Finding a name for your clothing line might not seem important after all, your clothes are your brand. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Choosing the name of your clothing line is as important as naming a child, it represents your company and will be what customers refer to you as. It must be memorable and easy to pronounce so your customers can easily refer to you. If you’re thinking of setting up a clothing line, this is one of the most important aspects of your startup business.

In this article, we’re going to give you 5 top tips for naming your clothing line!

Choose a name that sticks

A  memorable and intriguing brand name that sparks curiosity can be brilliant when building your clothing line, if you pick a bad name it could cause an expensive rebrand.

Avoid using something that is trending now, you should create something that is timeless. A name should stand the test of time and stand out from the rest. Use plosives (letters that give and explosive sound) like  B, hard C, D, hard G, K, P and T. Names like Coca-Cola and PayPal use plosives well. These letters grab our attention when spoken and can be the difference between a name being remembered or forgotten.

Avoid names with difficult or unusual spelling

Your clothing line needs an online presence, so you have to be easily findable online. If you use unusual spellings or new words it can make it difficult for your customers to find you. Avoid using names with unusual or difficult spelling as this can make it hard to find on search engines.

Not only can new words can freak people out, but they can also spell it wrong when they are searching for you. If you’re considering using a new word as a business name  ask friends and family what they think and feel when they hear it. If it aligns with your brand, great. If it doesn’t, you need to think of something else. Don’t forget to consider what the word could mean in other languages, a quick search on Google can help.

Use a name that projects your brand style

Your name should give an insight into what style of clothing you provide. For instance, if you are a gothic clothing line then Dark Angel or Black Summer would suit it but girly names like Felicity’s Wish or Savannah Dream wouldn’t work. Are there words that your target market use? Consider using them! Your audience should be able to roughly guess what style your clothing is by your name.

Check for trademarks and your domain

Check to see if your chosen company name is a registered trademark in any country you wish to trade. You can use the UK Intellectual Property Office here and the USA Trademark Database here to search.

You should always check that the domain for your chosen name is available. In general, most people expect your domain to be .com or .co.uk (both if you can!) so make sure it is available. There was a company in the UK selling Bluetooth speakers and only had the .co.uk domain, the .com was a sex toy website… Not a good mistake to have. Try to get both domains if possible and consider other extensions like .io .co and .uk

Don’t limit yourself to a place or a thing

Business is now global with a click of the button so you should never limit yourself to just one place. For instance, Chicago Designs may have a relevance to people living in Chicago but anywhere further afield – it won’t have any value to them. You could miss out on millions of potential customers by using a location in your name.

You also shouldn’t associate your clothing line with just one type of product.

Amazon originally only sold books online, but it was never called “BuyBooksOnline.com” – why is that? Jeff Bezos didn’t have a vision that limited himself to books, he knew he wanted to be the biggest in the world. That is why he named his company after the largest river in the world, the Amazon. He was also mindful that he was alphabetically clever, by beginning with A this means he is listed before others in directories and lists. Don’t limit yourself to dresses or a particular article of clothing, you could expand in the future.

Thinking up a good name for a clothing line can be difficult, but if you’re mindful of your choice you can easily choose your own name. If you’re stuck for inspiration, why not check out our names for clothing brands or try our brand name generator. We have a large community of freelancers here to help you get your branding perfect.

If you’re looking to start up a clothing line, let us know what name you’ve chosen on Twitter @Atom, we’d love to hear from you!  PS – we also have a blog helping you with your marketing strategy for your clothing line!