Ask HN: How to choose a business/brand name?

If you plan to sell the business/brand in the future then you would be advised to avoid anything that relates to your name. On the other hand if your expertise, profile, etc are relevant and you do not intend to sell in the future then using your name might be of value.

The hardest part is to come up with a name that is available under your state's/country's business /company names register, is available for domain name registration and does not violate any pre-existing trademarks. Trademarks are particularly tricky because there are international treaties that can lead to an overseas trademark being infringed even if you can register in your own country.

Igor Naming Agency has a very good guide[1] and online reference[2].

There's also SquadHelp[3] for running a naming contest.

[1] PDF - https://www.igorinternational.com/process/igor-naming-guide_...

[2] https://www.igorinternational.com/process/company-product-na...

[3] https://www.squadhelp.com