How to Create a Memorable Business Name to Stand Out in a Sea of Freelancers

If you want clients and colleagues to remember you—and think of you first for freelance work, create a business name. Most freelancers use their personal names. So if you create a memorable business name, you’ll stand out in a sea of freelancers.

Along with helping you stand out in a sea of freelancers, having a memorable business name also makes you look:

More professional
Well-established, which is especially helpful if you’re a new or newer freelancer.

So why don’t more freelancers have business names?

If you’re like most freelancers, you didn’t know much about running a business when you started freelancing. And maybe you:

Saw that other freelancers use their own names and thought that was normal.
Didn’t know how to choose a business name.
Didn’t know how much a business name could help you boost your business.

It’s never too late to create a business name—even if you’ve been freelancing for years. If you’re just starting out in freelancing, having a business name will help you succeed faster.

Combine AI and your human touch to create a memorable business name, which is part of your freelance brand. Here are 10 steps to a memorable business name.

1. Take Your Time

Creative processes like choosing a business name take time. “There’s no set amount of time it should take for you to settle on a name for your company, but know that it could take six months of iterating before you make a final decision,” says Graham Winfrey in “How to Name Your Business: 10 Things You Need to Know.”

Naming a freelance business shouldn’t take six months, but you do need to come up with ideas, think about them, test them, and repeat this process until your business name is just right. Expect to spend about 3 to 6 weeks doing this.

2. Appeal to Your Ideal Clients

Choose a business name that will appeal to clients. It doesn’t have to be—and probably won’t be—unique.

My business name is:

Lori De Milto Writer for Rent LLC

This name immediately gives clients a key benefit of working with me: they can hire me only when they need freelance help.

You can include your personal name, like I did. But your personal name alone isn’t memorable.

3. Say What You Do

Include the type of freelancing you do in your business name (e.g., writing, editing, graphic design, web design, or photography). The “Writer” in “Writer for Rent” clearly identifies what I do.

If you want to be a bit abstract, for example, using “Studio” instead of “graphic design,” then develop a tagline that explicitly says what you do (see Step 9). “The more your name communicates to consumers about your business, the less effort you must exert to explain it,” say Entrepreneur staff in How To Name a Business.

At the same time, try not to be too narrow if you’re thinking about expanding your services later.

4. Be Clear and if Possible, Clever

Clarity is key, but a clever name is optional. If you can think of a clever name that appeals to your ideal clients and is clear, that’s great. Being clear is far more important than being clever. If you can’t come up with a clever name after going through the steps listed here, don’t worry about it. A name that focuses on your ideal clients and says what you do is memorable enough.

Use real words or phrases. Don’t chose something so obscure that people won’t know what it means or how to spell or say it.

5. Get Inspired by Other Freelancers

Look at the business names of other freelancers in your field. Find them through your professional association member directories and LinkedIn groups.

Studying other freelancers’ websites and LinkedIn profiles will spark ideas. Take notes about what you like and don’t like. But don’t copy their names. And beware of bad business names by other freelancers.

6. Brainstorm a List of Business Name Ideas

Start thinking about possible names for your freelance business. You can start with human brainstorming or use AI to help you brainstorm. Don’t worry about being unique. Your business name just needs to be different than other freelancers’ business names.

Human brainstorming

Think about your key marketing messages. Write down any ideas for business names that come to you, without judgment or editing. Many experts recommend using a pen and paper for this type of work, but you can type them if you prefer.

Use an online thesaurus to find synonyms for the words and phrases you’ve identified. Combine words and phrases in different ways and see how they look and sound together.

Brainstorming with AI

AI is useful for generating ideas for business names. You probably won’t find the perfect name, but you’ll get ideas for words you might want to use or combine in different ways. When I experimented with this, ChatGPT provided better names than Perplexity. But use both.

There are also AI business name generators, some of which are free. I tried Namelix.com and didn’t like most of the results. I think ChatGPT and Perplexity worked better.

Here’s an AI prompt formula for business names, using information from your value statement:

Create a list of 20 business name for a freelance [WRITER OR EDITOR] [SPECIALTY] [TARGET MARKETS] [HOW YOU HELP YOUR CLIENTS MEET THEIR NEEDS FROM VALUE STATEMENT]

Here’s a sample AI prompt for business names used on my value statement:

Create a list of 20 business name for a freelance medical writer who helps clients engage their audiences through targeted medical content. I work with hospitals, disease-focused health organizations, and other health and healthcare organizations. I write for consumers, patients, physicians, and other audiences.

Continue to brainstorm

If you use AI and the human touch, combine your ideas into one list. Set that list aside. Over the next few days or weeks, brainstorm ideas as you do other things away from your desk. Some of your best ideas will probably come to you when you’re not actively thinking about a business name. For example, I get lots of ideas when I’m showering, and keep a notepad and pen by the bathroom.

Continue to write your ideas down. Review and refine your list again, including further prompting on AI.

7. Get Feedback from Colleagues and Maybe Clients Too

“Once you have a shortlist of names you like, it’s a good idea to see how other people respond to each one,” says Winfrey.

Ask other freelancers who do great marketing and other colleagues what they think of your ideas. Ask them which they like best and why. If you have clients you know well, ask them for their opinion too.

You can do this quickly and easily through SurveyMonkey with a free account. Ask people to rank their top 5 choices.

8. Make Sure the Business Name is Available

Narrow your list down to the 5 or 10 best names. Do a Google search to see if any other business is using these names. If you include your name, it’s unlikely the business name will be taken.

Also do a search to make sure the domain name is available. You can do this on the WHOIS database of domain names. You may want to only include part of your name in your domain name, like I did. My domain name is “writerforrent.net.”

If the domain name you want isn’t available, cross that name off of your list or modify it. As soon as you’ve gotten final feedback from colleagues (see Step 10) and chosen your business name, buy the domain name.

9. Get Feedback on Your Business Name Ideas, Again

Take the best name and tagline combinations and get feedback again. Ask other freelancers, other colleagues, and well-known clients what they think. Then choose your business name.

10. Use Your Business Name on All Marketing

Start using your business name on your email signature, business cards, website, LinkedIn and other social media profiles, and all other marketing you do.

Learn More About Creating a Memorable Freelance Business Name

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