Today, bowling centers are close to a $4 billion industry, with over 2,600 centers across the United States.
With that many businesses, it probably feels like all the good names have already been taken, right? Furthermore, how do you find an excellent bowling alley name that represents your brand and speaks to your target audience?
How do you make the final decision?
If you’re struggling to name your bowling alley, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. In this article, I cover some of the top tips for naming your new business as well as how to make sure it’s available for you to use.
Learn more about the bowling industry
Tips For Naming A Bowling Alley
Naming a business is hard, especially if you don’t have any ideas or a place to start. So, before you dive in, grab a piece of paper and a pen or open up a blank spreadsheet.
Then, use it as a place to brainstorm ideas and write down words or phrases that come to mind as you go through the tips below.
From there, we’ll talk about narrowing things down and landing on the perfect name.
1. Keep It as Short as Possible
Short business names are usually snappier, catchier, and easier to remember. Ideally, you want to stick to two to five syllables and hopefully no more than 25 characters total.
However, the shorter the name, the better.
That said, there are exceptions to this, and it’s not a hard rule. But when you think about huge, notable brands, which ones come to mind?
Nike. Apple. Ikea. Febreeze. Target. Honeywell.
They’re easy to remember because they’re short, simple, and brandable.
Obviously, there are exceptions to these rules. But typically, the shorter and simpler your name, the easier it is for everyone to remember.
2. Avoid Words That Are Hard to Say or Spell
Voice-to-text and voice search are more popular now than ever before. So, it’s important to consider making your name easy to pronounce and hear.
To do this, avoid using:
- Commonly misspelled words
- Complex terms that are hard to spell
- Words that have several pronunciations
- Homophones like to, too, and two
Try to keep things as concise and simple as possible.
3. Consider Bowling Related Terms
Since you’re opening a bowling alley, using bowling-related words in the name might make sense, especially if you’re feeling stuck. It may help to start brainstorming terms, phrases, and words to get all your ideas down on paper.
Examples of this could include Kingpins, Alley Cats, or Lucky Strikes.
For a boost of creativity, expand use the thesaurus to find synonyms around the words of what your business does. You can either use the thesaurus function from your word processor or thesaurus.com to develop additional synonyms.
From there, you can cross off bad ideas or any terms you don’t like.
4. Phrases Your Audience and Competition Uses
Your business exists for your target audience, so it’s important to consider phrases and terms they use when talking about bowling alleys.
There are quite a few places you can look to see what your customers (and competitors) are saying, including:
- Facebook groups, posts, and stories
- Forums related to the bowling alley industry
- Competitor websites, brochures, and flyers
- Trade journals
- Magazines or blogs
Alternatively, you can ask friends or relatives in your target audience. Hearing it directly from them may help you brainstorm and narrow down your choices.
Remember to avoid anything limiting your business’s future growth if you decide to go in another direction down the road.
5. Neighborhoods, Cities, and Nicknames
Including the name of your city, street, or neighborhood is an excellent way to encourage local shopping and create a strong sense of community in your area.
You can also think about nicknames for your city or neighborhood, as well. Here are some examples to use as inspiration:
- Bowling on Main
- Lansing Lanes
- Union Bowling
- Mountain View Bowling Alley
With that said, make sure the name you choose isn’t limiting if you decide to move or expand your bowling alley down the road.
6. Incorporate Your Name
If you’re still struggling to find the perfect name, consider using your name, a nickname, or something personal and unique to you.
This is a fantastic way to build a personal brand if that’s something you want to do. Some great examples of this in action include:
- Lewis’s Lanes
- Woody’s Bowling Alley
- Baker’s Bowling Center
If you go this route, keep in mind it may make it harder to sell your bowling alley later on.
List of Creative Bowling Alley Names
Here is a list of existing bowling alley names that may help give you some creative ideas. While many of these names may be available for you to use, be sure to check first to be sure they can be used.
Tips on how to check business name availability are after the list of names!
