Clever names are the ones your team can’t stop talking about in Slack. Sellable names are the ones customers can remember, pronounce, search, and confidently recommend—without you in the room to explain the joke. The gap between those two outcomes is where naming projects often derail, especially for founders who confuse “creative” with “commercial.”
Why “clever” and “sellable” aren’t the same goal
A clever name is optimized for internal delight: it signals wit, originality, or insider knowledge. A sellable name is optimized for market performance: it reduces friction across discovery, trust, word-of-mouth, and repeat recall.
Here’s the key difference:
- Clever names depend on context. They often require a wink, a reference, or an explanation to land.
- Sellable names stand on their own. They communicate enough meaning (or at least confidence) without extra effort.
In practice, cleverness isn’t “bad.” It’s just frequently overweighted during naming decisions because the people choosing the name are not the people buying the product. Your team has unlimited context. Your customer has none.
The hidden costs of clever names (that don’t show up in the brainstorm)
A clever name can feel like a branding shortcut: “If it’s smart, people will notice.” But in the real world, cleverness can create measurable drag. Common failure modes include:
- Pronunciation friction: If customers hesitate before saying it out loud, referrals drop.
- Spelling friction: If customers can’t spell it reliably, search and direct traffic suffer.
- Meaning opacity: If the name doesn’t hint at category or benefit, your marketing has to work harder.
- Tone mismatch: A joke-y or overly quirky name can undermine trust in serious categories (finance, healthcare, security).
- International pitfalls: Wordplay rarely survives translation; unintended meanings can.
- Legal and domain constraints: Clever names often cluster around puns and common words—exactly where trademarks and domains are most crowded.
A name doesn’t need to be literal. But it does need to be operational—usable across the messy realities of sales calls, podcasts, app stores, procurement, and customer support.
What makes a name “sellable”: a practical definition
A sellable name increases the probability that a stranger will:
- Notice it
- Understand it enough to categorize it
- Remember it
- Repeat it accurately
- Find it again
- Trust it
- Choose it
That’s it. A sellable name is a conversion asset.
If you want a simple litmus test, ask: Does this name make the next step easier? (Click, search, ask for a demo, tell a colleague, sign up.) If it adds friction, it’s not sellable—no matter how clever it is.
The Clever vs. Sellable scorecard (use this in your next naming meeting)
Below is a founder-friendly checklist you can actually apply. Rate each candidate name from 1–5 on each dimension, then compare totals.
1) Clarity: “Do people get what lane we’re in?”
Sellable names don’t always describe the product, but they anchor it. They help buyers file you into a mental category.
- Strong: hints at outcome, category, or vibe aligned with the market
- Weak: could be anything; requires explanation; feels like an inside joke
Founder prompt: If someone sees only the name on a slide, can they guess whether you’re a fintech, a snack brand, or a dev tool?
2) Sayability: “Can it be spoken on a call without awkwardness?”
If a name is hard to say, it’s hard to spread.
Check for:
- syllable overload
- ambiguous stress (where to emphasize)
- consonant clusters
- “Wait—how do you pronounce that?” moments
Rule of thumb: If people consistently ask how to say it, you’ve introduced a tax on word-of-mouth.
3) Spellability & hearability: “Can people type it correctly after hearing it once?”
This is where clever names often break. If your name is homophone-heavy, stylized, or intentionally misspelled, you may be forcing customers into a guessing game.
Test it quickly:
- Say the name out loud to 5 people.
- Ask them to text it to you.
- Count how many versions you get.
If accuracy is low, your search and referrals will be too.
4) Memorability: “Does it stick without being confusing?”
Clever names can be memorable to the people who get the reference. Sellable names are memorable to the broader market.
Memorability comes from:
- distinct sound patterns
- clean structure
- strong mental imagery (when relevant)
- easy repetition
Avoid “forgettable cleverness”—names that are witty but not sticky.
5) Trust & tone: “Does it feel credible in our category?”
In some markets, playful is powerful. In others, it’s a liability.
Ask:
- Would a CFO feel comfortable writing this on a budget line?
- Would a hospital, bank, or enterprise buyer take the email seriously?
- Does the tone match the price point?
Sellable names don’t have to be boring. They have to be believable.
6) Differentiation: “Is it distinct where it matters?”
A name can be unique in a brainstorm and still blend in on a results page.
Check your competitive set:
- Do competitors share common prefixes/suffixes? (e.g., -ly, -ify, -AI, -labs)
- Are you choosing a name that sounds like a dozen others in your category?
- Does it get confused with an adjacent brand?
Differentiation is not just about originality—it’s about avoiding mix-ups.
7) Ownability: “Can we protect and use it?”
