Today, the pet store industry is a $21 billion business, with more than 18,000 pet stores across the United States.
It probably feels like all the good pet shop names are already taken with that many businesses, right? Furthermore, how do you find an excellent name for your pet business that represents your brand and speaks to your target audience?
How do you make the final decision?
If you’re struggling to name your pet store, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. In this article, I cover some of the top tips for naming your new business and how to make sure the name is legally available for you to use.
Learn more about the pet store industry
Tips For Naming A Pet Store
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?
Petco. PetSmart. Petsense.
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 Hear and Pronounce
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 Pet-Related Terms
Since you’re opening a pet store, using pet-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 could include Pet Tails Pets & More, Treats Unleashed, Fur Babies, or Scales and Tails.
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 come up with 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 pet stores.
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 pets
- 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. What’s Your Specialty?
Do you specialize in a particular genre or niche? Maybe you focus on dogs, cats, or even lizards.
Regardless of your specialty, consider alluding to it in the name of your business.
6. 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:
- Pet Supplies Plus Pittsburg
- Petland Denver
- Henderson Pets
- Tri-State Pet Supply
With that said, make sure the name you choose isn’t limiting if you decide to move or expand your pet store down the road.
7. 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:
- Dee’s Pets
- Kennedy’s Pet Shop
If you go this route, keep in mind it may make it harder to sell your pet store later on.
List of Catchy Pet Store Business Names
Here is a list of existing pet store 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!
- A Dog’s Life
- About Pets
- All About The Dog
- Animal House Pet Store
- Animal Kingdom
- Animal Pet Shop
- Animal Trot Pet Shop
- Aqualand Pet Center
- Aquamart
- Aquarium Gulf Coast
- Arizona Bird Store
- Aunt Tina’s Pet Shop
- AZ Mama Bear Pet Care
- Bark & Purr Pet Store & Grooming
- Best for the Beasts
- Bird & Parrot Store
- Blue Collar Pet Store
- Bow Wow Barn
- Bow, Meow, & Squeak!
- Bubba’s Pet Emporium
- Buster’s Natural Pet Supply
- Cats Meow Pet Shop
- Come Play Pet Store
- Concord Pet Foods & Supplies
- Cool Cat Pet Store
- Country Pet Naturals
- Danbury Feed & Pet Supply
- Davis Discount Pet Store
- Discount Pets
- Dogy Daze
- Dr. Kate’s Pet Place
- Emmon’s Tropical Fish & Pond
- Ever Evolving Exotics
- Family Pet Center
- Fin & Feather Pet
- Fins & Things
- Fish Bowl Pets
- Fish Galore Critters & More
- Foggy Dog
- Front Range Pet Stop
- Furry Friends
- Green Paws Pet Market
- Happy Paws
- Happy Tail Pet Shop
- Happy Tails Pets
- Happy Wag
- Healthy Pet
- International Pet Express
- Jungle Pet Shop
- Just Puppies
- Karen’s Pet Place
- Kissimmee Valley Feed Supply
- Kitty Korner
- Lake Pleasant Pets
- Leesburg Pet Center
- Lilly Pad Exotic Pets
- Little Pet Barn
- Little Pets World
- Love Our Pet
- Majestic Pets
- Marine Warehouse Aquarium
- Meow Plus
- Milo’s Pet Shop
- Muddy Mutts
- My Dog Supply
- My Dog’s Boutique
- My Pet Webstore
- Mystic Pet Shop
- Natural Pet Outfitters
- Naughty Dog
- Naya’s Pet Place
- Neighborhood Pet Shoppe
- Olympic Pet Shop
- Only Natural Pet Store
- Optimum Aquarium
- Pampered Pet Care
- Pampered Pooch
- Panhandle Pet Supply
- Pawn n’ Claws
- Paws On The Avenue
- Paw’s Pet Supply
- Paws Pet Treats & Supplies
- Pawsitive Pet
- Pet Care Center
- Pet City
- Pet Depot
- Pet Haus
- Pet Paradise
- Pet Patch
- Pet Planet
- Pet Shop
- Pet Stop
- Pet World
- Pet Zone Tropical Fish
- Pets & Beyond
- Pets Boutik
- Pets N More
- Pets Universe
- Pets Unlimited
- Petsy Shop
- Petz Place
- Planet Bark
- Pratt’s Pets & Pet Supplies
- Predators Reptile Center
- Puppy Avenue
- Puppy Love
- Puppy Patch
- Puppy Town
- Puppy World
- Puppy’s Heaven
- Pups ‘N Stuff
- Right Meow Pet Shop
- Riley’s Natural Pet Supply
- Royal Pets Market & Resort
- Safari Stan’s Pet Center
- Scales & Tails
- Scales ‘n Tails
- Slither & Swim
- Sunflower Pet Supply
- Tanks A Lot
- The Animal Store
- The Cat’s Meow Pet Shop
- The Dog Bar
- The Nest Pet Shop
- The Pet House
- Timberwoof Pet Boutique
- Tucson Reptile Shop
- Turtle World Petshop
- Unleashed Pets
- Unleashed Woof
- Urban Pet
- Wagging Tail Pet Center
- Wags, Whiskers & Wings
- Whole Pet Essentials
- Wholesome Hound
- Wild Birds Unlimited
- Wild Kingdom
- Woofs ‘N’ Hoofs
- Worldwide Fish & Pets
- Xtreme Exotics
- Your Pet Store
- Yuppy Puppy Pet Shop
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 Pet Store 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 vital 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 pet store. 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 pet store name!
