How to Name a House

Visit the most social and visually interesting areas in and around your home, and observe the views from inside and outside your home at various times of the day. Look for noteworthy features like an unobstructed sunrise or sunset view, sun-drenched or shade-filled spots and think about the defining geographical features near your property, such as hills, gardens or bodies of water.

Write down descriptive words that strike you as poignant or accurate terms for your home. Words like "sweet," "peaceful," "shady," "rolling," "quiet" and "old" invoke the descriptive qualities of traditional house names. Create a complete list of your favorite features.

Create a second list of words that describe what kind of house you're naming. Use words like "cottage," "bungalow" and "hut" for small houses; words like "house" and "villa" work for mid-sized homes; really large houses might take "manor," "mansion" or "castle." If the home once served another purpose, add words describing that purpose to your list, too. For example, you could describe a former school as an "academy" or "schoolhouse;" an old store as a "shop" or "market;" or an old church as a "rectory" or "chapel."

Combine descriptive words from your lists in different combinations until you find one that describes your home and sounds good together; examples might include "Rolling Hills Manor," "Quiet Lake School," "Old Mountain Chapel," "Shady Oakville" or "Sweet Sunrise Cottage."