This is where “sellable” becomes real. If you can’t own it, you can’t scale it.
Consider:
- trademark availability (in your classes and geographies)
- domain availability (at least a workable primary domain)
- social handles
- app store conflicts
A name that can’t be protected becomes expensive later—rebrands, legal disputes, and lost equity.
Note: This isn’t legal advice, but it is a strategic reality. Treat clearance as part of naming, not an afterthought.
The three naming traps that create “clever but unsellable” brands
Trap #1: The inside-joke name
These names feel great internally because they capture company lore. Externally, they feel random.
Symptom: “It’s a reference to…” is the first sentence of your explanation.
Fix: If you love the story, move it to your brand narrative. Let the name do lighter work.
Trap #2: The puzzle name
Puzzle names are designed to be decoded. The problem: most customers won’t bother.
Symptom: The name requires a mental leap (or a second read) to understand.
Fix: Reduce cognitive load. Your customer’s brain is already busy evaluating options.
Trap #3: The aesthetic-only name
Some names are chosen because they “sound cool” or “look good on a hoodie.” That’s not nothing—but it’s not enough.
Symptom: The name has vibe, but no strategic anchor (category, benefit, positioning).
Fix: Pair vibe with a clear positioning system: tagline, descriptor, and consistent messaging.
A repeatable framework: how founders can choose sellable names without killing creativity
You don’t have to choose between “boring” and “brilliant.” You have to choose between friction and flow. Here’s a process that protects creativity while ensuring commercial viability.
Step 1: Define the job the name must do
Write 2–3 non-negotiables. Examples:
- Must feel enterprise-trustworthy
- Must be easy to pronounce globally
- Must not imply we’re only for one niche
- Must support premium pricing
This becomes your filter.
Step 2: Decide your naming style (and why)
Common styles in product naming:
- Descriptive: Clear, lower risk, harder to own (e.g., “Invoice Manager”)
- Suggestive: Implies a benefit or feeling (often the sweet spot)
- Invented: Highly ownable, needs brand-building
- Acronym: Can work in B2B, but often forgettable early
- Founder/heritage: Strong story, depends on credibility
Pick intentionally. Don’t drift into invented names just because domains are available.
Step 3: Build a “sellability” short list
Start wide, then narrow to 10–20 names that pass basic filters:
- pronounceable
- spellable
- not obviously conflicting
- aligned with tone
Step 4: Pressure-test with real-world scenarios
Put names into the environments where they must perform:
- Cold email subject line: “Quick question about [Name]”
- Podcast mention: “Today we’re joined by the CEO of [Name]”
- Referral sentence: “We use [Name] for that.”
- Search behavior: “I heard about [Name]—let me Google it.”
- UI placement: App icon label, navbar, pricing page header
If a name looks awkward in these contexts, it will sell awkwardly too.
Step 5: Run a simple scoring model
Use a lightweight rubric to prevent the loudest voice from winning.
Example scoring categories:
- Clarity (x2 weight if you’re early-stage)
- Sayability
- Spellability
- Trust/tone
- Differentiation
- Ownability
You can even put it in a shared sheet and force a decision based on totals.
Here’s a simple template you can paste into a doc:
Name: ______________________ Clarity (1–5): ______ Sayability (1–5): ______ Spellability (1–5): ______ Memorability (1–5): ______ Trust/Tone (1–5): ______ Differentiation (1–5): ______ Ownability (1–5): ______ Total: ______ / 35 Notes: ________________________________________
When clever does work: the conditions for a clever name to be sellable
Clever can be sellable when it meets at least one of these conditions:
- It’s instantly understood (the wordplay doesn’t block meaning).
- It’s easy to say and spell (no friction, even if it’s playful).
- Your category rewards personality (consumer brands, media, lifestyle, some DTC).
- You have distribution power (audience, partnerships, budget) to teach the market the name.
- You pair it with a clarifying descriptor (e.g., “Name — AI meeting notes” early on).
The mistake isn’t choosing cleverness. The mistake is choosing cleverness instead of usability.
Conclusion: applause is not a metric—sales are
A clever name can win the room. A sellable name wins the market. The difference is whether the name reduces friction for the people who don’t know you yet: customers, partners, press, and prospects who encounter your brand out of context.
If you want a name that performs, evaluate it like a growth asset—not a creative writing exercise. Use clear criteria: clarity, sayability, spellability, trust, differentiation, and ownability. Creativity still matters, but it has a job: make the name distinct and compelling without making it hard to buy.
When in doubt, choose the name that customers can confidently say, search, and share—because the best brand naming strategy isn’t the one that sounds smartest. It’s the one that sells.