Name your business, baby.

Posted by Laura Bergells

November 16, 2006

Naming your business can be like naming your baby. Do you pick trendy, soap-opera quality names…a family name…or should you opt for a timeless classic? Let’s take a look at what’s right for you:

Fun with names: For fun, take a historic look at your own name and its peaks and troughs of popularity for the past century. For example, my Mom’s name is Helen. If you go to NameVoyager and use their nifty (and addictive) naming tool, you will see that the name “Helen” peaked in popularity in the 1910’s. In the first decade of the 21st century, however, Helen is not a terribly popular name. Consequently, my mom often grumbles that when she introduces herself, people think that she is either in her 80’s or 90’s!

Helen peaked in 1920

Trendy or Timeless? So while Mom’s name made her seem very hip and trendy in the 1920’s and 30’s, her name has made her seem very old-fashioned now that it is 2006. That’s the risk you take when you name your baby – or your business — something trendy.

In 2005, the most popular US name for a girl was “Emily”. And for a baby boy — “Jacob”. And while these names are classics, they are much like “Helen” was in the 1910’s. Classic, to be sure — but very much identifiable with a specific period in history.

(My own name “Laura” makes me very much a child of the 1960’s, while “Farrah” peaked in the 1970’s. Emma was big in the late 1800’s, dwindled to nothing during the 20th century, and is now becoming hugely popular again in the 21st century. However, Ephraim peaked in the 1880’s and never made a comeback.)

If you want your baby or your business to be endure and appear timeless throughout the ages, you might do well to skip the trendy names. Conversely, if you want to assoiate your business with a certain period in history, you would do well to pick a more trendy name.

Do the research! Have fun at Name Voyager… and for a handy-dandy pdf file of top baby names, you can visit Mon-Amie and download a free ebook of the top 100 baby names in 2005.