Here’s a practical, timer-based method to name your SaaS in 2026, without spiraling into a 3‑week Notion rabbit hole.

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Ground rules for 2026

A few constraints you can’t ignore:

• .com is crowded. There are around 157 million .com domains registered globally as of 2026, so the obvious one-word .com you want is almost certainly taken or expensive.What is .com domain
• Domains cost real, recurring money. Typical 2026 guides put standard TLDs at about $10–18/year to register and $14–20/year to renew for .com, and $12–18 / $14–20 for .net/.org.Domain name statisticsHow much does a domain name cost?
• Good .coms are often not $10. Clean, short, brandable .com resales routinely land in three to five figures, which is why many early SaaS founders default to modified names or non-.com extensions.How much does a domain name cost?
• AI-era TLDs are legit now. Investors report 69% positive sentiment toward .ai and 64% toward .io, so those are no longer “hacky” domains; they read like normal startup brands.A look at who invests in domain names
• .ai is basically a global startup extension. It’s widely described as a “global AI branding extension” and used by SaaS far beyond Anguilla now..ai TLD explainer
• The domain space is huge. Roughly 386.9 million domains were registered worldwide by end of 2025, up ~6.2% YoY.Most popular TLDs Your first idea is probably used somewhere.
• Prices are drifting up, not down. ICANN raised its per-domain fee from $0.18 to $0.20 in mid‑2025, and that cost is now baked into 2026 retail pricing.Domain name market trends

So: stop hunting for a perfect single-word .com at $12. Optimize for speed and defensibility, not romance.

Set a timer for 40 minutes. Follow this.

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Minute 0–5: Positioning, not poetry

Open a blank doc.

In 5 minutes, write three bullets:

1. Who you’re for (ICP in one line).
2. What painful outcome you fix.
3. What “shape” of product you are (API, analytics tool, ops dashboard, CRM, etc.).

Example:

• For: data‑savvy marketers at B2B SaaS.
• Pain: wasted ad spend from bad attribution.
• Shape: AI analytics dashboard.

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Minute 5–15: Brutal idea generation (no editing)

Goal: 40–60 name candidates, not 5 “perfect” ones.

Mechanics:

• Make 2 quick word lists:
  • Verbs: measure, track, predict, clean, sync, route, guard…
  • Nouns: signal, ledger, loop, orbit, stack, hive, pulse, grid…
• Do fast combinations and mutations:
  • Compounds: SignalStack, RouteGrid, PulseLoop.
  • Tweaks: Segmora, Orbitry, Attuneo.
  • Short phrases you can compress: “Clean Metrics” → Cleantrix.

Rules:

• No judging. If it’s not obviously offensive or generic like “AI Software Inc”, it stays.
• Don’t check domains yet. Context switching kills volume.
• Bias toward:
  • Easy to say
  • Easy to spell after hearing once
  • Doesn’t pin you to a single feature

You’re generating raw material, not winners.

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Minute 15–25: Domain triage like an adult

Now you filter against reality.

Remember the numbers: standard .com/.net/.org will run you roughly $10–18 to register and $14–20 to renew, and that’s before you even touch premiums.Domain name statisticsHow much does a domain name cost?

Practical passes:

1. Exact .com check.

   • If exact .com is available at normal pricing, star it.
   • If it’s clearly a premium in the 4–5 figure range and you’re pre‑revenue, move on.

2. Smart variations if .com is gone.

   Use clean, intuitive modifiers, not desperate ones:

   • use[name].com
   • try[name].com
   • get[name].com
   • [name]hq.com If all you can get is “my‑awesome‑ai‑solution‑123.com”, kill the name.

You want 5–10 candidates that:

• Have some reasonable domain option (.com/.ai/.io + clean modifier).
• Don’t look like a spam site or MFA blog.

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Minute 25–30: Sanity + conflict checks

This is where most “move fast” founders get sued later.

Two quick passes:

1. Google + marketplaces search.

   • Search "YourName" + software, "YourName" + app.
   • Also check obvious places: GitHub, Product Hunt, maybe LinkedIn.
   • If there’s another SaaS with a close name in your category, kill it.

2. Basic trademark risk pass.

   Legal content is clear: trademark disputes often start from customer confusion when two companies use similar names or logos in the same market.Trademark disputes clip

   • Search your name plus “®” and “™” in your main jurisdictions.
   • If you see a very similar mark in your vertical, especially in SaaS, don’t be clever. Pick another.

You’re not doing a full attorney search right now. You’re weeding out landmines.

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Minute 30–35: Human radio test

If a name fails here, it dies.

For each of your remaining 3–5:

• Say it out loud as if you’re on a podcast.
• Send a quick voice note or message to 2–3 friends or users: “What did you hear? Can you spell it?”
• Ask one question: “What do you think this company does from the name alone?”

You’re looking for:

• They can spell it after hearing it once.
• They don’t confuse it with a common word or competitor.
• Their guess is at least in the same galaxy as your actual product.

Anything that requires a TED talk to explain is out.

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Minute 35–38: Decide like a founder, not a poet

Pick one default winner and one backup.

Tie-breakers:

• Slightly worse name + clean domain beats “perfect” name with ugly domain.
• Names that can stretch with you win. Don’t name it “CSVFixer” if you know you’ll be a full data platform in 18 months.
• If you’re debating between .com with a clumsy prefix and a clean .ai, remember: .ai is now a mainstream global SaaS extension, not a stunt..ai TLD explainer

You have 2 minutes. Decide.

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Minute 38–40: Lock it in (and protect your downside)

Do three things immediately:

2. Grab the handles.

   Lock down X, LinkedIn, maybe GitHub. You don’t need TikTok yet, but you do need consistency.

3. Note your legal plan.

   Common hack: use a plain LLC/Ltd name and a different public trading name. Legal guidance still frames using a different trading name as acceptable as long as it doesn’t mislead and meets disclosure rules.Using a trading name

   Then schedule a real trademark search with counsel once you have traction.

If you want to skip some of the grunt verification in the future, I built NameBuddy.ai to auto‑check domains and basic conflicts while I’m still in the brainstorming flow, so I don’t context switch a dozen times mid‑list.

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