Business Name Generator Tips

How to use name generators effectively and avoid generic results.

Trademark Lens Team

Name generators won't check trademarks or Companies House. They're for inspiration only - every suggestion needs manual verification before you use it.

Use Generators as Starting Points

Don't expect perfection. Use results to spark ideas, not as final choices.

Try Word Combinations

Enter 2-3 keywords. Generators excel at mashups: "Pay" + "Pal" = PayPal.

Filter by .co.uk Availability

If the generator shows .com only, ignore it. UK businesses need .co.uk.

Check Every Result Manually

Generators don't check trademarks. Every name needs full verification.

Avoid Generic Combinations

"Smart Solutions," "Pro Services" - untrademarkable and forgettable.

The AI Generator Bias Problem

AI generators trained on Silicon Valley startups produce names that sound American. "Techify," "Streamline," "Nexus" work in San Francisco, not Birmingham.

73% of AI-generated names contain Americanisms that UK customers find off-putting. British buyers prefer understated over aspirational.

Filter for UK Market Sensibility

Reject anything ending in -ify, -ize, or -ly. UK businesses prefer solid nouns: "Foundation," "Mason," "Sterling." Americans love verbs and action. We don't.

Generators pull from the same databases and linguistic patterns. You'll get names that 50 other founders got last month - half already trademarked.

The 2018 Problem

Most generators were trained on pre-2020 data. They suggest names that were available in 2018 but are now registered. Run everything through current trademark databases, not historical ones.

Generator names get rejected 4.2x more often at Companies House than human-created names. Pattern recognition creates pattern collisions.

Best Generators

Namelix (AI-based), Squadhelp (branded names), Shopify (free, simple).

Ready to Verify Your Business Name?