Brand Naming: How to Choose a Business Name the Right Way
Brand naming step by step: generate ideas, filter with clear criteria, check Mexico's IMPI, domains and social handles, and pick a name that lasts.
Your name is the part of your brand that will be said out loud the most, and the hardest to change later. In this guide you'll generate options, filter them with clear criteria and check that they're available before you fall in love with one, so you end up with a name you can use, register and defend for years.
Most people choose a name backwards: someone has an idea in the shower, shares it with the family, everyone loves it and the business cards get printed. Months later the problem shows up: the domain is taken, there's a business with almost the same name in another city, or nobody knows how to spell it when they search for it on Google.
Here you'll follow the right order: strategy, volume of ideas, filters and verification. It takes longer, but it saves you from renaming your business once you already have clients.
Before you start: what you'll need
- A description of your business in two or three sentences: what you sell, who you sell it to and what makes you different.
- Three or four names from your direct competitors, so you know which territory is already taken.
- A place to write down ideas: index cards, sticky notes or a spreadsheet.
- Two or three people you trust who look like your customer, not just your family.
Step by step: how to choose your brand name
1. Write the naming brief
Before you think about names, write one page that answers:
- What feeling should the name spark? For example: trust, freshness, warmth, quiet luxury.
- What should it avoid? For example: sounding corporate, sounding like a passing trend or sounding like the competition.
- Where will it live? A storefront sign, a small label, an Instagram profile, a domain.
- Will it grow? If you sell cakes today but want to open a café tomorrow, a name that's too specific will box you in.
Why it matters: without a brief, everyone judges names by personal taste and the conversations never end. With a brief, the question stops being “Do you like it?” and becomes “Does it deliver?”
Common mistake: skipping this step because “you already know what you want.” Writing it down clears up whatever is still fuzzy.
2. Know the types of names
Almost every name falls into one of these families. Knowing them helps you explore beyond the obvious:
- Descriptive: they say what you do, like “Pinturas del Sureste” (Southeast Paints). They're understood instantly, but they're hard to set apart and hard to protect.
- Suggestive: they evoke a related idea, like a laundromat called “Brisa” (breeze). They balance clarity and personality.
- Abstract or invented: new words, or words with no direct link to the business. They're very easy to register, but they need more communication work before they mean something.
- Person or place names: the founder's last name, the name of the neighborhood. They convey origin and closeness.
- Compound or blended: two words fused into one, creating something of your own.
Mexican law sets an important limit: Article 173 of Mexico's Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property states that technical or common names of products or services can't be registered as trademarks, and neither can signs that lack distinctiveness. One more reason not to stop at descriptive names.
3. Generate lots of options without judging
Now it's time to produce. Set a quantity goal, not a quality goal: fill a wall with index cards. Use these triggers:
- Write down words related to the feeling in your brief, not to the product.
- Look into other languages that make sense for your audience, like Nahuatl, Maya, Latin or English, and double-check the meaning.
- Think in metaphors: what is your work like? An auto repair shop can be like a doctor, a watchmaker, a guardian.
- Combine syllables and words from your list to invent new names.
- Use artificial intelligence to generate volume, not to judge. Ask it for variations based on your brief and keep the ones that make you feel something.
Example: picture a specialty coffee shop in Mérida that wants to sound warm, local and handcrafted. The brainstorm might produce words about the morning sun, limestone, slow roasting, the smell of grandma's kitchen. None of them is a name yet, but all of them are raw material.
Common mistake: stopping at the fifth idea because you already like one. The first ideas tend to be the same ones everyone else comes up with.
4. Filter with criteria, not taste
Run every option through these questions. Any option that fails two or more is out:
- Is it easy to say? Read it out loud. If you stumble, if it has two possible pronunciations or if it sounds odd in a sentence like “let's go to…,” it fails.
- Is it spelled the way it sounds? Say it to someone and ask them to write it down. If they spell it differently, people won't find you on Google.
- Is it remembered the next day? Share five names with someone and ask them the next day which ones they remember.
- Does it deliver on the brief? Check it against the feeling you were after.
- Is it different from the competition? Put it next to your competitors' names. If it blends in, it fails.
- Does it carry awkward meanings? Check for double meanings in Mexican Spanish, in English and in local slang.
- Can it handle growth? Ask yourself whether it still works if you open another location or change products.
Why it matters: criteria take ego out of the decision. The name that passes the most tests wins.
Common mistake: asking relatives “Do you like it?” The polite answer is always yes, and it tells you nothing.
5. Test your finalists in the real world
Narrow it down to three to five finalists and put them in concrete situations:
- Write them on a mock storefront sign, a small label and a social media profile.
