethic, my attention to detail, and how I run my business all stems from my time in the service and how i learned to adapt in high stress situations. Read more>>

Katelyn Stewart

I spent a lot of time thinking of a name. I wanted it to be unique and I found most of my initial ideas were taken by other psychotherapy practices (something about growth, strength, hope, etc. or the clinic owners name.) I landed on Stor(i), which is comprised of 2 parts: Story: In my experience, storytelling is integral to therapy. Clients often come to therapy with a narrative—often unconscious—about their history, relationships, hardships, and themselves. Stories help us sort through our thoughts and feelings, better understand our behavior, connect with others, shape our identity, and find meaning and purpose in our experiences. (i): The “i” represents “the self.” In my sessions with clients, I aim to create a space where you can quiet the external noise and tune into your true self, exploring who you are and what you truly desire. Read more>>

Wendy Romero

my son started doing music and eventually started making clothing named Zia Strong Entertainment and Zia Strong Clothing . his stage name Zia Baby :) my son made this happen so in honor of him and appreciation we continued with the name. And as it represents New Mexico . a place we love , and strong in all we do to make our dreams come true Read more>>

Dale Bonnell

The name was simple, my name is Dale Bonnell, I skate and I designs stuff. DB Skate Designs. Read more>>

Kasey Smith

So, funny story. When we decided we wanted to start our own Aesthetic Business, we were clueless on how to get started, as none of us have any sort of business background. Of course the first thing we thought to do was come up with a business name. All three of us are Pediatric Trauma Nurses who work with a surgeon that owns a coffee shop downtown. We have had several business meetings at this coffee shop and it kind of became our go to place while we were getting started. As we were sitting there, sipping our drinks, we started throwing out anything and everything that came to mind. Probably one thousand random names were thrown out, one of which being Modern Trilogy Aesthetics. It was the name we kept going back to, despite coming up with some very off the wall names. And thus, Modern Trilogy Aesthetics because our name that we were going to stick to. Read more>>

Ping Williams

My family and I sat around for a couple of days thinking about what we could name the business. I came up with some names, but they were not it. My parents said that we should brainstorm and see what we all come up with. No name is bad, but let’s write them all down and go through them to see what I feel comfortable with. The name PANIK came up and it really stuck with me. It creates a sense of urgency and plus the need for something to be done in order to address the reason we PANIK. Read more>>

Amorette Crespo

I had a reputation for being a party girl in college. I went to a university that had a reputation for being a party school and being away from home for the first time in my life, I absolutely majored in partying. I paid for the consequences dearly, but it very much remained part of my identity, though in a more reformed & restrained manner, as I got older. When I started Party Girl Piñatas I’d been making my way through the LA party scene and was reclaiming my party girl persona. Read more>>

Joanna Lindstrom

When I left my job to start my own grant writing consulting business my primary motivator was to have more time with my then 2 year old daughter, Elise. I had the unwavering support of my husband. I had two clients ready to go and solid experience including my two years serving in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso. All I needed was a name. I noticed with consulting many people use their name – or an offshoot of their name like their initials. Although I love my name, I wanted something that embodied more of me. I thought maybe using something that showed my love of Burkina Faso and my Peace Corps experience. I served as a Girls Education and Empowerment volunteer from 2008-2010 and learned both French and the local language, Gulmancema. With that past experience and being a female-owned business I liked the idea of using the French word for “she” – elle. Of course, there is already a wildly popular magazine with that name. Then I thought of my motivating factor, the reason I wanted to try this business to begin with – Elise. Not only did I want to spend more time with her I wanted to show her how girls and women lean in. We do hard things. We start businesses. We provide. We thrive. Read more>>

Amy D’aulerio

Well this is actually an interesting story…we had a different name for our podcast in the beginning, bought the website, had the instagram handle, we were working on the logo and just like that another podcast launched in those few weeks with the same name. So we took a step back and thought about it….Jenna and I had moved to different cities a few years back, different coasts and continued to keep up with our friendship, which we often found was in parts due to our shared love of all things Bravo and pop culture. And oddly enough Jenna had remembered my husband had said “isn’t it funny that you guys remain bonded by Bravo all these years later”…she pointed it out and we ran with it! Read more>>

Corinne Cochrane

Beatha is the Gaelic term for life. I was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. I wanted my company to be the building blocks of my own story. Beatha photography evokes the idea of capturing the essence of life in every shot. It symbolizes nature, candid moments and authentic expression. Read more>>

Lizbeth Garcia

When I was coming up with a name I knew I wanted a name that was unique, chic which also represented me and would help build the right brand image to whoever came across my business. I wanted something that would stick and be easy to remember, the shorter the better. I knew I wanted my business to represent me but my name next to it didn’t flow so I chose to add my nickname. My nickname growing up was “dinero” which translates to money in english. I thought why not abbreviate the “money” which then “mny” 3 short letters came about and I paired it with “bouquets”. MNY BOUQUETS was created also known as “Money Bouquets” and the rest is history. Read more>>

Kristina Daduryan

When I chose the name of my brand, “The Art of Quality Assurance”, I wanted to capture the essence of testing. I’ll rephrase a quote from a blog I read years ago: ‘You can’t really say to someone, “Just do this and this, and now you’re an expert tester.” It’s more like, “Start by doing this, and do it again and again for years, and you’ll get good at it.”‘ That resonated with me deeply. I think that’s why people often see testing as a mysterious ‘mindset’ that some have and others can’t learn—similar to how people view art. Many believe art is a talent you’re born with, ignoring the years of hard work behind it. This belief discourages people from trying. I wanted the name to reflect that testing, like art, is a skill that can be developed and mastered over time with dedication, practice, and passion. Read more>>

Stephanie Ledesma

When I started my business I did not know what direction I wanted it to go in, I’ve always been a lover of music, and I thought that would be better than taking inspiration from that. So I went with Uneasy Hearts, named after the song Uneasy Hearts Weight the Most by Dance Gavin Dance Read more>>

Missy Hazeldine

I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 at the age of 16 after surviving a traumatic life event that I’ll share more about at a later time. It was never explained to me – bipolar. I felt alone, misunderstood, and like a stranger in my own skin. I started journaling shortly after—to get the “noise” out of my head. “Comfortable Silence” became the alias I used in my writings—it was something I yearned for. To think I came up with it at 16—it still makes me ache for that younger version of myself. I went to school for Apparel Merchandising and spent a significant part of my career as a buyer. I always dreamed of starting my own clothing brand, coming up with ideas here and there, but everything felt forced—until 2022. After a significant mental health break, I realized that the one thing I had kept secret, the alias that helped me cope, could be the very thing to resonate with and save others. Read more>>