How we found the perfect name for our business

Names are funny things. They are given to you by your parents, remodelled by friends and (for lack of a less dramatic example) cursed upon by your enemies. They shift and evolve over time but are inextricably part of you. An element of your identity. With its importance stuck in my mind, I found myself floundering as we sought to choose a name for this business.

The websites scoured advised to choose a name that:

i. Is just the right length;

ii. Reflects the company’s tone, and;

iii. Allows for the business to grow.

After far too long deliberating, the floundering finished. We settled upon ‘Epoch Walking Tours’.

Why?

First, and of arguably the least importance, it is composed of 5 syllables. Not too short, not too long. The Goldilocks of a small business name.

Second, we wanted the name to reflect the clear communication our tours are prided upon. The latter three syllables, i.e. walking tours, describes the nature of the activity—being shown some interesting stuff whilst strolling. The first two syllables, i.e. epoch, refers to the unifying focus of these walking tours—“point[s] in time beginning a new or distinctive period” (Collins English Dictionary, 2026). Our Behind the Blackboard walking tour, for example, is designed to show the fascinating epochal development of mathematics through the physical marks that mathematical movers and shakers—Euclid, G.H.Hardy, Members of the Campaign for Mathematical Sciences—have left on Bloomsbury's urban landscape.

Third, though walking tours locks us into ‘selling’ a certain type of product, we are passionate about walking tours. We want to extend our audience and the tours we offer but believe this is and will be most sustainably delivered through this person-propelled format.