62% of EU SaaS revenue comes from US market. Name must work for American buyers or cap revenue at 38% of potential. Pronunciation, domain, and cultural fit determine US penetration.
The American Pronunciation Test
Americans won't look up pronunciation. If they can't say it immediately, they call it something else. "Spotify" = obvious. "Schiphol" = impossible. Wins US or doesn't.
Test: Show name to 5 Americans. If 3+ pronounce differently, rebrand before US launch. Don't fight American pronunciation patterns - you'll lose.
The .io vs .com Debate
.io = developer credibility. GitHub, Notion.so, Linear.app started .io/.so/.app. Developers trust these. BUT: Mainstream buyers still prefer .com. SMB customers see .io and assume "less established."
Developer tools? .io works. Horizontal SaaS (CRM, accounting, HR)? Need .com. Audience dictates domain extension. Miro (collaboration) uses .com for mainstream appeal despite tech audience.
When .io Works
API-first products, developer tools, infrastructure software. Twilio, Stripe, Plaid could use .io credibly. Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom? .com required for enterprise credibility.
Rule: If user writes code using your product, .io acceptable. If user clicks UI only, .com required. Developer audience forgives alternative TLDs, business users don't.
.io political risk: .io = Indian Ocean Territory, disputed sovereignty. If UK/Mauritius resolve dispute, .io might disappear like .su (Soviet Union) eventually did. .com = permanent. Don't build brand on geopolitically unstable TLD.
Avoid European-Only Signals
Don't include "EU," "Europe," "GDPR" in name. "EuroSaaS" signals limited to Europe. US buyers want global tools, not regional. "Intercom" (Dublin) sounds global. "EuroMessenger" sounds limited.
Privacy-focused? Emphasize privacy in messaging, not name. "ProtonMail" (Swiss privacy) doesn't say "SwissSecureMail" in name. Privacy = feature, not brand.
US Trademark Strategy
File USPTO (US) + EUIPO (EU) simultaneously. US = 330M people + 50% of SaaS spending globally. Don't launch in US without USPTO trademark protection. Competitor can file first, block you out.
Cost: $350 USPTO + €1,800 EUIPO = $2,150 total. ROI: US market access worth $100K-$1M+ annually for successful SaaS. Not filing = capping growth at EU-only.
Class 42 + Class 9
SaaS needs both: Class 42 (software as a service) + Class 9 (downloadable software). Even if pure cloud, file Class 9 defensively. Costs $350 extra, prevents competitor blocking you if you add desktop app later.
Notion, Slack, Figma all have Class 9 + 42. Cover both, expand freely. Skip Class 9, risk rebrand if desktop expansion meets trademark conflict.
The Enterprise Name Test
Can Fortune 500 CIO say your name in board meeting without embarrassment? "Slack" = yes. "Chillax Collabo" = no. Enterprise buyers need professional-sounding names.
Playful works for SMB (Mailchimp, Hootsuite). Enterprise needs gravitas (Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow). Know your buyer, match tone. Mismatch = friction.
Competitor Name Patterns
Research US competitors in your category. CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive. Pattern: Compound words, clear purpose. Don't name yours "Relationship Manager Pro" (too literal).
Project management: Asana, Monday, ClickUp. Pattern: Short, energetic, action-oriented. Don't name yours "Project Coordination Software" (too boring).
Differentiate, Don't Imitate
If 5 competitors end in "-ify," don't add 6th. Shopify dominated "-ify" = others look derivative. "Spotify" worked because first-mover. "Clientify" looks like copy.
Stand out: Opposite approach. Collaboration tools all playful (Slack, Zoom)? Go serious (Workfront, Asana). Everyone serious? Go playful. Different > similar.
The Integration Test
Will your name work in Zapier, Slack, Chrome Web Store? "Connect Acme to Slack" (clean). "Connect EU-Business-Management-Suite to Slack" (awful).
SaaS lives in ecosystems. Name appears in: Integration lists, Chrome extensions, OAuth prompts, API docs. Short names integrate cleanly. Long names create UI problems.
Funding Signal
US VCs fund 70% of EU SaaS unicorns. Name signals global ambition or local limitation. "Contentful" (Vienna) = global. "WienerSoftware" = local. VCs notice name before product.
Post-Series A, rebrands cost $500K-$2M (legal, design, marketing, customer migration). Get name right at seed stage. Pre-revenue rebrand = $10K. Post-traction rebrand = $1M.
Trademark Lens analyzes SaaS names for US market viability - pronunciation clarity for Americans, USPTO+EUIPO trademark availability, domain options (.com/.io), and enterprise credibility scores vs category competitors.