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I'm working on an international startup, website based, for which I need to create a name (with corresponding domains for all extensions) that is internationally accepted as my service is meant to be applicable to everyone.

Now, the main issue here is that I'm Dutch, meaning that I'm not sure how a certain name is perceived in regions such as the Middle East aswell as Asia.

I believe good examples are names that do not actually have a direct meaning, such as Google. A bad example for an international service would be StackExchange. This is because StackExchange requires knowledge of the English language, while Google does not.

So, my question is: how does one imagine such name, and how does one investigate whether this name is perceived well internationally without spreading the name all over the internet (as it has to remain private during development).

Thanks in advance.

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Google translator might be helpful – Susan Jones Oct 15 '12 at 10:34

5 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

Here are a couple of links that may prove useful:

You may be able to narrow the list of countries you need to consider by asking yourself:

  • Where will your biggest market be?
  • What languages will the website be available in?
  • What languages will you provide support in
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Hi John. The website is based on user contribution, this includes the actual text and content. Basically, it has the potential to have all languages. Because of this, I do not have a specific target market, but rather the need to allow a global target be able to memorize and link the name to the service. – Tom Oct 31 '10 at 13:19
up vote 2 down vote

It depends with what sector you are venturing into. You can even use initials of your name. The issue is knowing what you want to drive and your target audience and not necessarily your business name though it plays a key role. For instance, these websites are visited globally

mashable facebook name.com qq.com inc.com

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up vote 1 down vote

John's links are awesome, in addition, you can check out this word generator:

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pound/

You feed it some languages and it tries to make new words that sound like those languages.

This page is a language based on the most common sounds across 25 world languages:

http://www.langmaker.com/ml0105.htm#8

Sen:esepera contains five vowels: /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/. The language has 14 consonants: /p/ /t/ /k/ /b/ /d/ /g/ /f/ /s/ /h/ /m/ /n/ /l/ /r/ /j/.

Those are likely to be easily pronounceable in major languages.

Based on your requirements, stick to something short (1-3 syllables), avoid uncommon sounds, use something that can be pronounced regardless of where the stress is placed...

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Great feedback and links too. Thanks. – Tom Oct 31 '10 at 14:11
The trickyness here is to create such name that has somekind of origin, aka, it has to have a certain meaning - or else it would just be a random combination of letters, that'd not make sense. Right? – Tom Oct 31 '10 at 14:17
another concern I have is: If I do have a name that I think could be accepted everywhere, how do I investigate whether this name has no relevance with insulting or otherwise inappropriate words in all languages? Eg. the pronunciation of the word must not match the pronunciation of an insult. – Tom Nov 1 '10 at 11:31
up vote 1 down vote

I think that you shoud invent a name for your website/company/bussines. Using this strategy people will 'reserve' a part of their brain for the name of your bussiness.

try some of those resources:

http://www.namestation.com/domain-search/compoundwords
or
http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/17702/17-Mutable-Suggestions-For-Naming-A-Startup.aspx

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up vote 0 down vote

You should take a step back. The likelihood of your site taking off around the entire world anytime soon is practically zero. Identify a target market, Since you're Dutch, the EU would be a nice small sampling of what you will need to do. It will allow you to see if your idea is even viable without having to fork out the dough for all those TLD's. Everyone wants to be an international hit, few do. You'll have a much better chance of hitting the EU up, it gives you a sampling of several different languages (Dutch, English, German, French, etc.) while still staying in a small contained area. This will allow you to expand slowly to other locations as once you do the research to see if there's a demand there.

And as far as international recognition. Go for a madeup word if you want that. It's the most sure fire way to ensure you can't insult anyone.

If you want to go the other way, you need to make sure you consult with several different native speakers from different areas (of the world, and their country) as someone in Paris will speak and have a different dialect than someone outside of it, just like someone in Bavaria speaks German than someone in Batten Wuertemburg, let alone Austria.

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