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.

Victoria Moran

For the past 13 years, I’ve had two names: my own, and Main Street Vegan. That was first the title of my 2012 book, and then so much else: Main Street Vegan Academy (training vegan coaches), the Main Street Vegan Podcast (its 500th episode aired in January), and Main Street Vegan Productions (we led the production of Thomas Jackson’s 2019 documentary, A Prayer for Compassion, and we’re now in development with a feature, Miss Liberty, about a cow who escapes from a slaughterhouse. However, if it hadn’t been for a bona fide New York miracle, I’d never have had that name at all. Read more>>

Marilyn Brown

I AM HER is the name of my Brand. It took me a long time to come up with this name. I was dealing with a. Lot of things in my life and I was not feeling adequate or positive about myself. I found myself pushing everybody to be all that they could be, pouring into so many women and putting a smile on their faces but I could not put a smile on my own. I felt lost. I begin to be drained from life, so one day it hit me. I got up and looked into the mirror and told myself that I am Her, the woman to get the job down. I knew that if I could see greatness and potential in others, I could see it within my self. Read more>>

JC Carlson Katerri Casimir

We wanted something that embodies what we do and hope to be to players who use our products. ReRoll Crafts came after brainstorming some of our favorite things about Dungeons and Dragons. As a player in Dungeons and Dragons now and then, you can roll with advantage, meaning you get to re-roll your dice, hoping for a higher number. Crafts is a part of our name because we want to show that this is what we do. We are D&D players and dungeon masters. This is our craft. So, naturally, ReRoll Crafts was born. Read more>>

Vanessa Blake

In 1995, I faced an unexpected job loss. I spent a few years attending classes, workshops, and career fairs. However, nothing truly sparked my passion, so I decided to venture into entrepreneurship. Without a clear direction for my business, choosing a name proved challenging. I opted to use my own name – VBlake Consulting Group – as it was straightforward and encompassed a wide array of business activities under the consulting umbrella. Initially, I focused on administrative support for other businesses. Read more>>

Christy Lamb

I am an artist who has played with many creative mediums. I try to create at least one beautiful offering a day. My vocation is songwriter and rock singer living in Los Angeles. ‘jeanie’ is my artist moniker. My birth name is Christy. It is not short for anything like Christine or Christina. “Christ with a y,” I use to tell people when they were looking for the spelling. And then as I grew older I’d usually add, “My dad was a preacher. I’m named after Jesus Christ, actually. No pressure, right?” Read more>>

Jessica Dean

The name of my mobile bartending company is “ Jess Mix It “ . The Jess comes from my full first name Jessica as people call me Jess for short . The “ Mix It “ comes from making drinks . Just Mixing It is how it pronounced but using my name in it gives it originality. Read more>>

Rashandra Clemons

I wanted my boutique to represent me, therefore I came up with name “One Cute Dimple Boutique” , because of my unique one dimple and thought to myself, this is a personal touch. To add a little pizazz to the name I added “Cute” because I envisioned my boutique as a small, quaint, stylish and cute space. Read more>>

Robert Barao

At First, I was having a hard time trying to come up with something that was natural. I felt that a lot of ideas was already taken and that everything didn’t feel authentic and original. Then I quickly realized that there is only one of me. So, I decided to bring it all back to where everything started, the Philippines. My childhood experiences and the land that surrounded me fed the creative fire in me. Which drove my imagination to unlimited possibilities. One of those special memories as a child was riding behind a Water Buffalo “Kalabaw” at our farm house in the province. The Water Buffalo is the national animal of the Philippines, Which symbolizes hard work, strength and perseverance. It defines the people of my culture and its something to strive for. Read more>>