It seems that latest iteration of web company names do the following: start with a "regular" word, then start dropping vowels.
Flickr, et al.
Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
41–50 of 52 posts
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#42it is easy, you take a bunch of popular sites and combine into one mega name. Myfacebookinrtube.com
yooglebookapedia.com
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#43I go to thesaurus.com and try mutilating synonyms of what I want to convey. I mash word combos together, along with substituting similar sounding made up syllables. If you tell me what you're working on and want to convey, I'll take a crack at it. I bet others on here will too. Some examples of my creations (I've only paid a squatter once): Testomatix: test + automation + "ix" added in for high-tech-soundiness and an…
A friend's favourite was: sport + portal = sportal
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#44Think about what your application's supposed to do - what are its benefits for users, then come up with some metaphors for that. Should be terms that give people a general concept of what it is that you're offering. Then use the various domain search engines mentioned here until you find a free domain. BTW, make sure you can get the .com, .net, .org, and that all the rest (.biz, .us, .eu) are free. Once you're certai…
A former client named his educational enterprise after his building which was named after his area. He was able to register the .com despite .net, .org, .co.uk and .sch.uk being registered. How fluky!
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#45Science fiction has been very fruitful for band names, such as Duran Duran and T'Pau.
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#46Domain availability. Think of a two/three word description for what your app is, see if it's available. Go to the thesaurus and look up alternates. http://instantdomainsearch.com/ roxx
or ajaxwhois.com (not quite as fast, but does more than com/net/org for delicious-type names)
or http://domify.com -- it bruteforces the synonyms for you and checks availability
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#47www.microsoft.ac is available through www.speednames.com That's a great name, I'm sure you will get a lot of publicity if you do your PR right. All you need is a good lawyer ;-)
Do you remember the www.mikerowsoft.com story :)
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#48Domain availability. Think of a two/three word description for what your app is, see if it's available. Go to the thesaurus and look up alternates. http://instantdomainsearch.com/ roxx
or http://pickydomains.com/
description: If you need a great, memorable, easy to pronounce domain name that EXACTLY describes what your website is all about - you are in the right place. This is what we do. We find available domain names that are descriptive, concise and are easily remembered. And if we can’t find one, or you don’t like any available domain names we suggest – you don’t pay anything. PickyDomains.Com is completely RISK FREE.
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#49Its hard to do. It took me 2 months to settle on fotoblur for my project. Try combining different words together and you'll find something unique. The other day I just thought of the url linkolicious.com ...and guess what, It was available.
Nice try...I already registered it :)!
Re: Ask YC: How did you choose a name for your startup?
#50I go to thesaurus.com and try mutilating synonyms of what I want to convey. I mash word combos together, along with substituting similar sounding made up syllables. If you tell me what you're working on and want to convey, I'll take a crack at it. I bet others on here will too. Some examples of my creations (I've only paid a squatter once): Testomatix: test + automation + "ix" added in for high-tech-soundiness and an…
A friend's favourite was: sport + portal = sportal
I like that--it's a good name. That's the spirit of what I tried for in most of my names.