What's in a name?

I recently met an entrepreneur, or should I say a "pandapreneur?"

Several weeks ago at a luncheon meeting of the Women's Entrepreneurial Network, I met Randa (The Pandapreneur) Shallal who recently started her own business, "Sweet Louise Sauces." She produces and sells wonderful toppings for ice cream (I tried them so I know first hand how good they are!). We started talking about how we came about naming our businesses.

I started using the name "Sandy's Stuff" in the early 90's when I tried my hand as an antique dealer (LONG before I ever dreamed I'd someday own a women's consignment store). I then registered that name when I applied for my vendor's license (still not knowing exactly what I wanted to sell). In hindsight, the name worked because I ended up doing several different things under one business name.

I also thought people would remember my name since it's part of my business name. (Was I wrong - hardly a week goes by without someone calling me "Sally!")

So how did Randa come up with Sweet Louise? Well, her fiance's last name (and soon to be hers) is Sweet. So that part makes sense. One day, she and her fiance were agonizing over what to call their new enterprise. Their cat Louise startled them by jumping up on the table. Her fiance yelled, "Sweet Louise!" . . . and the rest is history.

What is the origin of the name of your business? If you weren't able to name it yourself, what would you have named it?