WHAT MAKES A GREAT WEBSITE NAME? What are your favourite website names?

I've touched on this topic before here "Naming a Website". "Naming a Website" is more about useful hints and tips. This post (What Makes a Great Website Name?) is about being more subjective in approach. Of just looking at website names themselves – breaking them up, looking at them from different angles (including from a marketing / branding perspective) and seeing whether they work or not. There's no right or wrong. Please feel free to join in and say whether you agree or not. What points you would add to the points I've made here. What websites would you add to the ones I've listed here. 

I've focused on website names that are creative in their make-up  (i.e. adding two different words to each other, removing and adding letters, making up words, and so on as opposed to single-word names such as "Amazon" which is the sort of name you'd have to pay a lot of money for).

Lastly, I've put together 3 lists, here, on this subject. The first list is for website names I really like. Second list, for well-known website names. Third list, for blogs.

Hopefully, this post will be useful to people trying to think up a good name for their website ..

Some of My Favourites.

Twitter. For me, Twitter is a perfect website name. Rolls off the tongue nicely with the "t" sound. The name is relevant to what the website is about. Well, "twit" is similar to "tweet". And they've cleverly used a bird to make the connection between "tweet" and "twit". "Twit" ("tweet") is a fun word to use, also, to evoke the idea of social media conversation. And that the conversation involves short, pieces of communication. Lastly, this name isn't too specific so Twitter, if it wanted, could expand into other areas of the internet / the digital world in general, in terms of services / products etc ..

Flickr. Technology blog. Sounds good – "ick", and with "f" and "r" on either side of it. There is a connection in meaning/connotation between the word and "photo sharing". But it isn't the sort of name in which the website is confined to just photosharing. With a name like Flickr you could do other things such as video sharing, media production and so on. When the website owners were looking for a name, they must of considered Flicker. No doubt they saved time and money with "Flickr". Could argue that losing the "e" actually helps make the name stand out. Now its common to lose letters like this, or add letters, and so on. Point being there's no point spending thousands of pounds or dollars on a name, when with a bit of creativity, you can come up with a good alternative for a fraction of the price.

TechCrunch. Rolls off the tongue nicely. The contrast in sound between "Tech" and "crunch" works well (with "crunch" being a lingering-sounding word). Getting the "Tech" in the word is nice: it slots nicely into people's memory stack (for blog names floating around, somewhere, in their brain ..).

Digg. Place to discover and share website content. Short-and-sweet name. Easy to remember. Good example of a name where a word is doubled up (presumably "Dig" with one "g" was gone). Plus the double "dd" gives it something extra to remember it by (both visually and through sound).

Stumbleupon. Place to discover and share website content. Nice kind of elongated (4 syllables) ryhtym to it. Quite a niche name though (good in that it gives you a good idea what the website is about – but a bit restrictive, perhaps (?), if you want to expand the services / products you offer.

Tumblr. Blogging platform. Just sounds good (not sure why, exactly..).

Scribd. Social publishing site. Just sounds good (again not sure why, exactly ..) Reminds me of "scribble" which fits in nicely with "publishing". Notice how you can make up new words. The word only has to have some vague connection in sound to what the website is about.

Skype. I think "Skype" is an ugly-ish kind of word. But it is so easy to remember.

Foursquare. Location-based social networking website. Good joining of two words "Four" and "square" to form Foursquare. Doesn't particularly have any connotation for me. I can see a sort of connection between the word and cities (with cities often being regular in how they're laid out, and Foursquare is very much about city-life – but maybe I'm reading too much into the name …). It's a fairly neutral sort of name. Easy to remember. With no resctrictions, really, on developing the brand / business with that name.

Reddit. Social news website. Just sounds good, I think ..

Mashable. Social media blog. What I like about this name in particular is "mash", i.e. from "mash up". Surely a key part of new marketing is that it is an approach based on a wide variety of skills/approaches – a "mash up" of skills/approaches.

Feedburner. Web feed management provider. "Feed" with its "F" and single syllable, contrasts nicely with "burner" with its "b" and double syllables. "Burner" taps into the visual imagination as well – and that "Feedburner" is churning away, carrying out a handy task type-thing .. (names can be very subjective and mean different things to different people of course ..)

