Resources for brainstorming business names

Guides

catchwordbranding

The naming guide for executives, marketing managers, entrepreneurs, and everyone else.

The Igor Brand Naming Guide

"Everything you wish you didn’t need to know about creating brand names"

Pieratt

A 3-step process for naming a project/product. (And some resources)

Brainstorming

Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Self-described “Five hundred years of the vulgar tongue.” Search by slang term (versus finding slang words for a term). Useful to check if your selected name is offensive.

The Free Dictionary

The world's most comprehensive dictionary. A great place to start any search.

OneLook Dictionary

Generally considered the go-to dictionary while naming, OneLook is a “dictionary of dictionaries” covering general definitions as well as slang, medical, technology, and more. Also offers powerful search tools to find related words, phrases, and fill-in-the-blank.

Moby Thesaurus

A weird and wonderful reference full of unusual and illuminating word relationships,”. It was compiled by Grady Ward, a software engineer, lexicographer, and Internet activist. A must-visit, especially if you’re stuck.

RhymeZone

This effective rhyming dictionary not only categorizes results by the number of syllables, but it also provides a wide range of near rhymes. With its solid searches, you can easily find the perfect rhyme for your lyrics or poems. But that's not all! This remarkable tool also offers a "Find synonyms" option.

Thesaurus.com

This is generally used to find synonyms for words

Translators

Nice Translator

The fast, easy online translator. Translate words and phrases into multiple languages at once.

Linguee

A High quality translation dictionary with over one million translations and 30+ languages.

Word generators

Wordoid

A powerful random word generator with toggles for language, quality, patterns, length, and domain availability.

Namelix

Mythology

Greek Gods & Goddesses

A complete list of Greek Gods, their Names, realms, and influence. Major gods have additional backstory and information.

Japanese Creatures

A list of demons, ghosts, yokai, obake, yurei, and other legendary creatures that are notable in Japanese folklore and mythology.

Mythical Civilizations & Places

A list of mythological places which appear in mythological tales, folklore, and varying religious texts.

Norse Mythology, Gods, and Creatures

Reliable, well-documented information on the fascinating mythology and religion of the Norse/Germanic peoples.

Roman Gods & Goddesses

A complete list of Roman Gods, their names, realms, and influence. Major gods have additional backstory and information.

Cultural Sensitivity

Word Safety

Search across 19+ languages to ensure your name isn’t in offensive in a foreign language.

Urban Dictionary

The people’s internet dictionary. Find obscure memes, definitions and phrases. Useful to check if your selected name is offensive or has an obscure second meaning.

Trademarks

TMview

A global trademark search engine that extends beyond the reach of WIPO’s search offering.

Trademarkia

Search millions of U.S. trademarks filed since 1870.

Domain search

Domainr

I Want My Name

Panabee

A simple way to search for domain names, app names, and company names.

Other inspiration

Behind the Name

The etymology and history behind first names and surnames. Also includes tools for top names by country and year.

Phrontistery

A collection of “rare, cool, and unusual words,” including words lost to the ages and a collection of glossaries.

Three letter words

Created for Scrabble but useful for generating short names from real words

Random Name Generator

Meant as a fiction writer’s tool, this generator creates random real-sounding names sourced from samples in the US Census. Offers the ability to toggle rarity of the names generated.

Ancient Names

Common names used in ancient civilizations.

Anime & Manga Characters

An exhaustive list of character names, filterable by traits and tags.

Fictional Literary Characters

Character names, primarily from classic and best selling books.

Reddit

Name endings

The "i need a name(INAN)" subreddit

INAN is a place That is dedicated to coming up with new names for things and people that need them. Give lots of details on what it is for, and what you like and don’t like.