For these three New Jersey businesses, what they have in common is a very common name: American Dream. The New York Times reports today that 107 New Jersey businesses share this most generically aspirational of American names, or variations thereof.

Dream better, America

I just did a quick search of the USPTO and found 424 living and dead trademarks for the exact phrase, “American Dream.” Here’s some free advice to any company considering the name “American Dream” for their business: don’t. For any naming project, its important to do your research and know the competitive name landscape, so you don’t end up with the futile task of trying to peddle your “unique” products or services under the banner of a name that is anything but unique. In other words, don’t be an accidental hypocrite.

That’s not to say that you can’t turn a cliche on its head to create a great name, as Ben & Jerry’s did with their ice cream flavor, “Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream.”