Shutterstock. Microstock photography website. Sounds good "repetition of "s" at the beginning of first and third syllable, mixed with the "tt" and "ock" sounds. "Ock" is a good, sharp sound to end on. With a vague kind of connection between "shutter" and "photography" I think.

BoingBoing. Entertainment / reviews blog. Fun name that works.

AQKA. Internation digital agency. Sometimes I really like this name. At other times not so much. At first, couldn't remember whether it was spelt "AKQWA" or some other way. What I don't like about it is that it's awkward to pronounce. On the other hand, it's because it is awkward-sounding that I'm easily able to remember the name overall. Also, the name reminds me of water (aqua), plus, sometimes I quite like that it is awkward-sounding – gives it a slightly enigmatic feel to it (but now I'm reading far too much into the name ..).

Well-known websites

Aviva. Insurance company. The name is the same back-to-front (words like this are called palindromes – just looked this up in Google ..). "Viva" gives it a light, bright air to it (at least for me ..). I think the name is a bit bland, though (?)

PayPal. Easy to remember.

Google. The name isn't rescrtive on the type of products/services the company offers.

YouTube. "You" in the name goes well with the social media aspect of this website, I think.

Lijit. Search site. Although this is an awkward word to remember, they've made a logo out of the word which makes it easier to remember.

Squidoo. Publishing platform. Visual objects are a great way of improving memory. So if you associate something (i.e. a number, someone's name etc ..) with a visual object, that "something" is much easier to remember. The same principle applies with website names. In this cases the visual object is "Squid". Presumably, "Squid" was gone. So they added "oo" which, perhaps, improves the name, because "Squidoo" is a very unique word and it sounds good, too. The use of "Squid" is clever, also, because it fits in nicely with the idea of lens (an important concept behind the website). The squid idea works nicely with the "lens" because the squid has a big eye a bit like a lens.

Gowalla. Location-based social networking website. Name seems OK.

Facebook. Nice, easy name to remember. The name doesn't seem restrictive, to me, on the type of services/products the company can offer.

MySpace. Sounds good. But prefer a name such as "Youtube" which is about "You" instead of me ("My") ..

Ebay. Sounds a bit bland. But the name works because it is so easy to remember.

Rapidshare. File-hosting site. Sounds OK. Quite easy to remember.

Spotify. Digital music service. Sounds good.

Photobucket. Image hosting, free photo sharing and video sharing website. Sounds quite good. But the name is restrictive to the type of products/services you can offer, I think.

Blogs

Sethgodin.com. If you've got a good-sounding, unusual name, then why not consider just calling your blog by your name?

Shoemoney. Good name I think because this website is about affiliate marketing plus "Shoe" is derived from the blogger's sir name, Schoemaker – and "Shoe" is an easy word to remember. And "Shoe" goes well with "money" (in terms of sound – contrast of), I think.

Marketing Profs Daily Fix. Bit of a mouthful. But it works. I like it.

Web Strategy by Jeremiah. This website is based very much on analytics, stats, facts and so on. A straightforward name like this for such a subject works, I think.

Duct Tape Marketing. Just sounds good. Plus made a nice logo out of the name. Good branding.

Web Ink Now. This website is, to an important degree, about PR and journalism (and social media and more). So "Ink" works particularly well (plus the sound "k" contrasts well with "w" in the "well" and the "w" in the "now").

Logic+Emotion. Clever name (as marketing / social media is very much about having a rational approach and being human).

Blogstorm. "Storm" is a good, imaginative word – works quite well, too, in terms of contrast of sound between "blog" and "storm".

BrandFlakesForBreakfast. Fun name.

Drew's Marketing Minute. Personalizes blog name with "Drew". The "M" in Marketing (plus nice to get "Marketing" in your blog name like this) goes nicely with the "M" in "Minute". And "minute" gives the idea that this blog is for people on the go, who only have a few minutes to digest some blog content – fitting in nicely with audience behaviour. The website name, overall, has a nice ring to it. 

What do you think?

(P.S. My website name: selected it when first started off in digital marketing – was a bit green then – in case you're wondering ..)

@Julie

"Funny how most of the really good ones actually made up a "new word" that was eventually added to our lexicon, or used an existing "neutral" word in a new way – that is the sign of a really great one." 

- Yes, coming up with names using a creative approach. Think there is still ample opportunity for this in the future, as well, i think.