If you’re struggling to name your game store, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. In this article, I cover some of the top tips for naming your new business as well as how to make sure the name is legally available for you to use.

Let’s get started!

 

Related: How to start a game store

 

Helpful Tips and Tricks for Naming Your Game Store

Naming a business is hard, especially if you don’t have any ideas or a place to start. So, before you dive in, grab a piece of paper and a pen or open up a blank spreadsheet.

Then, use it as a place to brainstorm ideas and write down words or phrases that come to mind as you go through the tips below.

From there, we’ll talk about how to narrow things down and land on the perfect name.

1. Keep It as Short as Possible

Short business names are usually snappier, catchier, and easier to remember. Ideally, you want to stick to two to five syllables and hopefully no more than 25 characters total.

However, the shorter the name, the better.

With that said, there are exceptions to this, and it’s not a hard rule. But, when you think about huge, notable brands, which ones come to mind?

Nike. Apple. Ikea. Febreeze. Target. Honeywell.

They’re easy to remember because they’re short, simple, and brandable.

Obviously, there are exceptions to these rules. But typically, the shorter and simpler your name, the easier it is for everyone to remember.

2. Avoid Words That Are Hard to Hear and Pronounce

Voice to text and voice search is more popular now than ever before. So, it’s important to consider making your name easy to pronounce and hear.

To do this, avoid using:

• Commonly misspelled words
• Complex terms that are hard to spell
• Words that have several pronunciations
• Homophones like to, too, and two

Try to keep things as concise and simple as possible.

3. Consider Gaming-Related Terms

Since you’re opening a game store, it might make sense to use game-related terms in the name, especially if you’re feeling stuck. It may help to just start brainstorming terms, phrases, and words to get all your ideas down on paper.

A few examples of this could include; Dark Side Games, Dragon’s Den Cards & Games, Hero’s Corner Games, or Player One Games.

For a boost of creativity, expand use the thesaurus to find synonyms around the words of what your business does.  You can either use the thesaurus function from your word processor or thesaurus.com to come up with additional synonyms.

From there, you can cross off bad ideas or any terms you don’t like.

4. Phrases Your Audience and Competition Uses

Your business exists for your target audience, so it’s important to consider phrases and terms they use when talking about gaming.

There are quite a few places you can look to see what your customers (and competitors) are saying, including:

• Facebook groups, posts, and stories
• Forums related to the gaming industry
• Competitor websites, brochures, and flyers
• Trade journals
• Magazines or blogs

Alternatively, you can ask friends or relatives in your target audience. Hearing it directly from them may help you brainstorm and narrow down your choices.

Remember to avoid anything limiting your business’s future growth if you decide to go in another direction down the road.

5. What’s Your Specialty?

Do you specialize in a particular genre or niche? Maybe you focus on video games, or board games, or gaming events.

Regardless of your specialty, consider alluding to it in the name of your business.  

6. Examples of Names for Inspiration

Here is a list of existing game store names that may help give you some creative ideas.  While many of these names may be available for you to use, be sure to check first to be sure the name can be used.

Tips on how to check business name availability are after the list of names!

