Your name might be crystal clear in London and incomprehensible in Glasgow. 23% of UK businesses discover pronunciation issues only after regional expansion, when it's too expensive to fix.
Test Across Accents
RP (London), Scouse (Liverpool), Geordie (Newcastle), Scottish, Welsh. Your name exists in all of them.
The Phone Test
Call your business name over the phone to people in different regions. Can they spell it back correctly?
Avoid Ambiguous Vowels
"Path," "bath," "grass" - short A in north, long A in south. Creates brand inconsistency.
Rhotic R's
Scottish and some Northern accents pronounce R's hard. "Carter" sounds different in Edinburgh vs London.
Warning: Regional pronunciation differences create spelling variations. "Metre" vs "meter" isn't just spelling - it's how people hear it.
Welsh Pronunciation
If operating in Wales, test with Welsh speakers. "LL" and "DD" sounds don't exist in English.
Generic Names Can't Be Trademarked
If you want legal protection and a name competitors can't copy, make it distinctive from day one. Pronunciation clarity supports distinctiveness.