How to Choose a Good Farm Name
Naming your Farm business is one of the most pivotal steps when starting a business. It represents your Farm Brand, communicates your values to buyers, and can help propel your business forward.
A good Farm name requires brainstorming, iteration, and can take time to discover. Your Farm name should be unique to you in your specific region – which will help solidify your Farm Brand identity and improve your discoverability with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
This blog should be used as a guide to help choose the best name for your Farm business. Read on to learn more Farm name best practices.
Tips For Choosing a Farm Name
1. Know Your Farm Brand
Before you start brainstorming Farm name ideas, you need to know your Farm Brand. Your Farm name should be a reflection of your values and vision. If you need help envisioning your Farm Brand, read this blog for tips and questions to ask yourself:
2. Make your Farm Name Easy to Pronounce and Spell
Long, hard-to-pronounce names can be distracting and difficult to remember. Customers don’t want to type long names (especially on mobile phones). And your Farm name shouldn’t be challenging to spell.
Instead, stick to simple names that customers can easily pronounce and spell. There’s no need to make it complicated. Think of how easy prominent Brand names are to spell and pronounce: Cabelas, John Deere, and Tractor Supply. Your Farm name should roll off the tongue like that.
3. Keep your Farm Name Unique (but not too unique)
Your Farm name should be unique and memorable. However, don’t make up words that are unrelated to your Farm. How will buyers remember and pronounce it if they don’t know what it means?
By understanding your Farm Brand, you can create a unique name that is unique to you but still portrays your business.
4. See How Others Name Their Farm
Once you have a list of potential Farm names, we recommend using Google to see if your ideas are used by other existing Farmers (with the same or similar name). It’s essential not to pick a Farm name that has widespread use; otherwise, it can confuse your customers about which Farm is yours!
5. Don’t Forget to Brainstorm
Assuming you’ll identify your favorite name on the first try is not practical. Unfortunately, finding a name takes brainstorming, iteration, and research. Don’t be afraid to test different combinations of nouns and adjectives to find the right name for your Farm.
Types of Names
Out of the 1000s of Farms we work with, many Farm business names fall into four (4) specific categories:
1. Expressive Names
These names allow you to create a Farm name that can be fun and easy to remember. They can use a wide range of adjectives (silly, dirty, lazy, rocking) with a noun (Cattle, Produce, Pine). You can use your interests or hobbies to promote yourself.
For example, if your Farm is about being adventurous, like trying new foods and recipes, include that in your Farm name! Or if your Farm loves making sure everyone is stuffed full of food, mess around with the word “stuffed”. This is truly where your Brand's core values can shine.
Examples of expressive names are Dirty Girl Produce and Local Appetite Growers. While these names may not seem typical, they’re memorable.
Expressive names are easy to combine with any other Farm name examples listed below - giving you a wide variety of creative Farm names to choose from.
2. Family Names
Many Farm businesses are family businesses. As such, family Farm names are typically a big hit. If your brand highlights the importance of community and family, choosing a family name is a great fit.
Unfortunately, there are many common last names. If your last name is relatively common (Smith, Johnson, Williams, etc.), your discoverability may be impacted by SEO. Since many Farms could share the same name, customers may get confused and re-directed to the wrong Farm.
If you want a Family name, there are some ways to make it a good name for a Farm. Instead of [ Family Name ] + Farm or Ranch, focus on what products you produce.
For example, a Farm we work with uses their name “Tagge” but also includes the products they produce. In this case: Tagge’s Famous Fruit and Veggie Farm.
Another Farm uses their first names instead of their last name. This Farm is still a family Farm but uses first names to build a strong brand. In this case: Dan & Debbie’s Creamery.
3. Geographical Names
Some Farms have specific geographical features. Whether there’s a river running through the Farm, a large pond, a tall tree, or plenty of rocks - there’s a feature associated with your Farm. This feature can represent your Farm and provide a unique name for your Farm.
For example, this Farmer moved to Charleston, South Carolina, as he found a niche in the market. To play on the local terminology, he named his Farm Chucktown Acres as Chucktown is an affectionate local nickname for Charleston, South Carolina.
If your Farm is about the land - a geographical feature might be right for you! If you have a cool feature on your Farm, you can create a cool Farm name!
4. Farm Related
Why not, right? If you can, you might well include your Farm products. If your Farm is known for something “unusual”, why not use it in your name? Some products are regionally specific, and using them in your Farm name can show what you offer.
If you offer seafood, maple products, or other items that are not regionally available, those items can be perfect in your Farms name. Don’t be afraid to spruce it up a little, either.
For example, these maple Farmers in New York named their Farm Sacred Roots Maple. They highlighted their products (maple) while still showcasing a unique Farm name.
However, if your Farm provides locally available products throughout the region, you might be tempted to add “organic” or “locally grown”. While these names can work, they must be precise and typically combine with another type of name.
For example, you could combine a family name with a Farm specific name (ex: Maggie’s Chickens). Or, this Farm instead went the more basic route, naming themselves Grass Fed Cattle Co. While we don’t always recommend this, it can be helpful. Instead of using Farm or Ranch, they decided to use Cattle Co - telling consumers they focus primarily on beef.
5. Avoid Liability
Lastly, avoiding potential liability for infringing on another Farm’s trade name and/or goodwill is vital. Even if a Farm has not “registered” their name as a trademark, many states recognize common law rights of business owners to the goodwill associated with their tradename. The same would be true of names that sound close enough to create buyer confusion with an alternate spelling. If you have legal concerns about naming your Farm, consider consulting a local attorney.
With Farm names, it’s best to conduct some research. Search Farm names in the area and see if any are using something Farm related and how often it appears. You don’t want to get lost in the crowd.
At the end of it all, make sure the Farm name feels right to you. If the Farm name resonates with you, and there is no apparent encroachment of another existing Farm name, then perhaps it’s a good Farm name for your business. Take your time - don’t be afraid to brainstorm multiple variations and mix and match different nouns and adjectives to find your perfect Farm name.
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution for Farmers to grow and manage their business. To learn why successful Farms run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.