The CLICKED Test: seven questions every good name should pass

Coming up with names is easy. Coming up with a good one is much harder. A name can sound clever in a brainstorm and still fail when somebody tries to spell it. It can describe your product perfectly and be impossible to protect. Or it can have a great domain and be so forgettable that nobody remembers it a day later.

So a name has to do more than sound good. The CLICKED Test is NameClicked's way of breaking that down into seven questions you can ask of any name:

A name doesn't have to be perfect on every one. But knowing where it's strong and where it's weak can stop you falling in love with the wrong name.

C: Clear

Can people actually take the name in? Ideally, somebody should be able to hear it, say it and type it without needing an explanation.

• Is it easy to pronounce?
• Is the spelling reasonably obvious?
• Could someone hear it once and find it later?
• Is it likely to be misheard as something else?
• Do you keep having to explain how it's written?

Invented names often struggle here. That doesn't make them bad, but every bit of friction has a cost. A useful question: if you told someone the name in a noisy café, could they search for it later?

L: Likeable

A technically good name can still leave you cold. Likeability isn't about whether everyone personally likes the name; it's about whether it creates the right kind of reaction. Does it have rhythm? Does it sound good aloud? Does it feel right for the product?

Good names often create an image, a feeling or a small moment of curiosity. Some feel energetic, some reassuring; others feel playful, premium or technical. What matters is that the feeling supports what you're building. Then ask yourself: would I be happy saying this name hundreds of times over the next few years?

I: Individual

A name can be clear and attractive and still sound almost identical to five competitors. Individuality means standing apart. Search the name and its likely misspellings, and look at competitors, app stores, domains and company names.

• Does the name feel distinctive?
• Are similar names already everywhere?
• Could people confuse you with another product?
• Will search engines understand that the word refers to you?
• Can you build a recognisable identity around it?

Being different isn't only a branding nicety. It makes every bit of marketing easier.

C: Connected

A good name has some relationship with the thing it represents. That doesn't mean it has to describe the product literally. Highly descriptive names are often hard to tell apart and hard to protect.

Look for a useful connection instead. The name might suggest what the product does, evoke the feeling of using it or carry a metaphor. Or it might simply make more sense once somebody knows the product. Ask: does the name help the story, or get in its way? Ideally it gives people a clue without trying to explain everything.

K: Keepable

A great name you can't realistically use isn't much help. Keepability is about whether you can build a practical digital identity around it.

• Is a sensible domain available?
• Are the social handles that matter obtainable?
• Can you use the name in the app stores you need?
• Are there obvious company-name clashes?
• Can you use roughly the same identity everywhere?

Perhaps the exact .com has gone but a good .co.uk, .uk, .co or another suitable ending is free. That may be perfectly fine; see does the .com really matter? Equally, if you have to add odd prefixes, hyphens and extra words everywhere, the name may be telling you something. A name can be technically “available” and still be hard to build around. Ask: can I realistically build a home for this name?

E: Expandable

One of the most overlooked naming questions is: what happens if this works? Products change. Features get added, audiences widen and businesses move into neighbouring categories. A name that's wonderfully descriptive at launch can become a constraint later.

Imagine the product is ten times bigger than you expect. Does the name still fit? Could it carry other products, plans or markets? Does it describe one feature or one technology that might disappear? This is what people mean when they ask whether a name has legs. The best names give a company room to grow into them.

D: Defensible

Finally, the question that can outweigh almost everything else: can you actually use the name safely? A name can score brilliantly on memorability, relevance and domains and still be a poor choice if another business has strong prior rights to something confusingly similar. Look at:

• identical and similar trade marks for related goods or services;
• companies, products and apps already trading in your field;
• alternative spellings and names that sound the same;
• important overseas markets, where they're relevant.

This isn't just another point on a checklist. A serious legal conflict can rule out an otherwise excellent name, and checking a domain is not the same as checking whether you have the right to use a name. How to check a product name for trade marks in the UK explains how to search the register.

A good name doesn't have to score perfectly

There's a tension running through all seven tests:

• A descriptive name may be strong on Clear and Connected but weak on Individual and Defensible.
• An invented name may be distinctive and protectable but harder to spell at first.
• A broad name may be very Expandable while saying little about what the product does.

There's rarely a perfect answer; naming is about understanding the trade-offs. The point of the CLICKED Test isn't to make every name look the same. It's to show where a name is genuinely strong and where enthusiasm may be hiding a problem. Not every weakness weighs the same, though: a slightly awkward domain is a trade-off, while a serious trade mark conflict is a stop sign. What makes a good product name? goes deeper into these trade-offs.

Putting the test to work

• To work through a shortlist step by step, use how to evaluate a product name.
• For a tick-box version to copy into your notes, use the product naming checklist.
• To see the test applied to a real name, read how we evaluated the name “NameClicked”.

Has your name CLICKED?

Run your shortlist through the seven tests: Clear. Likeable. Individual. Connected. Keepable. Expandable. Defensible. You may find that the name you loved is weaker than you thought. Or that an unusual name has strengths that weren't obvious at first. Either way, that's the point where a naming decision starts to rest on evidence rather than instinct. And occasionally, one name simply clicks.

How NameClicked can help

Add your shortlist to NameClicked and each name is assessed on the questions behind the CLICKED Test, with the reasons shown. A Full Assessment adds live domain checks and UK trade mark screening. Social handles aren't checked automatically yet, so check those yourself. Trade mark screening is in preview: until a licensed data provider is connected, its results are clearly labelled sample data, not the real register. For the detailed criteria, weights and rules underneath, see how NameClicked scores a name.