Tips & Ideas For Naming A Boat Cleaning Business

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Last Updated on October 22, 2020

So, you are ready to start your boat cleaning business but are stuck at figuring out the best name, right? It seems like the good names are already being used and aren’t sure if you can legally use it, and the search to come up with a unique name is coming up empty.

How do you pick a name and move on?

If you’re struggling to name your boat cleaning business, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. In this article, I cover some of the top tips for naming your new business as well as how to make sure the name is legally available for you to use.

Let’s get started!

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Helpful Tips and Tricks for Naming Your Boat Cleaning Business

Naming a business is hard, especially if you don’t have any ideas or a place to start. So, before you dive in, grab a piece of paper and a pen or open up a blank spreadsheet.

Then, use it as a place to brainstorm ideas and write down words or phrases that come to mind as you go through the tips below.

From there, we’ll talk about how to narrow things down and land on the perfect name.

1. Keep It as Short as Possible

Short business names are usually snappier, catchier, and easier to remember. Ideally, you want to stick to two to five syllables and hopefully no more than 25 characters total.

However, the shorter the name, the better.

With that said, there are exceptions to this, and it’s not a hard rule. But, when you think about huge, notable brands, which ones come to mind?

Nike. Apple. Ikea. Febreeze. Target. Honeywell.

They’re easy to remember because they’re short, simple, and brandable.

Obviously, there are exceptions to these rules. But typically, the shorter and simpler your name, the easier it is for everyone to remember.

2. Avoid Words That Are Hard to Hear and Pronounce

Voice to text and voice search is more popular now than ever before. So, it’s important to consider making your name easy to pronounce and hear.

To do this, avoid using:

Commonly misspelled words
Complex terms that are hard to spell
Words that have several pronunciations
Homophones like to, too, and two

Try to keep things as concise and simple as possible.

3. Consider Nautical Related Terms

Since you’re opening a boat cleaning business, it might make sense to use nautical and boat-related words, especially if you’re feeling stuck. It may help just to start brainstorming terms, phrases, and words to get all your ideas down on paper.

A few examples of this could include; Smooth Sailing Boat Cleaning, The Boat Care Company, On Dock Detailing, or Deck Hands Detailing.

For a boost of creativity, expand use the thesaurus to find synonyms around the words of what your business does. You can either use the thesaurus function from your word processor or thesaurus.com to develop additional synonyms.

From there, you can cross off bad ideas or any terms you don’t like.

4. Phrases Your Audience and Competition Uses

Your business exists for your target audience, so it’s important to consider phrases and terms boat owners use when hiring a boat cleaning business.

There are quite a few places you can look to see what your customers (and competitors) are saying, including:

Facebook groups, posts, and stories
Forums related to the boating
Competitor websites, brochures, and flyers
Trade journals
Magazines or blogs

Alternatively, you can ask friends or relatives in your target audience. Hearing it directly from them may help you brainstorm and narrow down your choices.

Remember to avoid anything limiting your business’s future growth if you decide to go in another direction down the road.

5. Neighborhoods, Cities, and Nicknames

Including the name of your city, street, or neighborhood is an excellent way to encourage local shopping and create a strong sense of community in your area.

You can also think about nicknames for your city or neighborhood, as well. Here are some examples to use as inspiration:

Portside Boat Detailing
Tampa Bay Boat Cleaning
Buzzards Bay Boat Wash

With that said, make sure the name you choose isn’t limiting if you decide to move or expand your boat cleaning business down the road.

6. Incorporate Your Name

If you’re still struggling to find the perfect name, consider using your name, a nickname, or something personal and unique to you.

This is a fantastic way to build a personal brand if that’s something you want to do. Some great examples of this in action include:

Boat Boys Cleaning
Stine Marine Detail
Christy’s Boat Cleaning

If you go this route, keep in mind it may make it harder to sell your boat cleaning business later on.

Still, Needing Inspiration?

7. Look at the Names of Other Boat Cleaning Services

Here is a list of existing boat cleaning business names that may help give you some creative ideas. While many of these names may be available for you to use, be sure to check first to be sure it can be used.

Tips on how to check business name availability are after the list of names!

