Most professional advisory firms are simply named after their founders. Some retain the names of just the first two or 3 partners.
The longest I have found, unless you know better, was a small Los Angeles entertainment firm, once known as: Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie, Stiffelman, Cook, Johnson, Lande & Wolf.
I pity the receptionists required to reel that off when welcoming visitors or answering the phone!
Firms often combine their names when they merge. By way of example, the firm I trained with, named after the founding partner Mr Wood, was Wood & Co.
After a merger it became Wood King, next Chantrey Wood King, then Chantrey Vellacott which was later absorbed by Moore Stephens. None of these iterations tell anyone anything about the nature of the business.
It is still very common for smaller accountancy firms to be named after the founder(s), possibly with the addition of: “and associates” or “& Co” (even when they work alone).
If your name is sufficiently distinct and memorable this may work fine. And there’s nothing wrong with this approach in any event.
But a firm named after an individual will rarely STAND OUT from the crowd. And it may not be evidently an accountancy firm either. This may not matter if you already have a thriving practice, a strong tag-line or if you and your practice STAND OUT for other reasons.
If you are looking to grow however then it must make sense to start by choosing a distinct STAND OUT name for the business. One that has meaning to you sure, but also one that is memorable and that will resonate with those who know you or become aware of you.
Historically, some accounting bodies (the ICAEW specifically) placed restrictions on the naming options available to accountants.
These days there are plenty of accountants with one-word business names that STAND OUT as they are distinct. Sometimes the word is one that is favoured by the founder. Ideally there will be a simple story that explains the choice of word and how it links to the business of the firm. Such stories, told well, can help the business name to be better remembered than might otherwise be the case.
I must admit I’m not a fan of those large firms that have switched their name to a a small number of letters or a made up word – especially if they also try to relate it to an irrelevant, immemorable and contrived story.
I suspect that some people running their own practices want to give the impression that they are bigger than is really the case. Perhaps this is the reason for adopting the same naming convention as the larger accountancy firms.
Some of the STAND OUT business names for accountancy firms I have encountered include:
Numbers + Beyond – Chartered Accountancy and Virtual FD practice run by Linda Foster
Blue Penguin Accountants Chartered Accountancy firm run by Peter Watkins
Grow Smart Finance – Chartered management accountancy practice run by Liesl Davis
The Tax Guys – Tax and accountancy practice run by Jonathan Amponsah
Cheap Accounting – Accountancy franchise established by Elaine Clark
I assume that some experts believe that the best business names are abstract words – as there are so many of these around.
My preference, if you want to STAND OUT is to adopt a name that makes clear what your business is. For the same reason I’m not a fan of coined names (that come from made-up words) as, in the absence of a large marketing budget, these are unlikely to be as memorable as real words.
Finding a business name that is simple enough and easy to recall and spell isn’t always easy. Unusual words may STAND OUT for the wrong reasons as they may be hard to recall and tough to find on line if people cannot recall the spelling.
Regardless of whether you use your name, a real word, a made up word or a combination of words, do not make a final decision until you have checked what shows up when you search for that name online, that you can obtain the domain name and that you can register it at Companies House (even if your company/LLP is to be dormant if you operate as a sole practitioner).
