How to Find the Perfect Business Name如何取个理想的企业名称

斯凯·斯库利　薛洪君/译

A business name is more than just words—it is a representation of your company and brand. The process of choosing a business name may seem simple at first， but there are many factors that play into creating a successful one.

企业名称不仅仅是单词——它代表你的公司和品牌。選取企业名称的过程乍看简单，但创制一个成功的企业名称，有赖许多因素协同发挥作用。

Having a name that resonates1 with your consumers can save you money， since you wont have to spend advertising dollars clarifying a muddled2 message. A good name can also lift you above competitors， help you reach new markets and open doors to further growth.

拥有一个客户能心领神会的企业名称能节约成本，因你无须花广告费对寓意不明的企业名称作出澄清。一个好的企业名称也能让你凌越竞争对手，助你拓展新市场，打开进一步发展之门。

What a good business name should include

好的企业名称应包含哪些要素

While there are various rules and exceptions on what should be included in a good business name， experts agreed on some common elements. First and foremost3， a business name should focus on the message you want to portray.

对于好的企业名称应包含哪些要素，固然有各种规则和例外可供参考，但专家对一些常见要素已达成共识。首要的一点是，企业名称应专注于你要呈现的信息。

“The name chosen should reflect the attributes that you want to transmit to the customer，” said David Poulos， director of marketing at Pinnacle Advisory Group， “The best names are so indicative of a customers needs that it seems obvious.”

“所选名称应反映你要给客户传递哪些特质。”Pinnacle咨询集团营销总监戴维·普洛斯说，“理想的企业名称彰显客户的需求，使人一望而知。”

A good name should be short—two to four syllables and easy to pronounce， because they tend to be very brandable and easy for consumers to remember.

好的企业名称应该简短——有二至四个音节且读来顺口，因为这样的名称品牌性突出，容易让消费者记住。

While your name can include new or existing words， there are pros and cons4 with each option. Invented words—think Exxon—reduce the risk of confusion with competitors， but it can take a lot of time and marketing before your meaning is established with customers.

选取的企业名称可包含新创或现成字词，但每种选择都各有利弊。新创词——想想Exxon （埃克森）——降低了与竞争对手混淆的风险，但可能要耗费相当多时间和营销成本，才能让消费者认同该名称的立意。

Existing names come with established meanings， but those terms are also likely to be used by some of your competitors. A paramount5 concern about using a common term as part of your businesss name is whether trademark and domain names are available， and many common words are already taken in these areas.

现成名称都有既定含义，但这类用词也很可能会被你的一些竞争对手选用。若企业名称中含有常见用词，最令人担心的是同名商标和域名是否仍可选用，有很多常见词已注册过商标和域名了。

To help business owners identify the main elements of a good name， Alexandra Watkins， founder and chief innovation officer of naming firm Eat My Words， developed a 12-point evaluation checklist： the Scratch and Smile Test. Her philosophy used to develop the checklist was built on the idea that a business name should make you smile rather than scratch your head.

为帮助企业主辨识好的企业名称所具备的要素，起名公司Eat My Words 的创始人兼首席创意官亚历山德拉·沃特金斯研究出一份“十二条”评估清单：Scratch与Smile测试法。她制定这一清单所遵循的基本思路是，企业名称应使人会心一笑而非挠头不解。

SMILE： The five qualities of a super sticky6 name

SMILE：黏性超强企业名的五大特质

Suggestive： It evokes something about your brand.

Suggestive（强示意）：让人想起你的品牌。

Memorable： It is rooted in the familiar.

Memorable（易识记）：根植于耳熟能详的事物。

Imagery： It is visually evocative to aid in memory.

Imagery（具形象）：可唤起视觉联想以辅助记忆。

Legs： It lends itself to7 a theme for extended mileage.

Legs（可延续）：让主题具备延展效应。

Emotional： It moves people.

Emotional（够煽情）：能够打动人。

SCRATCH： The seven deal breakers of a name

SCRATCH：取企业名的七大昏招

Spelling-challenged： It looks like a typo8.

Spelling-challenged（拼写缺陷）：看上去就像出了排印或打字错误。

Copycat9： It is similar to competitors names.

Copycat（盲目模仿）：与竞争对手的名称相似。

Restrictive： It limits future growth.

Restrictive（作茧自缚）：限制未来的发展。

Annoying： It is forced or frustrates customers.

Annoying（使人不适）：牵强生硬或是让顾客厌烦。

Tame10： It is flat， undescriptive or uninspired.

Tame（索然无味）：平淡、空洞或是毫无创意。

Curse of knowledge11： Only insiders get it.

Curse of knowledge（知识诅咒）：只有内部人士才能领会。

Hard to pronounce： It is not obvious or is unapproachable.

Hard to pronounce（诘屈聱牙）：生僻或高冷。

How to come up with a business name

如何创制企业名称

There are a variety of methods you can use to devise a name for your company. Poulos and his team found the most successful one to be a customer-centric naming method.

