“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet!” So declared Juliet Capulet in Shakespare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

I’ve always been one to insist that names don’t mean anything, and certainly, if your name was Joe or Jane, assuming it’s neither, you would be the same person as you are whatever your name happens to be; but in some cases names can matter. Take ephosting for example. When this domain was first bought over 4 years ago, the intention was to start a web hosting business; but that never worked out. It has since become a money blog; but the name ephosting.com is all wrong for a money blog. When you see the name hosting in a domain name you expect it to have something to do with web hosting. You don’t expect it to be the name of a money blog. What’s the significance of the name ephosting relevant to the subject of making money? There is no significance. But the wrong domain name won’t necessarily make or break a blog. It might confuse a few people but if they find what they’re looking for when they get to the website they won’t necessarily complain just because the domain name is all wrong. Nevertheless, it would have helped, even if it doesn’t irreparably harm, if this website had a domain name that had something to do with money, or if, given that it’s named ephosting, it had something to do with hosting of some sort. Considering it’s an Internet domain, web hosting would have been the most appropriate type of Internet business to operate with a name like ephosting.

Relevance

When it comes to your business you want your business name to be relevant. If someone is walking down the street looking for a place to eat and your restaurant is named “Pet Supplies” because your last name is “Pet” and you wanted to be clever so you figured “My last name is Pet and I’ll be supplying food so why not? It’ll be funny, people will think I’m a pet supply store when I’m really a restaurant. Won’t they be amused once they get it!”, those people will probably walk right past your restaurant and people looking for pet supplies will walk in and be none too pleased to discover you’re a restaurant and not a pet supply store. Admittedly this example is extreme and borderline ridiculous; but the point is, what you name your business can make a difference.

Simplicity

You don’t want to give your business a ridiculously complicated name. “Atwater, Harrison,Templeton,Tate, Winston, Benson,Franklin,Monroe,Rogers,Bates and Phillips” is way too long a name. You want a relevant name that’s also simple and to the point. “Myra’s Boots Jewelry Clothing Beauty Products Trinkets and Other Stuff” leaves no mystery as to what’s sold at Myra’s but just naming the store Myra’s would probably work a lot better. People are likely to just call the store Myra’s anyway.

Propriety

Giving your business a name that can be construed by groups of people to be offensive is not advisable. If enough people have a problem with your business name and complain about it you could find yourself being forced to change it if not to close down altogether. “The Nazi” as the name for your new restaurant in Manhattan will probably bring in a pro-Nazi crowd and keep out every one else. It will probably also make your restaurant a favorite site for protesters if not get it burned down. This assumes there is not a thriving establishment in Manhattan named “The Nazi”.

So what’s the point?

That which we call a rose by any other name may indeed smell as sweet, but it’s possible for a name to be harmful in some cases. Indeed, Romeo Montague would have been the same person were he named Persephone, and in those days maybe he would not have been teased about having a girl’s name, but any parent naming their male child Persephone in today’s age is setting that child up for unnecessary ridicule. Naming is important, whether you’re naming a child, titling a book, naming a business, coming up with a name for your website. Specifically in the case of naming your business and coming up with a name for your website, keep in mind that the best names are simple, appropriate and relevant.