Looking for a good name for your automotive customization shop? If you’ve done any searching for a name for your shop, you may feel like all the good ones are already taken. You want to find the perfect name, but how do you make the final decision?
If you’re struggling to name your shop, 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!
Related: an auto customization shop
Helpful Tips and Tricks for Naming Your Auto Customization Shop
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 Auto-Related Terms
Since you’re opening an auto customization shop, it might make sense to use car or driving-related terms in the name, especially if you’re feeling stuck. It may help to just start brainstorming terms, phrases, and words to get all your ideas down on paper.
A few examples of this could include; American Classic Customs, Finish Line Motorsports, or Hot Rod Garage.
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 come up with 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 they use when talking about cars.
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 custom cars
- Competitor websites
- 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. What’s Your Specialty?
Do you specialize in a particular brand or type of car? Maybe you specialize in Corvettes or imports. Perhaps you focus on paintwork or interiors.
Regardless of your specialty, consider alluding to it in the name of your business.
6. 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:
- West Coast Customs
- Arizona Auto Trends Motorsports
- Valley Street Rods & Classics
With that said, make sure the name you choose isn’t limiting if you decide to move or expand your auto customization shop down the road.
7. Incorporate Your Name
If you’re still struggling to find the perfect name, consider using your first 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:
- Mike’s Stripes
- Impala Mike’s
- Little Joe’s Hot Rods
If you go this route, keep in mind it may make it harder to sell your auto customization shop later on.
Still Needing Inspiration?
Here is a list of existing auto customization shop names that may help give you some creative business name 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!
- 1 Up Custom Automotive
- 310 Exotics
- 5 Points Collision
- A & A Corvette
- Accent Stripes
- Advanced Restorations
- Advanced Vehicle Modifications
- Adventure Bound Offroad
- Altitude Adjustments
- American Classic Customs
- American Legends Hot Rods
- Anaheim Rod & Custom
- Animal Performance
- Apex Customs
- Arizona Auto Trends Motorsports
- Arkansas Customs
- Attitude Hotrods
- Auto Bahn
- Auto Couture
- Auto Custom & Collision Center
- Auto Fashions
- Auto Kustomz Unlimited
- Auto Kustum
- Auto Show Offz
- Auto Trim Design Of Birmingham
- Bad Ass Rides
- Better Bodies Motorsport
- Billy Goat Rods & Customs
- Born Vintage
- Borne Fast Motorsports
- Boss Motor Coach
- C W’s Hot Rods
- California Hot Rods
- Car Barn Auto Sales
- Car Craft
- Car Factory
- Central Auto Customs
- Cerberus Customz
- Chop Shop Customs
- Choppin’ Block
- Circle City Hot Rods
- Classic Auto Restoration
- Classic Car Customs
- Classic Heaven
- Classics To Customs Automotive
- Classy Chassis Restorations
- Coast To Coast Customs
- Color Bomb
- Concept Customs
- Cool Cat Customs
- Creative Concepts Auto Customs
- Creative Concepts By Kyle
- Custom Mini Shop
- D C Customs
- Da Rod Shop
- Danko Reproductions
- Danny’s Custom Creations
- Dave’s Custom Rods
- Deetz Off Road Specialties
- Dog House Auto Restoration
- Drag & Drift Works
- Drop-It Conversions
- Echelon Autosports
- Eddies Custom Cars
- Ej’s Speed Action
- Elite Auto Salon
- Elite Motorsports
- Enhanced Customs
- Extreme Automotive
- Finish Line Enterprise
- Foley Brothers Custom Works
- Gabe’s Muscle Creations
- Galaxy Street Rods
- Genesis 1 Auto Concepts
- Glisson’s Motor Sports
- Hack Shack
- Hair Trigger Customs
- Hawk Speed & Custom
- Highway 99 Hot Rods
- Hot Rod Customs
- Hot Rod Garage
- Hot Rod Motorsports
- Hot Rod Restorators
- Hot Rod Warehouse
- Hot Rods By Tri C
- Impala Mike’s
- Integrity Customs
- J D M-Phoenix
- Jayhawk Motorsports Group
- Jeep Thrillz Off-Road
- K Daddys Kustomz
- Kar Stop
- KARZ
- Kickstart Motorsports
- Kimmins Custom Fabrication
- KOOL Car Kustom
- Kustom Carz
- Lex Offroad
- Little Joe’s Hot Rods
- Lone Wolf Customs
- Lucky 7 Customs
- Master Mechanic
- Mike’s Stripes
- Monster Customs
- Motor City Solutions
- Motorsports Authority
- Mountain Home Street Rods
- New England Speed & Customs
- Oceanside Rod & Custom
- Olly’s Customs
- Orange County Hotrods
- Pattys Rod Shop
- Paul Atkins Custom Auto
- Pit Stop Auto Shop
- Premier Vans
- R & R Street Rods
- Renew Your Ride
- Resurrection Customs & Hotrods
- Ridin High Sittin Low
- Rods R Us
- Ron’s Colorworks
- Show & Shine
- Speedway Customs
- Stephens Performance
- Striped By Louie
- The Car Guys
- Thunder Diesel & Performance
- Time Machine
- Top Speed Labs
- Trinity Auto Works
- True Bliss Customs
- True Colors Customs
- True Customs
- Ultimate Auto Concepts
- Uneek Auto Detail & Custom
- Unforgotten Customs
- Unique Auto Works & Restoration
- Unleashed Motorsports
- Valley Street Rods & Classics
- Vintage Era Kustom Kar Builders
- Vintage Metalworks
- White Collar Customs
- Wicked Wrench Body Shop
- Wild West Rods & Customs
- Wizard Fabrication
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.
Related: .
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, but 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 auto customization shop 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 auto customization shop 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 ideas to name your auto customization shop. 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 auto customization shop name!
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