Choosing a creative business name is one of the first steps for any startup. Picking out a good business name is both fun— and frustrating. There are many elements that must go into choosing the perfect business name. 

That’s where a business name generator can be helpful. Company name generators can help you brainstorm ideas so you can find the perfect name for your new business. Some will check domain name availability, and even help you create a logo. 

We tested five of the best free business name generators to help you find the right name for your business. 

Pros and Cons of Using These Tools

The 5 Best Business Name Generators on the Market

Here are five of the best business name generators to inspire you. We tested each one to find business name ideas, and show screenshots of our experience. 

1. Novanym

Novanym claims to be a unique brand name generator that blends AI with a “human touch.” Novanym only offers .com names which can be best for businesses that want to ensure their online presence with a unique business name that is easier to find online. 

Let’s try it out for a business that makes chocolate desserts. First, we type in the words “chocolate desserts.”

Next, we selected a business type from a long list of options (not all options shown here). The closest match was “restaurants and food.”

There is also a drop down menu for name styles, which include contemporary names, traditional names, corporate names, dynamic names, informal names, elegant names or technical names. 

For our chocolate business, we decided to choose from elegant names. Novanym provided an initial list of over 32 names with sample logos and available .com domains. There is a button at the bottom of the list to show more. 

Novanym owns these domain names so you can be confident of the domain availability, and the cost of each domain name is displayed upfront so you can easily determine whether it’s within your business budget. 

Click on any of the individual names to get AI insights into why the domain name may be appealing. For example, the description for CocoaSquare.com says:

“A deliciously evocative .com brand name

CocoaSquare is an invented, but wonderfully evocative .com name that sounds like a real place – perhaps the docklands location where cocoa beans (or the raw material; the cacao fruit) were once traded. It’s this sense of place that gives the name a traditional, heritage feel. CocoaSquare also suggests a square of chocolate, making this an amazing name for a confectionery brand. The CocoaSquare.com domain adds prestige and serious brandability to this superb name.”

Overall, the user experience was solid, it offered a decent variety of brandable business names, and the presentation of the results was helpful for visualizing a brand identity. The domain names may be a bit pricey for some entrepreneurs. 

2. Namlix

Namlix uses artificial intelligence to create short, brandable names. The algorithm learns from what you like and builds upon your preferences to help you find the right business name. 

It lets you filter based on preferences including a shorter name, a specific keyword or domain extension (like .com or .net). 

First, type in a keyword. Let’s look for a name for a business that will make puppy treats:

Next, you’ll have the option to choose a name style, including alternative spelling, compound words, two words, brandable names, non-English words, real words and/or short phrases. (This is a very helpful overview of the types of business names entrepreneurs may want to consider.) We chose auto for all styles: 

On the next screen you can choose your “randomness” level: less random, balanced or high random. Let’s choose medium or balanced. 

Finally you can enter a short description of your business, and choose whether to search for available domain names. 

In less than a minute, it created several dozen names, including these options: 

Examples of business names created by Namlix.

Hover over the name and you can see whether the coveted .com extension is available, and register your domain name (for a fee): 

Click on the “more info” tile and get AI commentary on the name. For example, it had this to say about our chosen domain name “YummyWoofs”: 

“YummyWoofs is a playful and catchy name that perfectly captures the essence of the business description. The word “Yummy” suggests deliciousness and tastiness, which is exactly what the business offers with its healthy puppy treats. The addition of “Woofs” not only creates a fun and memorable name, but it also relates to the target audience of the business – puppies. “Woofs” is a playful reference to the sound that puppies make, making it a perfect fit for a business that caters to them. Overall, YummyWoofs is a clever and effective name that is easy to remember and communicates the core values of the business.”

Overall, the experience was user friendly, and it offered some great business name options with helpful information about underlying domain name availability. 

3. Namemesh

Namemesh is designed to generate domain names, which can also be used as business names. It first prompts for keywords with a checkbox to search for domain names ending in .pro, .net, and/or .org. Here we tested it to create a name for a business that offers motorcycle tours. 

Below this box is a menu of boxes offering choices for different types of domain names in the following categories. 

