01Trademark: search before you love it
A name can be clever, available as a domain, and still legally unusable. Search trademark databases in every market where you will operate — in the US that means the USPTO database; other regions have their own offices. Look for exact matches and confusingly similar names in related classes (software, AI services). Similar spelling with a different ending still counts as risky. For anything commercial, a professional clearance search is cheap insurance next to a rebrand.
02Domain: secure the .com early
Check your candidate at a domain registrar before you commit. The .com remains the default people will type; if it is taken, decide deliberately whether an alternative extension is acceptable for your audience. Also check common misspellings — if the obvious typo is owned by someone else, expect leaked traffic. Register the domain before you announce the name, not after.
03Search: own the first page
Search the exact name in quotes. If the first page is dominated by an existing product, company or public figure, pick another name — you will fight that association forever. Ideally the name is distinctive enough that you can own the results within months. Also check app stores: a same-named app in your category is a support-ticket generator.
04Social handles: check the big platforms
Consistent handles across major platforms make a young brand look established and are painful to change later. Check availability on the platforms that matter to your audience before finalizing. Exact-match handles are ideal; a consistent modifier (get, try, app) is an acceptable fallback.
05Pronunciation and spelling: the radio test
If you said the name on a podcast, could listeners spell it? Names that pass the radio test get more word-of-mouth and fewer misdirected searches. Avoid silent letters, creative respellings of common words, and homophones with unrelated meanings.
06Longevity: name for year five, not week one
Trendy suffixes date quickly, and narrow names box you in — a name tied to one feature becomes wrong the moment you expand. Prefer names that survive pivots and growth: broad enough for the product you will become, specific enough to be memorable now.
07Document the decision
Write down why you chose the name: the personality adjectives, the shortlist, the checks you ran and their dates. Six months later, when someone asks "did we check the trademark?", the document answers. It also makes renaming cheaper — the next team inherits your reasoning instead of starting from zero. Keep the shortlist too; if the chosen name ever fails clearance in a new market, the runner-up is ready.
08International checks
If the assistant will serve users in other languages, check each finalist for unfortunate meanings or pronunciations in those languages — a quick search plus a native speaker beats any automated tool. Also verify the name is not a common word with an awkward meaning in a major market. This check takes an afternoon and prevents the kind of launch story that becomes a cautionary tale.
Generators brainstorm; humans clear. No tool can grant trademark rights — the checklist above is what makes a name safe to ship.