Okay, I admit it. I’m actually not asking for a friend. Let me back up just a little bit.

I’ve been thinking for some time about starting a company to build solutions for marketing planning and budgeting. I had been using a very clunky internal description for the company for a number of months, because I was struggling to find the right name.

I wanted something that was short, evocative of what we were doing, and “own-able” – along with being available for web domain, Twitter address, etc. Having been through the naming process a number of times, I know that can be a tall order – especially if your budget is precisely $0.

After some long sessions on register.com – and potentially aided by an adult beverage or two – I came up with the name “plannuh“. At seven characters, it meets the short requirement for a domain. It has “plan” as its root, making it evocative of what we’re trying to accomplish. And it is indeed a fake word – meaning that I will own it.

As an extra bonus, it acknowledges our Boston roots because it sounds like you are saying “planner” with a Boston accent. I also thought it was a little bit funny since I was born and raised in Boston, but don’t have any real Boston twang, probably because my parents grew up in upstate New York.

Is it the perfect and final name? Probably not. But I was feeling pretty good about  it.

And then this text exchange happened with my wife:

The best part of the conversation is her last comment – she doubles down on her disapproval with the statement “I actually really hate it.”

Now what do I do?

Nothing in the short term. Maybe she will grow to like it (doubtful). Maybe I will develop a thicker skin (also doubtful). Or maybe it will become such a valuable brand that we will make a financial decision about our (her) acceptance.

Until then, I think the prudent move is to budget for some naming research.