• 1 Up Gaming
• A A A Game Zone
• A W O L Games
• Above The Game
• Action Gaming
• Action Star Games
• Advance Gaming
• Advantage Games
• Adventure Game Store
• Ages Of Gaming
• Akashic House Game Studio
• Aktion Games
• Akupara Games
• All Fun & Games
• All In Gaming
• Alpha Gaming
• American Consoles & Games
• Angry Badger Games
• Ankor Game
• Apostrophe Games
• Atari Games Cafe
• Atlantic Games
• Banter Board Games
• Beautiful Game
• Big Duck Games
• Black Key Games
• Black Realm Gaming
• Blahcow Gaming
• Blume Game Studio
• Board Fox Games
• Board Game Knights
• Board Game Republic
• Bold Move Games
• Bombshell Games
• Born To Game
• Bottoms Up Game
• Brain Game
• Brute Force Games
• C & S Gaming Empire
• California Game Girls
• Cannabis Gaming Sesh
• Cash Crunch Games
• Cash For Gamers
• Center Stage Games
• Circle Game
• Connected Games
• Contigo Games
• Cool Games Puzzles & Toys
• Coolstuff Games
• Crazy Games
• Creator’s Game
• Crushed Ego Games
• Cyber Dice Gaming
• Dark Side Games
• Day & Night Games
• Descent Into Gaming
• Dicelab Games
• Don’t Play Games
• Dragon’s Den Cards & Games
• Echo Night Games
• Emerald Dragon Games
• Enchanted Grounds
• End Game Productions
• Entertainment Games & Trading
• Envee Game
• Envisage Gaming
• Epic Fail Games
• Everyone’s Game
• Evolved Gaming
• Exit Games
• Exodus Gaming
• Eye Gaming
• Fair Play Games
• Faith Based Games
• Fallen Oaks Game Farm
• Fandom Gaming
• Fantasy Gaming
• Fare Game
• Feast Or Famine Games
• Firefly Games
• Flippen Out Games
• Florida Gaming Partners
• For The Love Of The Game
• Fun Game
• Game Academy
• Game Cave Paradise
• Game Changer
• Game Chest
• Game Face
• Game Haven
• Game Kings
• Game Nation
• Game Night
• Game Of Life
• Game On
• Game Over
• Game Portal
• Game Quest
• Game Realms
• Game Runner
• Game Set Match
• Game Station & Lounge
• Game Time Group
• Game Time Hobbies
• Gamers Guild
• Gamers Kingdom
• Gamers Net
• Gamerz Lounge
• Gamerz R Us
• Games N More
• Games On South Florida
• Games To You
• Gaming Hub
• Gaming Lifestyle
• Gateway Gaming
• Get In The Game
• G-Force Gaming
• Giant Gnome Gaming
• Goblin King Games
• Gold Mine Fun & Games
• Gold Mine Game Room
• Golden Rule Games
• Goodwill Youth Games
• Got Next Game
• Grapevine Games Comics & Cards
• Grass Valley Games
• Guardian Angels Gaming
• Gulf Coast Gaming
• Hall Of Fame Games
• Head In The Game
• Heart Of The Game
• Hero’s Corner Games
• Hideaway Games
• High Noon Game
• High Velocity Games
• Imperial Games
• In Yo Face Gaming
• Infinite Gaming
• Insomniac Gaming
• Java Game House
• Jellybean Games
• Jester Games
• Just For Fun Gaming
• Kingdom Games
• Kingslayer Games
• Knight & Day Games
• Kraken Unlimited
• L A City Games
• Legends Comics & Games Fresno
• Level 7 Games
• Level Up Gaming
• Mad Over Games
• Magic Fuel Games
• Maryland Gaming
• Mastermind Games
• Middle City Games
• Midnight Games
• Moonlit Moor Games
• Mythic Cards & Games
• Noodle Haus Games
• Ocean King Games
• Off Script Games
• Off The Shelf Games
• On Your Game
• Outflank Games
• Over Powered Cards & Games
• Play This Game
• Player First Games
• Player One Games
• Prime Hobby Gaming
• Pro Fantasy Gaming
• Punch Bowl Games
• Quantum Realm Games
• Quest Monkey Games
• Ragnarok Games
• Raindrop Games
• Real Life Games
• Respawn Gaming & Modz
• Retro Games Plus
• Road Dawg Games
• Rogue Knight Games
• Rollin With The Game King
• San Diego Video Gaming
• Score Gaming
• Scoundrel Games
• Second Star Games
• Secret Society Games
• Shamrock Games
• Spellhold Games
• Spicy Doodles Gaming
• Square One Games
• Take Aim Games
• Think Adventure Games
• Thorny Games
• Trainwreck Games
• Umbrella Games
• Virtual Haven Games
• Warhammer
• Warp Rider Games
• West Coast Combat Center
• Westworld Board Game
• Wobbly Pop Games
• Wolf Gaming
• Z Game Spot
• Zander’s Game House

 

7. Check if Your Name is Available to Use

At this point, you should have several top considerations to choose from. And the best way to narrow it down further is to check each one for availability.

