TL;DR: Seeking cool product names? Let these twenty-one creative thinking questions from Brainzooming ignite your imagination. Explore fictional and real person names, animal associations, geographic origins, user nicknames, emotional reactions, prominent features and benefits, user behaviors, exceptional performance, and more. In one case study, participants using these questions on an online collaboration platform generated an astonishing 700 naming ideas and 400 specific name options within a mere two hours!

Almost daily, people are looking at the Brainzooming blog for ideas for cool product names. Here are twenty-one additional questions to help you if that's what brought you to Brainzooming.

These creative thinking questions are representative of those we use with clients to explore ideas for cool product names. Using questions such as these creates an efficient and very productive naming process. During a recent naming exercise for a client, we generated seven hundred naming ideas and four hundred naming possibilities using questions comparable to this during a two hour online collaboration session.

Yes, you read that right. 700 naming possibilities and 400 specific name ideas in 2 hours!!!

21 Creative Thinking Questions for Cool Product Names

Ask these questions and imagine as many possibilities as you can for each question. The mega-list of names that results from that exercise will provide the basis for forming a variety of actual name possibilities.

1. Is there a fictional person's name associated with the product?
2. Is there a real person's name associated with the product?
3. What animal represents the product?
4. What are descriptive names for the geographic area from which the product originates?
5. What are descriptive names for the geographic area that the product is associated with?
6. What are nicknames for people who will use the product?
7. What does the product most remind you of in another product?
8. What emotional words describe the reactions people have when using your product?
9. What made up word or words would does the product suggest?
10. What names do people call the product after they've seen or used it for some time?
11. What names do people call the product when they first see it?
12. What words describe the product’s most prominent features?
13. What words describe the product's most prominent benefits?
14. What words describe what users do with the product when it's used as intended?
15. What words describe what users do with the product when it's used in a mistaken way?
16. What words describe what users do with the product when it's used in a very naughty way?
17. What words or phrases would people use to describe the product when it works exceptionally well?
18. How about when it works well over an extended period of time?
19. What words would make users of the product proud or excited about their participation with it?
20. What's the most matter of fact name that describes the product?
21. What's the strongest description of the product?

If your team is dispersed, call us to find out how an online Blast! collaboration allows many more of your team members to participate in naming exercises.

And if you’d like us to run with the project and generate the list of names, we’re happy to make it happen using a customized list of creative thinking questions tailored to your naming assignment.

And if you’re a few steps away from a name because you’re still searching for new product ideas, our Outside-In Innovation eBook is a must download resource. Get yours today using the download button below! – Mike Brown

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the free Brainzooming email updates.