The Definitive Collection of Naming Resources
We created this guide to organize the best tools and resources to help you name companies, products, organizations, and other things.
The Definitive Collection of Naming Resources:
Associations
Etymology Online – This is a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they’re explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.
List of Company Name Etymologies – A terrific and comprehensive list of etymologies for tons of company names.
OneLook Thesaurus – A powerful thesaurus that lets you search by a single word or phrase. It’s especially useful for quickly generating lists of loosely related words.
Moby Thesaurus – Describes itself as a “weird and wonderful reference full of unusual and illuminating word relationships.” A terrific place to get started, especially if you’re stuck.
Phrase Thesaurus – You can search for phrases related to your word, or phrases that contain your word.
Power Thesaurus – A strong community-driven thesaurus that’s been active for more than 10 years.
Thesaurus.com – A classic internet thesaurus and the first place most people start.
Dictionaries
Collins Dictionary – A terrific resource with definitions, synonyms, translations, and proper grammar usage. Features over 4.5 billion words. Has both audio and video pronunciations.
Dictionary.com – Offers definitions, root words, and related terms. This is often a good place to start, but you will need other resources in order to find a memorable name.
The Free Dictionary – Contains a powerful search engine and dictionary. Each results page has definitions, synonyms, references, and related words.
Google Dictionary – Has one of the most comprehensive online word directories It supports several languages, provides synonyms, use-case examples, the origin of a word, and antonyms. It also has an audio pronunciation tool, autosuggest, and displays a word’s present, past tense, and past participle.
Green’s Dictionary of Slang – Describes itself as “five hundred years of the vulgar tongue”. According to the Journal of English Language and Linguistics, Green’s Dictionary of Slang is “Quite simply the best historical dictionary of English slang there is, ever has been […] or is ever likely to be”.
Merriam-Webster – One of the most popular dictionaries. It’s comprehensive and includes pronunciations, first known uses, and children’s definitions. There’s also a good thesaurus.
Oxford Dictionary – Widely respected as one of the best tools for students and learners, Oxford online dictionary is a terrific platform that helps define words both in British and American English. Oxford dictionary has pictures, example sentences, synonyms, and audio pronunciation, among other features.
Urban Dictionary – Definitions, pronunciation, and synonyms for urban words or slang. It defines terms that are often used in the streets.
Wiktionary – Created using an ideology similar to Wikipedia, Wiktionary provides in-depth explanations for words. This tool has many great features, including autosuggest, pronunciation, synonyms, etymology, anagrams, and related terms, among others. It also integrates a thesaurus, language statistics, appendices, and phrasebooks.
Wordnik – Claims to have the world’s biggest online English dictionary, by the number of words. Wordnik shows definitions from multiple sources, so you can see as many different takes on a word’s meaning as possible.
Trademarks
WIPO Global Brand Database – Search trademarks across international jurisdictions.
TMview – A comprehensive global trademark search engine.
Trademarkia – Search millions of U.S. trademarks filed since 1870.
USPTO Trademark Search – The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s official search engine. A useful tool when vetting names.
Translators
Google Translate – A great place to start for foreign language translations. It’s not 100% reliable, but it’s improving quickly through community verification.
Linguee – A high-quality translation dictionary with one+ million translations in 20+ languages. You can see meanings, contextual translations, and other pages on the web where the word is properly used.
Nice Translator – Translate words and phrases into multiple languages at once. The interface isn’t as intuitive as Translatr (below).
Translatr – Translate words and phrases into multiple languages at once. Better interface than Nice Translator (above).
Word Tools
Behind the Name Generator – Generate random names based on nationality, fantasy, or root.
BusinessNameZone business name generator – Generate business names in seconds.
Fantasy Name Generator – Generates names, words, and descriptions in many categories, including fictional universes, every known culture, places, flora and fauna, pop culture, and more. A great place for inspiration.
