How to Choose a Coffee Shop Name + 50 Coffee Shop Name Ideas to Inspire You

Coffee Shop Name Ideas

Do you love coffee? Do you have a knack for tasting the nuances between different coffee beans? Do you want to create and grow a team of baristas, cooks, and managers who can create an amazing customer experience? Have you worked in coffee shops and cafes and felt invigorated by the rush (okay, and the caffeine)? Do you have an eye for decor and want to turn a space from an empty box to a warm, inviting coffee shop? You might be ready to open a coffee shop. 

Step 1 of making this dream come true is doing some brainstorming around what you want your coffee shop to be. And as soon as you've got your concept nailed down, you're gonna need a coffee shop name that brings it all together. It'll be all over your business plan, social media, branding, napkins, cups, uniforms — your coffee shop name is a critical business decision. Here's how to go about choosing one. 

What are good coffee shop names?

A great coffee shop name should be unique. In just a couple of words — don't let it get too long! — you'll need to convey your brand, your personality, and ideally, the type of goods your customers can expect to eat and drink there. It's challenging!  

You'll want to convey the details — are you a coffee roastery as well? Or do you specialize in espresso? — keep it easy enough to spell and remember, and (this one’s extra important) not be too similar to any other restaurants or small businesses in your area. 

With all that in mind, here are some tips to get you started on the path to discovering the right restaurant name ideas for your new spot.

How Do I Choose a Coffee Shop Name?

Here's a brief overview of how to choose a coffee shop name or start gathering ideas. 

• Write down your coffee shop's core values, mission, description, team, and location

• Ensure your coffee shop name isn’t already taken

• Play around with a name generator to spark new ideas (and rule out the types of names you don’t want) 

• Reach out to your community for coffee shop name ideas

We’ll dive into all of these steps below, and keep reading to get inspired by 50 real coffee shop name examples.

1. Write down your coffee shop’s mission, vision, purpose, and core values. 

Your coffee shop's core values and mission statement can and should play a role in choosing the right name, but there's other elements that can also help you paint a picture of your business in just a few words. Grab a pen and paper and write down the following:

• The type of coffee or food you’ll be offering

• Your coffee shop’s core values

• The intended personality and vibe of your coffee shop

• Adjectives you’d use to describe your coffee shop

• Your name (and the name of your business partners, if any) 

• Any family names that are important to you

• The neighborhood or town where it will be located

The purpose of this exercise is to pull out words and phrases that describe your coffee shop and may warrant inclusion in your restaurant’s name. This list will also come in handy when building out your coffee shop business plan. 

When you can’t think of anything else to add, read back over your list of superlatives, adjectives, and descriptors and circle your favorites. These will be the building blocks of your coffee shop name.

2. Choose a name that isn’t already taken

To avoid stepping on any toes, and to avoid copyright issues, make sure your name is completely unique. Once you've settled on a handful of contenders, run these possible names through some search engines and the following resources:

• Google search 

• Google My Business

• The Yellow Pages 

• The Better Business Bureau

• The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark database search

To learn more about copyright, head to Copyright.gov.

3. Use a coffee shop name generator to spark new ideas. 

Some of the following five name generators ask for guidance in the form of keywords (have your key word shortlist on hand), and others just assemble random combinations of words. While some of the suggested names and combinations you get from this step will be goofy and won't come close to fitting your needs, it'll help you narrow down what you like and what you don't. 

Restaurant and Coffee Shop Name Generators

• Namelix Restaurant Name Generator 

• Buzztime Restaurant Name Generator

• Fantasy Name Generators' Restaurant Name Generator

• Business Name Generator

• Kopywriting Kourse Restaurant Name Generator

4. Ask your community for coffee shop name ideas

Reach out to your community with ideas. If you want to involve them from day 1, tell friends and family about your concept (your elevator pitch will be handy here!) and ask them what they think it should be called. 

Or, you can take to social media and share a couple of your shortlisted options and ask your community to vote on which name they like best. You can use your personal account here, since you likely won't have a social media page built for your business if you haven't chosen a name yet. 

