Field notes from the naming workbench
How brandable names are built, what a domain really costs after year one, how to read a trademark hit, and what we learn shipping the product.
A free domain is not a free name
Every name generator checks whether the .com is available. Almost none check whether someone already owns the name as a brand. That second question is the one that costs money.
Read the postA Looka alternative for people who need the name cleared, not the logo drawn
Looka bundles names, logos and a brand kit, and it checks social handles, which we do not. What it does not do is screen the name against trademark records. Here is the honest split.
A Namelix alternative that screens the name, not just the domain
Namelix is a fast, free generator that checks domains across many extensions. What it does not do is tell you whether somebody already owns the name. Here is the honest comparison.
Anatomy of a brandable name
What separates a name people remember and can spell from one they cannot. Phonetics, length, the radio test, and why a coined word beats a mashed one.
What a domain costs after year one
The first-year price on many extensions is a teaser. Renewal is the real price, and on some new TLDs it is thirty times higher. Wholesale figures from our catalogue, and when .com still matters.
Trademark screening for founders
How to search USPTO records for a business name, what live, dead, pending and abandoned mean, how to read a class hit, and where a screening stops and an attorney starts.
Inside the BetterNamer score
What the number next to each name means, which eight structural measures go into it, how the best available domain and the conflict checks change it, and why it is not a guarantee.
How to check if a business name is taken
The five places a name can already be claimed, in the order to check them, and what each result means. The state registry is the one most founders stop at, and it is the least informative.