Selecting a Practice Name

What kind of name does your practice need?

Select a name that clearly indicates what the practice does.  It should sound positive, healing, and maybe even offer hope.  Simple and short is better for branding, people remembering your name, and overall ease of use.

Do you want medical, clinic, institute, or center? They can help clarify to consumers what your business is. They also make the name longer. It’s a judgment call.

Consider whether or not you want geography in your name. If you plan to expand, consider this. You might not want to be Dallas Infusion Center if you plan to expand throughout the state. And, you may not want to be West Coast Diagnostics if you hope to go national. For a small private practice, adding geography to the name can help patients identify with them and can be good for search engines. Decide what makes sense for your practice.

Do you want a person’s name in the practice name? Generally, we don’t recommend it. However, it is a consideration when it is a solo practice or when the founder has a ton of name recognition.

What if there is an existing brand?

Do you have existing branding to work with? For instance, for a general surgery practice adding on bariatrics, they could simply take their Practice Name and add descriptive words:

• Practice Weight Loss
• Practice Weight Loss Center
• Practice Weight Loss Institute
• Practice Weight Loss Solutions
• Practice Weight Management
• Practice Bariatrics
• Practice Bariatric Alliance
• Practice Bariatric Institute
• Practice Metabolic & Bariatric Institute

Or, for an ObGyn practice adding a wellness center, they could add on to their practice name. As an example, if it is Encinitas Obstetrics & Gynecology, consider names like this for the wellness center:

• Encinitas Wellness
• Encinitas Restoration Institute
• Encinitas Vitality
• Encinitas Regenerative Center
• Encinitas Optimal Health
• Encinitas Revive Clinic

Ideas for positive words

Now what?

Start listing out names and get input from others. Keep a running list of names that are dropped (both because they are taken and because they didn’t make the cut) so that you don’t lost time revisiting them.

Then, we recommend selecting a first and second choice.  Or, a first choice, plus some variations of it.  Do a quick online search to be sure no one in your state in the same industry is using the name.  Then, there is a process to go through including checking the U.S. Patent and Trade Office’s database and other business name registers to formalize the name search. An attorney is the best person to manage this.