Tom Welch makes handrails, and he makes them in Maine. He wants to make those facts very clear.

“If somebody’s looking for handrails in Maine, it’s in my name,” said Welch, whose Mainely Handrails in Fairfield makes metal railings, as well as fire pits. “I wanted people to find me online without having to pay for a higher Google rate. It works.”

Mainely Handrails is one of hundreds – maybe thousands – of businesses across the state whose owners trust the made-up word Mainely to bring them customers and recognition. There’s almost no product or service you can’t find when searching for it online with the word “Mainely,” from batteries, firearms, hot tubs and handrails to ATMs, mobile dentistry, medical marijuana delivery and electrolysis.

The Mainely names work, business owners say, because they exhibit the kind of ingenuity, simple logic and plain-speaking Maine is known for. The name tells people right away where the business is and what it (mostly) does. It also evokes the very powerful Maine brand, complete with images of lighthouses, pine trees, hard work and clean living.

“We sold a handrail to a lady in South Carolina who found us online and was so tickled she was able to get something made by a Maine craftsman,” said Welch.

The names are also unique to Maine. No other state in the country is a homophone for another word with its own meaning. Main can mean primary or most important, while mainly means chiefly, mostly or predominantly, among other things. What could a homophone for Connecticut or Connecticutly possibly mean? Not to mention Alabamaly and North Dakotaly.

More than 335 Mainely business names are currently on file at the Maine Secretary of State’s Office. Many more likely exist, though; only corporations are required to file an annual report with the office, while many small businesses aren’t. A Google search for the term “Mainely” turns up thousands of results, though it’s unclear how many are actually businesses or how many might be duplicates.

The diversity of products and services Mainely can sell is impressive. There’s a Mainely Murders bookstore in Kennebunk, Mainely Teeth in Portland, Mainely Trusses in Fairfield, Mainely Rat Rescue in Auburn, Mainely SEO internet marketing firm in Portland, Mainely Paramotors in Limington, Mainely Ticks in Wells, Mainely Trash in Cape Elizabeth, Mainely Tables in Buxton, Mainely Sandblasting in Jay, Mainely High medical cannabis delivery in Ogunquit and Mainely Veterinary Dentistry in Windham, to name just a few.

With so many similar names out there, it’s easy to imagine that customers might suffer from Mainely fatigue and stay away. But business owners say the opposite is true. The Mainely name is so common and so familiar that people think they’ve heard of the business before, even if they haven’t.

“The first week I started, I got a call from someone who said, ‘I’ve been meaning to call you for a long time, and I’ve heard such good things about you,’ ” said Justin St. Claire of Mainely Dumpsters, a dumpster rental company in Standish that opened in 2020. “People think we’ve been in a business a lot longer than we have. Mainely gives us credibility.”

Mainely names can seem a little hokey to people from other places. Emily Brackett, president of Visible Logic, a Portland branding agency, said she thought the huge number of Mainely business names was “absurd” when she moved to the state from Chicago in 2005. But they’ve grown on her, and she now sees their appeal and strengths.

“It’s almost like a game, looking for the names and seeing how many different lines of business might use it. It’s fun,” said Brackett. “Maine has a very good brand, so it’s always a positive thing when you can make people think of it.”

Exactly when Mainely started to become so common among Maine businesses is tough to say. The Press Herald had a “Maine-ly Sports” column beginning in the late 1940s. A story in the Kennebec Journal in 1973 mentioned the Mainely Pine Country Store in Wiscasset and a 1979 edition of the Bangor Daily News featured an ad for the Maine-Ly Music store in Brewer. Mainely Tubs, a Scarborough-based seller of hot tubs, swim spas and saunas, opened in 1978 and is still in business today.

Mainely can help put a fun spin on something not so fun, like going to the dentist, said Amber Lombardi, founder of Mainely Teeth, a nonprofit dental clinic based in Portland. The clinic treats patients, regardless of ability to pay, at The Root Cellar in Portland and in a trailer that travels around the state.

The organization also helps people with basic needs, like housewares and clothing, so Lombardi thought using Mainely Teeth was appropriate.

“It’s easy to remember, and it’s sort of cheeky and fun,” said Lombardi. “Nobody likes going to the dentist and we’re trying to change that.”

When Mark Boutin and a partner started their residential trash and recycling hauling business in Cape Elizabeth last year, they tried to think of a name that was short and had sort of a modern vibe, like Grubhub or Uber. They came up with Bin Grab at first, before deciding on Mainely Trash because “it’s where we live and what we do,” Boutin said.

Another Portland branding and design professional, Sean Wilkinson of Might & Main, said he’s advised people against using Mainely in their names. It doesn’t help a business stand out, especially in a sea of Mainely names, and it could also make people think a business is not as serious or trustworthy as it should be, Wilkinson said. Plus, the name makes people think you’re only looking for Maine customers.

Wilkinson’s own business name has nothing to do with the state he’s in, but instead refers to an Old English phrase meaning “with all of the strength, energy and force at one’s command,” he said.

The proprietors of Mainely Tubs do not agree with the idea that using Mainely might limit your appeal to customers elsewhere. The business expanded over the years to include locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but kept the name. Management and staff decided that Mainely and all it conveys would work in neighboring states, said Jared Levin, president and CEO.

“We have decided to really embrace Mainely and focus on showing our new customers the kind of friendly, responsive service that ultimately built our reputation in Maine, and that customers from away might expect to receive from a Maine-founded business,” Levin said.

Some entrepreneurs like the double duty Mainely can do. Jack Barber said that was part of the reasoning when he and a partner picked Mainely Burgers for their food truck name in 2012. The Portland-based truck sold burgers, but other sandwiches and foods, too. When Barber and his brother Max opened a restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a few years later, they kept the Mainely Burgers name. That restaurant has since closed, but another Mainely Burgers in Boston is still open.

“We just wanted to bring that part of our lives, being from Maine, wherever we go,” said Barber. The Barbers also run a Mainely Sips mobile bar and a Mainely Treats ice cream truck, both based in Maine.

Christina Adams said she was trying to come up with some “cool names” when she opened her Westbrook hair removal business earlier this year. She considered Pure Skin, Wildflower Electrolysis and a few others. But having recently moved back to Maine from Florida, she decided the state should play a role. So she chose Mainely Electrolysis.

“It’s kind of perfect. Mainely is natural, and it’s easy to remember,” said Adams. “It’s authentic, and you can’t find it anywhere else.”

That’s true, mostly.

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