How Business Naming Is Changing in 2025
Business naming trends mirror broader cultural shifts. In 2025, trust, authenticity, and clarity are winning over cleverness and obscurity. Here's what's shaping how companies name themselves.
The Death of "-ify" and "-ly"
The era of Spotify-inspired suffixes is fading. Names ending in -ify, -ly, -io, and -fy feel dated and generic in 2025:
- Why they're declining: There are simply too many of them. When every startup sounds the same, none stand out.
- What's replacing them: Real words, compound words, and names with genuine meaning.
- The exception: If you're naming a developer tool or technical SaaS product, these suffixes still carry some convention value — but even that's fading.
Real Words, Real Meaning
The strongest naming trend in 2025 is using actual dictionary words that connect to your brand's purpose:
- Direct and clear: Notion, Linear, Figma, Vercel — you get a sense of what these companies value from their names.
- Metaphorical: Canva (canvas), Stripe (a clean line), Rippling (spreading effect) — real words used figuratively.
- Aspirational: Calm, Headspace, Clarity — names that embody the outcome, not the process.
The advantage of real words is instant comprehension. People don't need to learn what your name means — they already have associations with the word.
Human-First Naming
After years of cold, techy branding, companies are swinging toward warmth and personality:
- Founder names: Using your own name signals confidence and accountability — Dyson, Allbirds (from founder Tim Brown's "all birds" concept), or newer startups embracing personal branding.
- Friendly and approachable: Names that feel like a person, not a corporation — Oscar (health insurance), Lemonade (insurance), Ollie (pet food).
- Conversational names: Hey (email), Whereby (video calls), Whereby — names that sound like natural language.
Compound Words and Mashups
Combining two simple words into one is a proven strategy that's still going strong:
- Descriptive compounds: Mailchimp, WordPress, Salesforce — the name hints at what you do.
- Creative mashups: Pinterest (pin + interest), Instagram (instant + telegram), Snapchat (snap + chat)
- Modern examples: Webflow, Clockwise, Grammarly — functional but not boring.
The key is that both component words should be simple and widely understood. Obscure + obscure creates confusion.
Short and Ownable
Brevity continues to be valuable. The ideal business name in 2025 is 1-3 syllables:
- One syllable: Stripe, Plaid, Bolt, Arc — premium but hard to find available.
- Two syllables: Notion, Linear, Figma, Ripple — the sweet spot for most brands.
- Three syllables: Airtable, Datadog, Monday — still works if it's punchy.
Shorter names are easier to type, remember, and turn into domain names. Every extra syllable is friction.
Industry-Specific Trends
- Fintech: Moving from techy (PayPal era) to trustworthy and clean — Mercury, Ramp, Brex.
- Health and wellness: Calm, peaceful names that promise relief — Headspace, Noom, Talkiatry.
- Food and beverage: Playful, ingredient-forward names — Oatly, Beyond Meat, Liquid Death.
- AI and tech: Avoiding "AI" in the name (it's overused). Instead, names that convey intelligence — Anthropic, Perplexity, Cohere.
- E-commerce: Lifestyle-forward names that sell a feeling, not a product — Glossier, Everlane, Allbirds.
What to Avoid
- Generic tech sounds: Names that could be any startup — "Synergy Solutions" or "DataBridge" say nothing.
- Forced misspellings: Dropping vowels (Flickr, Tumblr) was a 2000s strategy. In 2025, it just makes you harder to find.
- Acronyms from day one: IBM and NASA earned their acronyms over decades. Starting as "XBC Technologies" is forgettable.
- Trend-chasing: If you name your company to sound like whatever's hot right now, it'll feel dated in two years.