- Say them over the phone as if you were answering a call: “Good afternoon, you've reached…”
- Type them into a Google search and see what comes up.
- Ask two or three people who resemble your customer what kind of business they imagine behind each name.
An example of an open question for that test: “If you saw this name on a storefront, what do you think they sell there, and what do you picture it's like?” Don't explain anything beforehand; the first impression is what counts.
Common mistake: testing names only on a pretty screen and never out loud.
6. Check trademark registration with IMPI
In Mexico, trademarks are registered with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). Before you decide, run a preliminary search. According to IMPI's trademark FAQ, you can run a free search with its MARCia tool or request one from the institute.
How to do it wisely:
- Identify your classes. Trademarks are registered by classes of products and services. On that same page, IMPI explains that there are 45 classes: 1 through 34 for products and 35 through 45 for services. A clothing brand and a restaurant brand can coexist with similar names if they're in different classes, though not always.
- Search for variations. Don't search only for the exact spelling. Try how it sounds, how it could be written with a different letter, with and without spaces. A trademark that sounds like yours in your same class is a risk, even if it's spelled differently.
- Keep dated evidence of your searches.
The application is filed online through the Marca en Línea service. IMPI states that a registration lasts 10 years and can be renewed for equal periods, and that for registrations granted since August 2018 you must file a declaration of use three years after it's granted.
Why it matters: investing in signage, packaging and advertising for a name you can't protect is building on borrowed land.
Common mistake: assuming that if the name doesn't show up on Google, it's available. Many registered trademarks don't have a website. The IMPI search is the one that counts, and if you have any doubt, it's worth consulting an intellectual property specialist.
7. Check the domain and social media
With the finalists that cleared the trademark check, look up:
- Domain: use any domain registrar to see whether the .com, .mx or .com.mx is available. If the exact match is taken, a short, logical variation can work, like adding your city or your industry. Avoid hyphens and numbers you'd have to explain.
- Social media: check Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp Business, or wherever your audience spends time. Try to use the same handle everywhere.
Example: if your coffee shop is called “Caliza” and the exact handle is taken, “calizacafe” or “cafecaliza” keep the name recognizable.
Common mistake: buying the domain before checking the trademark. Order matters: first confirm the name can be protected, then lock in the domain.
8. Decide and secure everything on the same day
Once you have a winner, move fast: register the domain, open the social media accounts (even if you won't post yet) and start the IMPI application. A name that's available today may not be next week.
A good name is chosen with judgment and secured with discipline.
After that, your name needs a visual system to go with it. If that's where you are, continue with our step-by-step brand guidelines guide, where you document your logo, color, typography and voice.
Final naming checklist
- I have a written brief covering feeling, limits and growth plans.
- I generated dozens of options before filtering.
- My finalists pass the pronunciation, spelling and memory tests.
- I checked for double meanings and tested the finalists with people who resemble my customer.
- I searched IMPI's tools in my classes and with variations.
- The domain and social handles are available or have a clear variation.
- I secured the domain, social accounts and trademark application on the same day.
Common naming mistakes
- Falling in love before verifying. Check the trademark before you send anything to print.
- Copying the leader's formula. If your competitor is called “Something Express,” another “Express” gets you lost among them.
- Creative spelling for no reason. Swapping letters to make it unique means you'll be spelling it out forever.
When the name is just the beginning
With this process you can choose a solid name without outside help. The next challenge is giving it shape: a logo, colors and a consistent voice. At BDB, a branding agency in Cancún, Mexico, we guide brands through that process with our branding service, and if you'd like to talk through your case with us, reach out on our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Does my brand name have to describe what I sell?
No, and it often works better when it doesn't do so literally. A name that only describes the product is hard to tell apart from others, and Mexican law doesn't allow the common name of a product or service to be registered as a trademark. A name that suggests an idea or a feeling connected to your business works better.
If my name is available on social media, can I start using it?
That alone isn't enough. An available Instagram handle doesn't mean nobody has registered that trademark in Mexico. The check that matters is a search with IMPI's tools, and if you have doubts, the opinion of an intellectual property specialist.
Can I use an English name for a business in Mexico?
Yes, as long as your audience can pronounce it and remember it without effort. Try saying it over the phone to someone in your audience: if they ask you to spell it twice, the name will cost you word-of-mouth referrals.
How long does a trademark registration last in Mexico?
According to IMPI, a registration is valid for 10 years and can be renewed for equal periods. For registrations granted from August 2018 onward, you also need to file a declaration of use three years after the registration is granted.
