Descriptive names help early when nobody knows you (a customer instantly gets "Instamojo" or "BookMyShow"), but they box you in when you expand and they're hard to trademark. Abstract names cost more marketing to load with meaning up front, yet they age better and own more mental space. For most early founders, lean slightly descriptive or suggestive, then let the brand grow into something bigger.
3 resources, 3 link-checked.
Paul Graham's short, opinionated take on naming from someone who has seen thousands of startups, canonical, no-fluff, and free.
From paulgraham.com by Paul Graham 8 min read
Watkins runs a naming firm and gives you an actual framework instead of vibes: her SMILE test (a good name is Suggestive, Meaningful, uses Imagery, has Legs, is Emotional) and her SCRATCH test (the traps to avoid, including a name that is too Restrictive) map directly onto the descriptive-versus-abstract call. It is the most practical single book if you want to sit down and generate and grade candidate names. Read it as a toolkit, not gospel.
From Berrett-Koehler / Penguin Random House by Alexandra Watkins Short book, around 190 pages
This is the clearest plain-language explainer of the specific downside you are weighing: a descriptive name (think Kentucky Fried Chicken) is instantly clear and searchable, but the article walks through how it starts to only describe a slice of what you do once you expand. It lays out both sides honestly so you can decide, rather than declaring a winner. Good grounding before you commit to a name you will be stuck with.
From Fabrik Brands (branding agency blog) by Fabrik Brands Medium read, roughly 8 to 10 minutes
The same ground, over in Build your online store, our D2C track.
How founders actually use AI for this, over in Content Creation.
The same ground, over in Own the story, our GTM track.