A Plus Marine Detailing
Absolute Boat & Yacht Care
Absolute Boat Detail
All Pro Cleaners
Aloha Marine Detailing
American Yacht Maintenance
Appearance Plus
Arizona Reflections Mobile
Barracuda Boatcare
Boat Angel Outreach Center
Boat Cleaning Fort Lauderdale
Boat Detailers Of NW Florida
Boat Guys
Boat Keepers
Bruce’s Yacht Detailing
Captains Crew Cleaning
Chemist Yacht Detailing
Choptank Boatworks
Classic Detail
Clean Image Boat Detailing
Clean Team
Clean Works Boat & RV Cleaning
Cleanup Express
Coastal Marine Detailing
Complete Yacht Care
Custom Boat Detailing
Debbie’s Boat Detailing
Destin Boat Care
Detail Dave
Docks Boat Cleaning
Dockside Detailing
Dockside Yacht Care
Dodd’s Mobile Marine Detail
East End Marine Detailing
Elite Boat Detail
Emerald Coast Clean Werks
Emerald Marine
Excel Professional Detailing
First Mate Yacht Service
Flat Island Boatworks
Florida Boat Detailing
I Clean Hulls
Intercoastal Boat Cleaning
Iron Moose Hull Cleaning
It’s Aboat Time Boat Cleaning
J & J Boat Detailing
Jeffreys Advanced Yacht Care
J’s Underwater Service
Key West Boat & Yacht Care
Kleen All Boats
Knot Dirty Boat Detailing
Legends Detailing Co
Marine Detailing
Marine Pro Clean
Mermaids Boat Cleaning
Mobile Marine Detailing
Navesink Yachts Detailing
Pacific Boat Detailing
Prestige Yacht Care
Pro Clean
Professional Yacht Service
Scrubsters Mobile Detailing
Scum Suckers
Seashine Boat Cleaning
Seaworthy Yacht Care
Serene Pressure Cleaning
Ship Shape Boat Detailing
Ship To Shore Detailing
Squeaky Clean Mobile Yacht
Sun Kissed Boat Cleaning
Sunshine Detailing
Ultimate Yacht Service
Walt Singer Boat Detailing
Waters Edge Boat Detailing
Way Cleaner Boat & RV Detailing
Westwind Boat Washing & Waxing
Xtreme Marine Detail Xtreme

Finding the Perfect Name: Putting It All Together

By now, you should have a lengthy list of words, phrases, and terms you can use in your business name. At this point, I highly recommend going through and removing any that are hard to spell or pronounce.

Now, you can start combining pieces together until something stands out. It may help to create a list of potential names you can use. From there, you can narrow things down to your favorites.

But before you make your final decision, it’s important that your new name passes a few tests.

Say It Out Loud

Make sure you say your new name out loud. It may look great as a logo, domain name, and on a business card. But it also needs to sound good when you say it out loud.

You can also sit down with someone and talk about your business. Does saying the name in casual conversation sound natural? If not, you may want to consider something simpler or easier to say.

Logo Design

Lastly, think about how to incorporate your new name into a logo. Logos should be simple, memorable, and indicative of your brand.

Take Apple, for example. Their business name easily incorporates into a logo. And today, it’s a household symbol that everyone immediately recognizes.

A logo is an important part of your brand identity, so don’t forget to consider turning your name into a memorable logo as you make your final decision.

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Checking the Availability of Your Top Considerations

At this point, you should have several top considerations to choose from. And the best way to narrow it down further is to check each one for availability.

This step is vital because using a name that someone else is using could be very costly, time-consuming to rebrand your business, and possibly embarrassing. There are several places to look to check whether a name is available to use, so let’s walk through each one.

Trademark Search

Trademarks are the most critical, so we’ll start here.

If a name or phrase is trademarked, you’re not allowed to use it in a similar capacity. So, run a trademark search for each business name you’re considering and cross off those that aren’t available.

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Local Search

Just because there isn’t a federal trademark on a name doesn’t mean the name you want is available. That’s because there is a trademark known as a common law trademark. A common law trademark isn’t filed anywhere but provides someone who uses that name in commerce some limited rights in their geographical area to use the name. It can be hard to define how far geographically these rights extend as each industry is different. Still, at a basic level, someone can’t open a business and name it the same or similar name as a competing business in town. If you think the name could potentially create confusion with customers, it is usually best to just find another one to use to avoid potential legal issues down the road.

To do a local search, open up the phone book (if you still have one), and do a Google search to see if there are any local competitors with a similar business name to the one you want to use.

Cross off any similar names from your list and take the rest and let’s keep checking.

State Entity Search (If Applicable)

If you plan to register your boat cleaning business as a corporation or LLC, you have to register with a unique business name. Each state requires every corporation or LLC to register a unique name for their entity. This doesn’t necessarily protect your name from anyone else using it, but nobody can register a corporation or LLC under the same name in your state.

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If you find the name is in use, cross it off your list and move on.

Domain Name Availability

Website addresses aren’t as critical as the first three searches, but it’s still worth doing. Typically, you want your domain name to be “yourbusinessname.com” without any numbers, dashes, etc.

It’s easiest for customers to remember, but these are hard to come by.

However, you can explore other configurations and extensions if your preferred domain name isn’t available. Just remember your customers may have a more difficult time finding you online.

You can start with. Type in the domain name you want to use to see if it’s available. The tool also returns other possibilities you may want to consider.

Social Media Profiles

Next, especially if you are stuck between a couple of names, check and see if anyone is already using your potential boat cleaning business names on social media. Consider which platforms you plan to use and start with those.

Keep in mind you may have to shorten your company name for some platforms. Twitter only allows 15 characters, for example.

Start with your preferred platforms and do a quick search for your name. If nothing pops up, that likely means no one is using it, and you’re good to go.

Example: Someone is using startingyourbusiness on Instagram, so I would have to choose a different handle, making it more difficult for customers to find me.

Hopefully, you now have some good name ideas for your boat cleaning business. Once you have this list narrowed down to just a few and researched that they are all available, start asking friends, family, and potential customers their thoughts to get feedback, and then pick your perfect boat cleaning business name!