Name Shape, Length and Invented Words: What Makes a Name Easy to Remember
After the ending and the risks, the next question is how a name is built. Three checks look at this: the shape and length of the name, whether it contains a topic word, and whether an invented word is pronounceable.
Hyphens and digits
The check fails names with a hyphen or with digits in them. A hyphen makes a name harder to say and type and is often read as a sign of a lower-quality name; digits are easy to confuse when spoken, such as a numeral against a spelled-out word.
Length
Names up to twelve characters count as a suitable length. From thirteen to seventeen characters the check warns that the name gets harder to remember and pass on; beyond that it fails the name, and at the extremes it advises against it. Very short names of two characters or fewer are valuable but practically impossible to register.
Length is about the name itself, not the ending: count the letters before the dot.
A topic word helps people connect
The topic check looks for a recognisable word from one of many subject areas, such as cooking, travel or finance, inside the name. A name with a topic word tells people what it is about before they visit. Its absence is only a warning: an invented name works without one, but then it has to carry more of the explaining itself.
Invented words
For names that are not in the dictionary, the coinage check asks whether the result is pronounceable. A pronounceable invented word, one that alternates consonants and vowels in the way that many successful modern names do, passes. An arbitrary string of letters that cannot be pronounced fails.
The check judges how finished the name is. It says nothing about whether the name will be successful or valuable.
Putting it together
A good starting point is a short name, up to twelve characters, built from one or two real words or a pronounceable coinage, with no hyphen or digits, ending in .com. Then say it aloud, search the trademark registers and run it through the name check once more.