Ask HN: How do you choose a name for your product / service?

For example, "Microsoft" is a good one, as are Captain 401K, Uber, and Stripe, because it's made of real words or are easy to spell and remember.

On the other hand, company names like "Shypmate" or "Cymmetria" are poor choices, because they sound close enough to regular words but are spelled differently. Another thing to consider is whether one word sounds like another. For example, a company I used to work for, RentJuice, was often misheard as "RentJews". I used to joke that it was a Jewish escort service...

Anyway, it's not a foolproof way to come up with GOOD names, but it's a simple way to identify names that are weak, especially when it comes to the ability to spread by word of mouth.

- Not longer than 7-8 characters

- If you go for something unconventional, it should be easy to pronounce (very important. "Google" was unconventional but easy to pronounce)

- Try not to use a dash or even numbers unless it is relevant like 411.com etc. Because if you do, then I have to think. Is it 1 or one ?

- Don't make me think if I have to type your domain on my browser/phone etc. Spelling should be easy too

- If the name gives me an idea of what you do, really great. But not required. For example, careerbuilder.com gives me an idea but monster doesn't. If I never heard of either, i can easily guess which one is related to careers and jobs potentially.

The name does not directly need to coincide with its inherent value, paint the picture with your personal or teams values.

Bonus: Since it was available, it only cost 99 cents for the first year (with coupon).

I was browsing through this site called FreshDrop [3] which lists expired/expiring domains and stumbled across a nice name - Metriculator.

Luckily metriculator.com and the social media handles were available. This might not work for everyone but is definitely worth a try.

[1] http://impossibility.org/

[2] http://www.leandomainsearch.com/

[3] https://www.freshdrop.com/