要为公司设计名字，有多种方法可供使用。普洛斯及其团队发现，最有成效的是以客户为中心的命名方法。

Poulos recommends starting the process by gathering an aggregate12 of various department staff or consultants to develop a list of characteristics that you want your company to stand for. This brainstorming session should result in a series of on-brand13 character traits that you can then match with a set of words that are implied by each trait.

普洛斯建议，命名之初，要召集多位部门员工或企业顾问，列举出大家心目中的企业价值主张。通过这场集思广益的讨论得出一系列彰显品牌精神的特質，再为每条特质匹配由其寓意引申出的一套用词。

With the implied words， craft a series of word combinations that bring out the various character traits and work them into a name that has meaning for the customer. This should evolve into a long list of first-round business name ideas.

用这些推敲出的词，创制一系列词组阐发各条特质，再将其融汇为顾客能会意的一个名称，由此可衍生出一长串企业名称初步方案。

After you have your first set of potential business name ideas， Poulos suggests polling potential customers to rank each name from 1 to 20， based on how well they fit or describe your business. Use the consumer poll to narrow your list down to the top five candidates. Verify that these top candidates， culturally and linguistically， will not create a conflict in the countries where you want to operate.

普洛斯建议，在得出潜在企业名称初步方案后，对潜在客户进行民意测验，根据与本公司业务的契合度或对业务诠释之贴切程度，对这些名称进行排名（第1到第20名）。通过客户民意测验，将名单压缩至候选名称前5位。从文化和语言角度对这些最优选项进行核验，确保这些名称不会在公司要开展业务的国家引发冲突。

A critical next step that many business owners skip is to research each of your top names for corporate registry， trademarks， patent and domain name availability. Warren Diggles， president and creative director of Diggles Creative， said you should choose a name with an available .com domain.

接下来这关键一步会被很多企业主忽略掉，就是逐一排查这些优选名称是否仍可登记为企业名称及注册为商标、专利和域名。迪格尔斯创意公司总裁兼创意总监沃伦·迪格尔斯认为，应当选用一个域名（带“.com”）有效的名称。

“Unless you are a government， educational institution， or a nonprofit， you definitely want a .com，” said Diggles. “Your customers will automatically assume that your website is a .com because it is the most widely recognized name on the internet.”

“除非是政府机关、教育机构或非营利单位，否则必然首选‘.com。”迪格尔斯说，“客户会自动认为你公司的网站名后缀是‘.com，因为这是互联网上认可范围最广的域名形式。”

He said the best option is to choose a name that allows you to register for all versions （.com， .net， .biz）， if possible， to protect your company name.

他认为，如果可能的话，最佳方案是能用所选名称注册所有版本的扩展域名（“.com” “.net”“.biz”），从而保护你的公司名称。

Common business-naming mistakes

给企业命名的常见错误

Many owners name their businesses after a specific product or service they provide. However， this can create issues later when the company offers goods or services unrelated to its name. Similarly， if the name of your business seems completely unrelated to the goods or services you provide that， too， can have a negative effect.

很多企业主用自己企业提供的某一具体产品或服务为企业命名。然而，若公司后来提供与该名称无关的商品或服务，此举就会带来问题。同理，如果你的企业名称与你提供的产品或服务貌似毫不相干，也会有不利影响。

“Too literal or plain can only work if the logic holds and the business doesnt plan to evolve or change direction under that name，” said Poulos. “Too fancy， and the audience wont know what it means or what business theyre in. Too inside， and you limit your target audience and push away those outside the core business， even if they have a use for your products or services on a peripheral14 basis.”

“太依字面或太過平实，只有在逻辑自洽且企业无意依此名称搞衍生业务或转变业务方向时才行得通。”普洛斯说。“过于花哨，听众会不明就里或疑惑企业在搞哪门子生意。内情太深，则又将公司的目标客户限制得太死，推开了非核心业务客户，即便他们是你公司次要产品或服务的用户。”

Along the same lines， creating a name with an odd or uncommon spelling can also be troublesome. Names with unusual spellings can cause issues， particularly with online searches. You can potentially miss out on new leads15 if consumers try to look you up online and cant find you.

同样，起一个拼写古怪生僻的名字，也会引起麻烦。拼写生僻的名字会带来问题，在线搜索时尤其如此。如果消费者试图在网上查询你的公司而未能找到，你可能会错失潜在客户。

It is unlikely that the perfect business name will come to you immediately. Evaluate names for their potential rather than choosing one based on personal preference. Although the process of naming your business can be a challenging one， the end result will be worth the effort.

不太可能即刻就想出一个理想的企业名称。选择时要评估名称的潜力，而不是单凭个人喜好。尽管企业名称的命名过程可能充满挑战，最终结果值得这样的付出。

“You have to live with [your business name] for quite a while， so it should be something youre proud of， comfortable with and that makes sense to the audience youd like to reach，” said Poulos. “Dont pick your first choice without working through some sort of process to research and vet16 its viability in your market.”

“你要与（自己公司的名称）长久相伴，所以它应该让你引以为豪、自在惬意，而你的目标客户也能够意会。”普洛斯说，“不要贸然选择第一眼看中的，而须经由市场调研和可行性检验这一步，再做决定。”

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）