This step is vital because using a name that someone else is using could be very costly, time-consuming to rebrand your business, and possibly embarrassing. There are several places to look to check whether a name is available to use, so let’s walk through each one.

Trademark Search

Trademarks are the most critical, so we’ll start here.

If a name or phrase is trademarked, you’re not allowed to use it in a similar capacity. So, run a trademark search for each business name you’re considering and cross off those that aren’t available.

Learn more about how to do a trademark search before choosing a business name

 

Local Search

Just because there isn’t a federal trademark on a name doesn’t mean the name you want is available.  That’s because there is a trademark known as a common law trademark. A common law trademark isn’t filed anywhere but provides someone who uses that name in commerce some limited rights in their geographical area to use the name.  It can be hard to define how far geographically these rights extend as each industry is different, but at a basic level, someone can’t open a business and name it the same or similar name as a competing business in town. If you think the name could potentially create confusion with customers, it is usually best to just find another one to use to avoid potential legal issues down the road.

 

To do a local search, open up the phone book (if you still have one), and do a Google search to see if there are any local competitors with a similar business name to the one you want to use.

 

Cross off any similar names from your list and take the rest and let’s keep checking.

State Entity Search (If Applicable)

If you plan to register your game store as a corporation or LLC, you have to register with a unique business name. Each state requires every corporation or LLC to register a unique name for their entity.  This doesn’t necessarily protect your name from anyone else using it, but nobody can register a corporation or LLC under the same name in your state.

Related: Is your business name available?

If you find the name is in use, cross it off your list and move on.

Domain Name Availability

Website addresses aren’t as critical as the first three searches, but it’s still worth doing. Typically, you want your domain name to be “yourbusinessname.com” without any numbers, dashes, etc.

It’s easiest for customers to remember, but these are hard to come by.

However, you can explore other configurations and extensions if your preferred domain name isn’t available. Just remember your customers may have a more difficult time finding you online.

You can start with NameCheap’s domain search tool. Type in the domain name you want to use to see if it’s available. The tool also returns other possibilities you may want to consider.

Social Media Profiles

Next, especially if you are stuck between a couple of names, check and see if anyone is already using your potential game store names on social media. Consider which platforms you plan to use and start with those.

Keep in mind you may have to shorten your company name for some platforms. Twitter only allows 15 characters, for example.

Start with your preferred platforms and do a quick search for your name. If nothing pops up, that likely means no one is using it, and you’re good to go.

Example: Someone is using startingyourbusiness on Instagram, so I would have to choose a different handle, making it more difficult for customers to find me.

 

Finding the Perfect Name: Putting It All Together

By now, you should have a lengthy list of words, phrases, and terms you can use in your business name. At this point, I highly recommend going through and removing any that are hard to spell or pronounce.

Now, you can start combining pieces together until something stands out. It may help to create a list of potential names you can use. From there, you can narrow things down to your favorites.

But before you make your final decision, it’s important that your new name passes a few tests.

Say It Out Loud

Make sure you say your new name out loud. It may look great as a logo, domain name, and on a business card. But it also needs to sound good when you say it out loud.

You can also sit down with someone and talk about your business. Does saying the name in casual conversation sound natural? If not, you may want to consider something simpler or easier to say.

Logo Design

Lastly, think about how to incorporate your new name into a logo. Logos should be simple, memorable, and indicative of your brand.

Take Apple, for example. Their business name easily incorporates into a logo. And today, it’s a household symbol that everyone immediately recognizes.

A logo is an important part of your brand identity, so don’t forget to consider turning your name into a memorable logo as you make your final decision.

Related: How to create a logo for your business. 

 

Hopefully, you now have some ideas to name your game store. Once you have this list narrowed down to just a few and researched that they are all available, start asking friends, family, and potential customers their thoughts to get feedback, and then pick your perfect game store name!

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