Free business name comparison template

How to use the comparison template

Start by writing the naming brief above your table or in a separate sheet. Add your shortlist in the Candidate column. Keep the original spelling and write the intended domain separately if it differs.

The template includes columns for audience fit, pronunciation and spelling observations, domain research, registry and trademark research, team responses, concerns, next action, owner and review date. Delete columns you do not need and add one response column for each contributor. The CSV contains no macros, formulas or live availability checks.

• Use one row per candidate, with the same criteria across all rows.
• Write observations such as ‘two listeners spelled it differently’ instead of an unexplained score.
• Record the source and date alongside research results.
• Use Yes, No or Not decided for team responses; use Not checked for unfinished research.
• Give each unresolved item a next action and an owner.

A worked comparison without a misleading total score

Imagine three candidates for a fictional home-lighting studio. Candidate A has clear pronunciation but suggests only one product. Candidate B leaves room to grow but needs a spelling test. Candidate C has broad team support but its research is unfinished. None has been checked for real-world availability.

A total of 8 out of 10 would hide these differences. Instead, write the decision-relevant concern in its own column. You can decide whether a narrow meaning matters, run a spelling test, or finish a required check. Those actions move the decision forward.

If you use numerical ratings, agree on what each number means first and keep required checks outside the total. A high preference score must never cancel an unresolved legal question or turn an unavailable domain into an available one.

Run the review from the next-action column

Before the meeting, ask contributors to fill in their own responses. At the meeting, focus on changed evidence and unresolved concerns. If a row has no next action, decide whether it is ready for a decision or should leave the shortlist.

Keep an earlier copy when you make a major revision, so the reasons for rejecting or retaining a name do not disappear. A spreadsheet works well for a small exercise; agree who maintains it to avoid conflicting copies.

Move the team discussion into Esmii

When you want everyone working in the same place, create a workspace and a project in Esmii. Add your candidates, configure domain endings and custom checks, and invite your co-founders. Board and List show the same names, while each eligible member records their own response.

The template is a standalone starting point. Esmii does not currently import this CSV: add the candidates to your project yourself. Esmii provides automatic domain checks and a place to record team research; it does not register names, buy domains or replace professional legal advice.