Reading the Naming Landscape
Startup names are a surprisingly accurate barometer of the tech industry's mood. During boom times, names get playful and abstract. During contractions, they get serious and descriptive. The current landscape tells an interesting story about where the industry thinks it is headed.
The Decline of the -ly and -ify Suffixes
The era of Spotify-inspired names is winding down. While the -ify suffix produced some genuine hits, the pattern became so overused that new entries feel derivative rather than fresh. Similarly, the -ly suffix that powered names like Bitly and Grammarly has lost its novelty.
Startups are moving away from formulaic suffixes and toward names that feel more organic and less obviously constructed.
The Rise of Invented Short Words
The hottest naming pattern in tech right now is the short invented word -- five to seven characters, pronounceable, with no obvious meaning. Names like Vercel, Supabase, and Resend exemplify this approach. They are distinctive, easy to remember, and almost always have domains available.
This pattern works because it combines the trademark strength of invented words with the memorability of short names. It also signals confidence -- a company that chooses an abstract name is betting on its product to define the brand rather than relying on the name to explain the product.
Real Words Making a Comeback
Alongside invented words, there is a parallel trend of startups choosing real English words as names. Linear, Notion, Figma, and Arc all use familiar words in unexpected contexts. This approach borrows existing positive associations and creates instant memorability.
The challenge is domain availability. Most single-word .com domains are taken, so startups using this approach often pair a real word with an alternative extension or a modifier.
AI-Adjacent Naming
The AI boom has created its own naming subculture. Companies in the AI space are gravitating toward names that suggest intelligence, synthesis, or transformation without being too literal. Names that reference cognition, neural processes, or emergence are common, though the best ones avoid the most obvious AI cliches.
Interestingly, many AI companies are choosing names that deliberately avoid AI references, positioning themselves as tools for a specific use case rather than generic AI platforms.
What the Patterns Reveal
The current naming landscape reflects an industry that is maturing. The playful, whimsical names of the social media era are giving way to names that convey competence, precision, and reliability. This is consistent with a market where enterprise customers are the primary growth driver and where trust matters more than novelty.
For founders choosing a name today, the lesson is to aim for distinctive without being gimmicky, professional without being boring, and memorable without relying on a trend that will date your brand within a few years.