Generic company name endings – A terrific list from Reddit of generic terms that can be appended to a company name (i.e. “Partners”, “Ventures”) to avoid potential conflicts with other entities who might have the same company name.
Mixwords – Type a bunch of words and use this simple tool to generate random combinations.
MRC Psycholinguistic Database – This tool is incredibly difficult to use but gives you tons of control over everything.
Ngram Viewer – Compare the popularity of words across Google Books.
Text Mechanic – A helpful collection of text manipulation tools.
Tools for creating ideas – Contains methodologies and prompts to help you think differently and generate unexpected word associations.
Universal Text Combination Generator – Enter a bunch of words and see how those words might fit together.
Inspirations
General
Phrontistery – A terrific and eclectic compendium of rare and obscure words.
Geography
Geology & Earth Science Terms – An illustrated glossary of geological and earth science terms and definitions.
Lists of Islands – A terrific Wikipedia resource. Categorizations of islands are grouped by oceans, countries, population, and more.
List of Mountain Ranges – Another terrific Wikipedia resource. A list of mountain ranges on Earth and other planets.
Mythology
Greek Gods & Goddesses – A complete list of Greek Gods, their Names, realms, and influence.
Hindu Gods & Goddesses – A terrific and deep resource on the history and meaning of Hindu deities.
Japanese Creatures – A list of legendary creatures from Japan, including demons, ghosts, yōkai, obake, yūrei, and other legendary creatures notable in Japanese folklore and mythology.
Mythical Civilizations & Places – A list of mythological places from mythological tales, folklore, and varying religious texts.
Norse Mythology, Gods, and Creatures – Well-documented information on the mythology and religion of the Norse/Germanic peoples.
Roman Gods & Goddesses – A complete list of Roman Gods, their names, realms, and influence.
Popular Culture
Ancient Names – Common names used by ancient civilizations.
Anime & Manga Characters – A terrific and comprehensive list of character names, filterable by traits and tags.
Buzz Words – Classic buzzwords used by enterprises.
Famous Fix – A celebrity search engine with summaries, filmography, and character names.
Game of Thrones – A comprehensive wiki for the world created by George R.R. Martin.
Glossary of Science Fiction Ideas, Technology, and Inventions – A fun examination of sci-fi ideas, terms, and tech.
Inventors – An extensive list of inventors.
Jules Verne Glossary – Characters and vehicles from books.
Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary – Extensive definitions and illustrations of the Star Wars world.
Star Trek Academy Dictionary – A glossary of terms from the show Star Trek.
Technical
Biker Slang – A dictionary of commonly used road-motorcycle terminology and biker slang.
Cartographic Glossary – Definitions of map and cartographic terms.
Cocktails – Terms for mixology, bartending, and cocktails.
Cryptography – An exhaustive list of technical cryptography terms.
Dive Speak, ScubaIntro – List of scuba terms, definitions, and slang.
Electrical Engineering – A detailed glossary of engineering terms and acronyms.
HAM Radio Glossary, ARRL – Amateur radio terms and terminologies.
Hobo Code & Terminology – A glossary of terms from the 1880s until World War I. It also includes some contemporary hobo, railroad, and homeless terms.
Leet speak – An alternative alphabet for many languages. Used primarily on the Internet. Useful for character substitution and alternative spellings.
Legal – The official glossary for U.S. legal terms.
Lighthouses – A glossary of terms collected from the United States Lighthouse Society and United States Coast Guard.
Math words – A comprehensive list of formulas and definitions from algebra to calculus.
Medical Terminology – Definitions, roots, and word-building for medical terms.
Nautical Know-How – A glossary of boating and nautical terms.
Politics – A terrific Wikipedia meta-list of wide-reaching political terminology.
Surfer – Surf terms, slang, and phrases.
Space Travel – A glossary focusing on space travel.
Sports – A meta-list of sports terminology.
We regularly update this Definitive Collection of Naming Resources. The collection was most recently updated on August 16, 2021.