How Do You Come Up With A Candle Name?

Naming candles is an essential part of starting or growing a candle business. The name sets the tone for the brand and creates an association with the product in customers’ minds. Choosing the right name not only makes marketing and branding easier, it can help candles stand out in a crowded market. With creativity and strategy, candle makers can come up with a memorable, descriptive name that lights the way for their business.

Understand Your Brand

The name you choose for your candle business should align with and reinforce the overall brand image and values. Your brand identity encompasses more than just a name; it includes your logo, color scheme, packaging, messaging, and the emotions you want customers to feel when they encounter your products.

Before brainstorming names, take time to clarify your target audience, brand personality and the experience you want to create for customers. Know the vibe and aesthetics that you want to project. This understanding will help guide you in choosing a name that feels cohesive.

For example, if your brand has an elegant, sophisticated feel with sleek packaging and refined scents like jasmine and sandalwood, names with “Luxury,” “Reserve” or “Signature” would likely suit it best. But if your brand embodies nature-inspired, organic simplicity, names using words like “Grove,” “Botanica” or “Apothecary” would better reinforce that image.

The name should feel like an authentic expression and extension of the brand identity you’ve defined. When it’s aligned, the name will serve as a memorable touchpoint that connectors customers back to the characteristics and emotions tied to your brand.

Describe the Scent

One of the most popular ways to name a candle is to simply describe the scent. For example, a candle that smells like lavender could be called “Lavender Fields” or “Lavender Breeze” (https://kalamazoocandle.com/blogs/learn-about-candles/scent-names-for-candles). You want the name to evoke the scent and trigger the senses. Other descriptive names for common candle scents include “Cinnamon Spice,” “Fresh Cut Roses,” and “Ocean Breeze.”

It’s generally advised to avoid just using the fragrance oil name as the candle name. Coming up with a descriptive name helps connect the scent to memories, visuals, and emotions (https://armatagecandlecompany.com/blog/how-to-name-your-candles/). A fragrance oil called “Lavender Vanilla” could become “Twilight Lavender” or “Soothing Dreams.” Get creative with imagery that captures the essence of the scent.

Evocative Visuals

When naming candles, it’s important to consider the look and color of the candle itself. Often, candle names will evoke visuals that connect to the appearance of the candle. For example, a candle with a deep red color could be called “Rose Petal,” conjuring up images of vibrant red rose petals (source). A candle with a light green color may be named “Sea Glass,” eliciting thoughts of smoothed green glass found on the beach.

Names that spark visuals in customers’ minds help connect the look of a candle to its scent. Using visual words like “sunset,” “firefly,” or “harvest” makes customers associate those sights and colors to the candle. When naming, consider words that paint a vibrant image related to the color palette. Connecting scents to sights through naming helps customers imagine the scent and look of a candle together.

Emotions and Memories

When naming your candle, think about the feelings and memories you want it to elicit in customers. Candle scents are closely tied to emotions, so choose a name that evokes a certain mood or transports people to a cherished memory. For example, scents like lavender or chamomile can promote relaxation, so names like “Sleepy Time” or “Twilight Calm” work well. Florals and fruits tend to uplift, so names like “Spring Blossoms” or “Summer Peach” feel cheerful. Gourmand scents remind people of favorite foods and family recipes, like “Grandma’s Kitchen” or “Mom’s Apple Pie.” Use nostalgic names to take customers back to childhood spots like “Campfire Nights” or “Grandpa’s Workshop.” Scent can powerfully trigger memories, so keep this in mind when crafting your candle names.

Sources:

https://kalamazoocandle.com/blogs/learn-about-candles/scent-names-for-candles

Tap Into Trends

When coming up with candle names, it can be helpful to leverage popular and timely themes. Looking at current trends in pop culture, holidays, seasons, and events can provide inspiration for relevant candle names that will resonate with customers. For example, around the winter holidays, candles with names related to Christmas, Hanukkah, or seasonal themes like “Winter Wonderland” tend to sell well. Capitalizing on trends related to TV shows, celebrities, or viral moments can also help generate interest around a candle. Services like Google Trends can give insight into rising search volumes around certain topics and keywords as well. Overall, tapping into trends and timely themes when naming candles can boost appeal and sales.