- 10 Kings Lanes
- Action Bowling Center
- Airport Lanes
- Albany Bowl-A-Rama
- All Star Bowl
- Alley Of Hutchinson
- AMF Lakeland Lanes
- Authentic Lanes
- Back Alley Bowl
- Bel Aire Bowl
- Better Bowl Co
- Blazing Bowl
- Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center
- Bowl Heaven
- Bowl Spot
- Bowlero Lanes
- Bowlero Miami
- Bowling Alley
- Bowling Center
- Bowling Paradise
- Bowling World
- Bowlmor Lanes
- Broadway Lanes
- Bub’s Bowl
- Capital City Bowl
- Carson City Lanes
- Changing Lanes
- Chickasha Bowling Center
- Chick’s Bar & Lanes
- Circle Lanes
- Clarksville Strike & Spare
- Conway Family Bowl
- Cowtown Bowling Center
- Cre8tive Lanes
- Crossroads Bowling Center
- Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge
- Eagle Ridge Bowling Center
- Edwin Memorial Lanes
- England Airpark Lanes
- Family Fun Lanes
- Fast Lanes
- Fiesta Lanes Bowling Center
- Fireball Lanes Bar & Grill
- Frontier Lanes
- Golden Lanes
- High Country Bowling
- Highway 35 Lanes
- Hilltop Lanes
- Hollywood Bowl
- Hometown Bowl
- Hurricane Lanes
- Interstate Bowl
- King Pin Bowling Center
- Kings Bowl Of Norwalk
- King’s Pins
- Legacy Lanes & Lounge
- Liberty Lanes
- Liberty Strikes & Spares Bowling
- Lone Star Bowl
- Lucky Strike
- Manitowoc County Bowling Hall
- Marathon Ten Pin
- Midland Family Bowl
- Millennium Bowl
- NC Lanes
- Oops Alley Family Entertainment Center
- Paradise Lanes
- Pinz Bowling Center
- Plano Super Bowl
- Power Bowl
- Purple Bowl
- Putters & Gutters Fun Center
- Revel & Roll
- Rush Bowl
- Russell Family Bowling Center
- Shamrock Lanes & Grill
- Sip N Bowl
- Southbound Alley
- Southern Lanes
- Spare Time Fun Center
- Star Bowling Bar & Grill
- Stars & Strikes Bowling Center
- Sterling Rock ‘n Bowl
- Strike 10 Bowling
- Strike Zone
- Strike Zone Entertainment Center
- Strikers Bowling Alley
- Sunset Bowling Lanes
- Sunshine Bowling Center
- Ten High Country Lanes
- The Alley at Southshore
- Thunder Lanes Bowling Center
- Time To Spare Entertainment
- Tip Top Lanes
- Town & Country Lanes
- Treasure Lanes
- Twilight Bowling Center
- VA Bowling
- Valley Lanes
- Westview Lanes
Finding the Perfect Name: Putting It All Together
By now, you should have a lengthy list of words, phrases, and terms you can use in your business name. At this point, I highly recommend going through and removing any that are hard to spell or pronounce.
Now, you can start combining pieces together until something stands out. It may help to create a list of potential names you can use. From there, you can narrow things down to your favorites.
But before you make your final decision, it’s important that your new name passes a few tests.
Say It Out Loud
Make sure you say your new name out loud. It may look great as a logo, domain name, and on a business card. But it also needs to sound good when you say it out loud.
You can also sit down with someone and talk about your business. Does saying the name in casual conversation sound natural? If not, you may want to consider something simpler or easier to say.
Logo Design
Lastly, think about how to incorporate your new name into a logo. Logos should be simple, memorable, and indicative of your brand.
Take Apple, for example. Their business name is easily incorporated into a logo. And today, it’s a household symbol that everyone immediately recognizes.
A logo is an important part of your brand identity, so don’t forget to consider turning your name into a memorable logo as you make your final decision.
Related: How to create a logo for your business.
Is Your Bowling Alley Name Available to Use?
At this point, you should have several top considerations to choose from. And the best way to narrow it down further is to check each one for availability.
This step is necessary because using a name that someone else is using could be very costly, time-consuming to rebrand your business, and possibly embarrassing. There are several places to look to check whether a name is available to use, so let’s walk through the most common ones.
Can the business name be registered in your state?
If you plan to use a specific business name, you may be required by the state to verify it’s available to use.
Related: How to check business name availability in your state
Is your name already trademarked?
When searching for a name for your new business, you should check that your new name isn’t trademarked by someone else. If it is, you may not be allowed to use it legally.
Thankfully, the United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) makes trademark searching a breeze through their Trademark Database.
A name isn’t necessarily available if it doesn’t appear in this search. Every business has some limited protection through a common law trademark. This means another business can’t open up down the street with the same name, as this creates confusion for customers. Also, check local competitors by doing a Google search and looking through the Yellow Pages.
If your name is available and you want to protect it from being used by anyone else, you can register it with the USPTO.
Related: How to check for a trademark
Hopefully, you now have some good name ideas for your bowling alley. Once you have narrowed this list to just a few and researched that they are all available, start asking friends, family, and potential customers their thoughts to get feedback, and then pick your perfect bowling alley name!