Choices are: 

• Common domain names such as.com, .org, .net), 
• New (new gtld domains such as .pro, .link, .email)
• Short (overlaying keywords with tlds, e.g. liv.es, bon.us, etc.)
• Extra (other popular tlds such as me, name, co, io, it, mobi and others)
• Similar (thesaurus algorithms, synonyms, antonyms)
• SEO (popular words for search engine optimization)
• Fun (including nonexistent words, including word linking, errors, phonetics, abbreviations, acronyms)
• Mix (mixes words with suffixes, prefixes such as er, ify, ly, and others)

Note that TLDS refers to top-level domains, or the part that comes after the dot in a domain name. 

Note that the next step was a little confusing. In testing, we thought the step after entering keywords was to click on the tiles that offered the choices of types of names. Instead, the next step was to click on the return arrow at the top of the keyword field. It then immediately generated names in each category. 

Here are some of the choices our search returned: 

Each result shows the lowest price of the domain name. Click on a choice to get detailed pricing information from each registrar. For example, here’s the pricing for motorcyclecorner.com: 

This tool did not offer super unique business name ideas. Even in the “fun” list of options, almost all options included the word “motorcycle”. However, numerous straightforward options were presented and pricing was clear. 

4. Shopify Business Name Generator

The Shopify Business Name Generator can give business owners ideas for a business name for businesses in a variety of industries including accessories, apparel, beauty and skincare. Type in a word or two that describe your brand, click on the “generate names” button and you’ll get 100+ possibilities as inspiration. 

Here we tested the domain name generator to create a name for an ecommerce business that sells handmade greeting cards. 

This name generator produces very literal results. All the results contain the words “handmade greeting cards” and there does not appear to be a way to instantly check domain name availability. Click on the name of choice and it will ask questions about your business, presumably to sell a Shopify account. While Shopify is a great ecommerce solution provider, this name generator seemed to be the least creative of the options we tested. 

5. Chat GPT

This popular AI tool from OpenAI.com can be used as an online business name generator tool. However, you’ll need to prompt it (instruct it) to assist you. You can use a free version (ChatGPT 3.5) or paid version (ChatGPT 3.5 or 4).

Here is the prompt we typed into ChatGPT 3.5: 

“Act as a business name generator. I am going to start a handyman business for older people. I would like you to suggest up to 50 names for this business. The name should be easy to understand when spoken, easy to remember, easy to spell and should quickly convey that the business offers handyman services for older people.”

Here are some of the 50 results it created in seconds:

At the end of the list it provided this helpful reminder:

“Remember to check if any of these names are already in use or trademarked in your region before finalizing your decision. Best of luck with your new handyman business!”

Overally, these name suggestions were straightforward and would likely describe the type of business to potential customers fairly well, even if they weren’t particularly creative. 

There was no additional information available about domain name availability. When ChatGPT was asked if the domain names for these name options were available, it replied that information is not available: 

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but as an AI language model, I don’t have real-time access to domain registration databases and cannot check the availability of specific domain names. To check the availability of these domain names, you can use domain registration websites or domain search tools like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google Domains. Simply enter the desired domain name in the search bar, and the tool will show you if it’s available for registration or if it has already been taken by someone else.”

Next Step: Check for Name Availability

Once you find a name you like, you’ll want to find out whether it is trademarked or is in use by another business. 

On the USPTO website, you can research trademarks. For example, we searched for the dog treat company name we picked earlier, YummyWoofs. 

The USPTO did not find any trademarks for that phrase. 

You may want to try to trademark the business name you choose to help protect it from competitors. In addition, there may be other businesses operating with that name so be sure to search for other uses and consult an attorney to make sure the name you choose is available. 

You can also search online for other uses of the name. 

• Check business registrations in your state. 
• Find out if related social media handles are available. 
• Try a general name search with major search engines. 

Again, if you have any questions about the availability of the business name you would like to use, talk to a small business attorney. 

Incorporate or Start Your LLC

Finding a catchy business name is just the first step for entrepreneurs who want to start a business. 

Once you’ve decided on a new business name, it’s a good idea to set up an official business entity with that name. Consider forming a corporation or an LLC. There are pros and cons to each business structure so take the time to figure out which one is best for your business goals. (Note that an S Corporation is a tax election you can choose once you’ve established your business entity.)

If you don’t form a business entity be sure to file a fictitious name with your state.

Once you’ve established your business entity you’ll want to establish your businesses’ financial identity. You can open a business bank account in the name of your business, get a business credit card in the name of the business, and start to establish business credit so you can position your business to qualify for small business loans in the future.