As an example, a candle company could release a special candle called “Valentine’s Date Night” around February for Valentine’s Day gifting. Or a scent called “Pumpkin Spice Latte” would likely gain traction during the fall pumpkin spice craze. Keeping up with the latest pop culture and news stories can provide lots of creative naming inspiration when developing candle products.

Punny Names

Creative and funny pun names are a great way to make your candles memorable and put a smile on your customers’ faces. A few examples of punny candle names include:

– “Wick Happens” for an adventurous, mysterious scent (source)

– “Light My Fire” for a bold, spicy scent

– “Don’t Get Burned” for a fresh, clean scent

– “Happy Camper” for an outdoorsy, smoky scent

– “Berry Naughty” for a sweet, fruity scent

– “Moonlighting” for a relaxing, nighttime scent

– “Humor Me” for an uplifting, bright scent

The key is to come up with a clever play on words that connects to the scent profile or overall theme of the candle. Focus the pun around verbs, adjectives, emotions, activities, places, or nostalgia. Make sure the pun makes logical sense and easily conveys the vibe of the candle. Testing pun names out on friends and getting feedback can help narrow down the very best options.

Location-Based

Naming your candle based on a specific city, country, or other location can be an evocative way to capture a mood or memory. For example, Paris or Hawaii themed candles can evoke thoughts of romance or tropical vacations. You could name a candle after your hometown or a place with personal meaning. Just make sure not to infringe on any trademarks or copyrights associated with those locations. According to source, brands like Homesick offer a variety of candles inspired by different destinations like Key West, Austin, and more.

When naming location-inspired candles, it helps to choose somewhere that conjures distinct imagery in people’s minds. For instance, Santosha’s Santorini candle immediately sparks visions of white-washed buildings and azure seas. Other ideas could include Parisian Cafe, Venetian Romance, or Mountain Lodge if you’re aiming for a cozy, rustic vibe. Ultimately, naming your candle after a specific place can transport customers to that location through scent and memory.

Strategic Keywords

Selecting the right keywords for your candle names can help with search engine optimization (SEO) and drive more traffic to your site. Do some keyword research to find terms people search when looking for candles. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush can help identify high-search, low-competition keywords.

For example, rather than naming a candle “Ocean Breeze,” consider names like “Beach Waves Candle” or “Oceanfront Candle” that include strategic keywords. Just be sure phrases flow naturally. According to Google Keyword Planner, “beach candle” gets over 10,000 monthly searches, while the longer name “beach waves candle” still gets around 1,300.

Aim for candle names with 2-3 keywords, taking care not to over-optimize. Keyword-rich names may get you some extra visibility, but descriptive, evocative names tend to resonate more with buyers. Only include keywords that authentically relate to the scent. As search engines get smarter, excessive SEO can get penalized.

Refer to resources like Google Trends, merchantwords.com, and Etsy’s keyword tool to research keywords and naming ideas. Just be sure not to copy competitors’ product names. Get inspiration from popular search terms, but make candle names unique to your brand.

Test Your Names

Before settling on a final candle name, it’s important to test it out with your target audience. Consider creating a focus group or survey and ask people for their feedback on your top name options. This allows you to see how easy the names are to remember, if they evoke the right product image, and whether they resonate emotionally. You can even ask which names sound the most appealing. This article recommends gathering feedback from your target demographic to ensure you choose a name with strong customer appeal.

Testing out candle names can provide invaluable insight into how your audience perceives them. Focusing on the target customer perspective allows you to select a name that aligns with your brand image and product offering. Soliciting direct feedback minimizes the risk of choosing a name that falls flat. Using surveys and focus groups enables you to refine your name ideas until you find the perfect fit.