Search for a band name in works of literature or vintage popular culture, such as children's movies and cartoons. The Doors claimed to have gotten their name from Aldous Huxley's "The Doors of Perception," while The Dead Milkmen were said to have been inspired by a character in Toni Morrison's novel, "Song of Solomon." The fourth book in C.S. Lewis's classic series "The Chronicles of Narnia" is called "The Silver Chair." Sound familiar? So--read, and while you're reading, look for poetic, catchy word-pairings. Nineties bands such as Mr. Bungle and Veruca Salt gave nods to characters from children's shows. Harvesting the popular culture you consumed as a child will serve as a bonding element between you and your intended audience.
Stand out from the pack, but don't shoot yourself in the foot by being too bizarre. For instance, your prospective audience shouldn't have to wonder how you pronounce the name of your band. If word of mouth is one of your strongest marketing tools (and it is), the last thing in the world you want to do is silence your fans by intimidating them. Rush. Korn. Muse. No one questions how to pronounce these band names, and single-word monikers are a timeless favorite.
Assume the role of a linguistic magician. If you do decide that the immediate punch of a single word is the route you want to go, but believe all the goods ones have been taken, consider the approach of bands like Audioslave, Stereolab and Radiohead. In other words, take two independent words and smash them into a single word that doesn't really exist--until your band introduces it to the world. How much more epic can you get than that? Although there's a trailblazing example to challenge every sensible suggestion, bands with unwieldy names like ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead really are the exception, rather than the rule. Finally, once you've got that perfect name picked out, make sure it hasn't already been snagged. Searching to see if there's a domain name incorporating your band title or looking through the massive MySpace database is a good place to start.