How to Name a Barbershop

You may already have some ideas for a barbershop name. If so, go ahead and write them down.

This will make it easy to narrow down the list later while letting you jot down all ideas that may spark something great.

If you’ve got a business plan for your barbershop, the research there should give you ideas for words, phrases, and concepts that fit your brand.

This is something you’ll want to do, no matter what, to learn more about the people you’ll be catering to. While you’re meeting with them, be sure to write down words, phrases, and concepts that they associate with barbershops.

Many barbershops are named after their owners. This is a great way to create trust and familiarity with clients but also the community where your shop is located. For example, "Al's Barbershop," "Finley's Clippers," or "Frank's Groom Room."

Bringing your core service into the name is a good way to market a specialty but also create a memorable name. For example, "The Fade," "Cut & Shave," or "Quick Shape."

Ask yourself which tools capture the style and values of your shop specifically. Tools like clippers and razors, and even furniture such as mirrors and chairs, work well in names. They are often made stronger by adding evocative prefixes to them. For example, "The Sultan's Razor" and "King's Throne."

There is a tradition in barbering to bring humor into a name. You can use sayings, puns, or other phrases to create a strong name. The idea is to add an unexpected. For example, "Head Office," "Uppercuts," "Cutthroats," "Shaving Private Ryan," or "The Fade Gatsby."

The style you envision for your barbershop is a great source of name ideas. Let the way you want to decorate your barbershop guide you. If you're going with an industrial style, you could use words like "iron," "steel," "furnace," or "factory." An upmarket, chic men's club-style barbershop might consider words like "lounge," "gentlemen," or "society." A minimalist approach might be best reflected in words like "spartan," "empty," or "basic."

City and state names and nicknames can sometimes work well for a local barbershop business. For example, "Copper City Barbers," "Mud City Barbershop," or "Baltimore Grooming."

A street name can help people find your barbershop, make naming easy, and connect it to a neighborhood or sense of place. For example, "Cuts on 3rd" or "Church Street Barber."

Local landmarks can be another great way to tie your barbershop to its location. For example, "Fort Christina Barbers" or "Pine Mountain Faders."

Try combining various words from your list to see if they form any interesting names.

NameSnack can help combine your ideas and make associations that you might not have thought of.

See if there are any others that stand out, and mark them.

Come back with fresh eyes and see which names stand out. Also, see which names you still remember. This may give you a clue as to which ones are most memorable.

See how your target audience reacts to different names.

Read your names to friends and colleagues, and get their take on your barbershop names. Come back a day or two later and see which ones they still remember.

Give each name a score out of five for how it sounds, another score out of five for how it looks, a score out of five for how well it captures your business's values and style, and another score out of five for how well it evokes strong imagery or emotion. It is fair to say the one with the highest score is your best option.

Use a site like Namecheap to see which of your top business name ideas have related URLs available.

If the business name is already in use for a similar business in your state, it's likely you won't be able to use it.

Google your favorite barbershop names to see if there are any other well-known barbershops with the same name, or if there are some associations you hadn’t thought of.

Search the United States Patent and Trademark Office's trademark database to see whether any trademarks have been registered that are similar to your business name.

You can do this through sites like Namecheap.

You'll need to register the name in your state once you've chosen it. In most states this is fast and easy, and can be done online.

This offers additional protection from other businesses using your barbershop name.