You can also offer future discounts or raffle off a free coffee on opening day to all the people who help you with this task.

It can also be helpful to look to other coffee shops for inspiration, especially those that seem to share your values or vibe. And on that note, let’s look at some lists — from cute coffee shop names to unique coffee shop names and everything in between — to help you brainstorm.

52 Cool Coffee Shop Name Ideas to Inspire You

Cute Coffee Shop Names

1. Moonbird Coffee  – Chamblee, GA

2. Book Club – New York, NY

3. The Boy & The Bear – Redondo Beach, CA

4. Sips Cafe – Miami, FL

5. Go Get Em Tiger – Los Angeles, CA

6. Caffeine Machine – Las Vegas, NV

7. Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books – Philadelphia, PA

Unique Coffee Shop Names 

8. 3 Little Figs – Somerville, MA

9. Tandem Coffee + Bakery – Portland, ME 

10. Radio Roasters – Decatur, GA 

11. Dayglow – Los Angeles, CA 

12. Pedal & Pour – Las Vegas, NV

13. Flat Black Coffee Company – Boston, MA 

14. Antidote Coffee – Houston, TX

15. Interstellar – Los Angeles, CA

16. Fiction Coffee – Dallas, TX

17. VanillaBlack – Los Angeles, CA 

18. Weekend Coffee – Dallas, TX

19. Houndstooth Coffee – Dallas, TX

20. Rivers and Roads Coffee – Denver, CO

21. Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors – Austin, TX

22. Stay Golden – Nashville, TN

23. Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea – Minneapolis, MN

24. Quixotic Coffee – Minneapolis, MN

Clever Coffee Shop Names 

25. Better Half Coffee & Cocktails – Austin, TX

26. Cupla Coffee – Salt Lake City, UT

27. Coat Check Coffee – Indianapolis, IN

28. Thinking Cup – Boston, MA 

29. A 2nd Cup – Houston, TX 

30. The Tipping Point Coffee – Houston, TX 

31. Urban Grind – Atlanta, GA 

32. Crema – Denver, CO

33. Drip Coffee Shop – Atlanta, GA 

34. Steam Espresso Bar – Denver, CO

Funny Coffee Shop Names

35. Hip Stirs Coffee House — Brookville, OH

36. Boomtown Coffee – Houston, TX 

37. Cafe Jumping Bean – Chicago, IL

38. The Human Bean – Henderson, NV

39. goodboybob coffee – Santa Monica, CA 

40. Dandy Lion Coffee Co. – Denver, CO

41. La La Land Kind Café – Dallas, TX

42. Take It Easy Roasters – Las Vegas, NV

43. The Wormhole Coffee – Chicago, IL

44. Lost Sock Coffee Shop – Washington, DC 

45. The Monkey & The Elephant – Philadelphia, PA

46. Brew It Coffee House – Las Vegas, NV 

47. Jiggy Coffee – Philadelphia, PA 

48. The Frothy Monkey – Nashville, TN

49. Cafe Grumpy – Coral Gables, FL

50. Ugly Mugs Coffee & Tea – Nashville, TN

Get Brewing!

Once you settle on a name for your new coffee shop (Congrats!), you’re ready to get going on your opening checklist. Check out the helpful resources from Toast to make sure you’re starting your journey to restaurant ownership off on the right foot.

Related Coffee Shop Resources

• Opening a Coffee Shop

• How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan

• Coffee Shop Business Plan Template

• Best Coffee Shop POS System

• Cost to Open a Coffee Shop

• Coffee Shop Design Ideas

• Coffee Shop Branding

• Best Coffee Shop Websites

• Coffee Shop Marketing Ideas

• How Much Do Coffee Shops Make

• Coffee Shop Ideas and Concepts

• Coffee Shop Menu Ideas

• Coffee Shop Floor Plans

• Coffee Shop Licenses and Permits

• Best Coffee Shop POS Systems

• Coffee Shop Supplies