Choose the right name for your business

Your business name will be the cornerstone of your brand. It should work well wherever you use it - on the phone, in your logo, signage, stationery, advertisements, website, email and any other media you plan to use to reach the market.

When choosing a name for your business, you should think about the following points:

• Do you want the name to reflect what your business does - moving, cleaning, building? Or would something more abstract be suitable?
• Would it be a good idea to include your own name?
• Do you want a traditional-sounding name, conveying durability and old-fashioned values, or a modern name, suggesting a fresh, innovative approach?
• Think about the future - avoid words or phrases that are likely to date quickly.
• If you're likely to be trading overseas, check that the name doesn't mean anything inappropriate in the relevant languages
• Think about callers and customers - avoid very long names, strange wordings and unusual spelling. If you're planning to advertise in directories such as the Yellow Pages, think about using a name that appears near the beginning of the listings for your type of business
• If you're focusing on the local market for your product or service, think about using the name of the city or town in the business name
• Keep your trading name creative, but your corporate name bland. This will give you the flexibility to develop other brands and trading names in the future.

There are rules that could affect your choice of business name.

If you have decided to form a limited company or limited liability partnership (LLP), you must register your name and other details with Companies House.

You need to check that your proposed name does not breach the rules on name endings, 'same as' rules or include a prescribed or sensitive word without permission.

Company and LLP names - the rules

To make sure the name you choose is acceptable, ensure that your name:

• ends with 'limited' (or Ltd), 'public limited company' (or plc)
• ends with 'limited liability partnership' a or LLP (if you have a limited liability partnership)
• isn't offensive
• isn't the same as one already on the index of company names
• doesn't include any sensitive words or expressions (unless you have obtained permission to use them)

Trade marks

You should ensure your proposed name is not the same or very similar to a registered trade mark.

Complaints about company or LLP names

You can make a complaint about a company or LLP name to Companies House if:

• the name is too similar to an existing company or LLP name
• within five years of registration, it is found that misleading information was given at the time of registration
• within five years of registration any conditions attached to the registration have not been fulfilled - eg the provision of support documentation for a sensitive name
• the name is misleading and as a result may cause harm to the public

You can also make a complaint about a company or LLP name to the Company Names Tribunal at the Intellectual Property Office if you believe the name has been chosen for opportunistic reasons.

People operating as sole traders or in general partnerships can trade under their own names, or choose a different business name.

If you decide to use a business name, it must not:

• be offensive
• include the terms public limited company (plc), limited (ltd), limited liability partnership (LLP)
• contain prescribed or sensitive words and expressions, unless you have obtained permission to use them

If you register a limited partnership you must include either 'Limited Partnership' or 'LP' at the end of your business name.

Is anyone else using your proposed business name?

Before using your chosen name, check that it isn't already being used.

If a sole trader at the other end of the country is using it, there may not be a problem. However, if another local business, company or national firm is using it, you should choose a different name.

You should do the following checks:

• check local phone books, business directories and the internet
• make sure that your proposed name - or something similar - hasn't been registered by a company
• make sure that the name isn't too similar to a word or expression that has been registered as a trade mark.

If you're in any doubt about your business name, get expert advice from your local Business Gateway.

We’ve looked at businesses which have used words that already exist, such as names, places, products and services in a conventional way. However you can use language in more unusual ways, to communicate different elements of your personality and make your name more memorable. This can influence how your customers perceive your business and help you to stand out.

Combining words

Some businesses use words from other languages, or create their own word/s by combining real words in an unusual way, making up their own spelling of words or even forming new words.

• Kwik Fit (Kwik-Fit (GB) Limited). Uses a new spelling of “quick” combined with conventional spelling of “fit” to describe the type of service offered for vehicles.

• Strathberry (Strathberry Limited). The luxury leather goods business combines two words in a new way – honoring their Scottish roots with the word for wide river valley in Scots (Strath) and the historic use of berries to dye Scottish fabrics and materials.

• Skyscanner (Skyscanner Limited). The name combines words to reflect their service which shows travellers various flight options in a single place. The name has stretched to cover car hire and hotels which are services customers often need alongside flights.

• Stoats (Stoats Porridge Bars Limited). The name merges the first two letters of one of the founder’s surnames (Stone) with the word “oats”. The “bar” in the official name was originally the mobile van selling porridge - a “porridge bar”. The business context prevents customers being confused with the small furry animal by the same name.

Drawing on other languages

• Drambuie (William Grant & Sons Limited). The whisky name is derived from Gaelic “An Dram Buidheach” which means “the drink that satisfies” which was chosen as the earliest consumers described it that way. (The significant difference between the trading name and registered name is that the Drambuie Liquor Company Ltd was acquired by William Grant & Sons.)

• schuh (schuh Limited). The founder of the shoe retailer made a last-minute decision to use the German word for “shoe” even though there was no link to Germany, showing that sometimes there’s no need to overthink a business name to communicate that it is distinctive.

Symbolism, metaphors and emotive words

These can be used to associate a business with an image of something else your customers can relate to.

• Timorous Beasties (Timorous Beasties Limited). The edgy pattern design company which often incorporates elements of nature, took its name from Robert Burns’ Scots poem “To a mouse” reflecting their Scottish heritage.

• Trespass (Jacob and Turner Ltd). The business designs, manufactures and retails outdoor clothing, which encourages adventure through embracing the outdoors.

• Genius (Genius Foods Limited). The focus is on clever innovations to create and increase availability of high quality gluten-free bread and foods that taste as good as gluten-containing products.

Alliteration

This is where the same letter or sound is used at the beginning of each word.

• Growers Garden (Growers Garden Limited). By combining alliteration with words that reflect their use of fresh vegetables from their own fields, it supports their messaging around sustainable farming and vegan-friendly healthy eating.

Abbreviations and acronyms

• ESPC (ESPC (UK) Ltd). The abbreviation originally came from Edinburgh Solicitors’ Property Centre.

• abrdn (abrdn plc). Formerly Standard Life Aberdeen, an element of its heritage was retained in a new way by removing some of the vowels from “Aberdeen” and using all lowercase letters to add another element of difference. There has been much discussion of the pros and cons of this approach.

• Toys R Us. Replacing the word "are" with "R" makes the name much more distinctive than Toys Are Us, and lends itself to more interesting logo graphics.

Acronyms

These are formed from the initial letters other words, then pronounced as a word, so can be used to create something unique with meaning.

• IKEA (IKEA Limited). Many people assume this is an abstract name and don't realise it has been formed from an acronym including the initials of the founder Ingvar Kamprad, the farm Elmtaryd that he grew up on and the nearby village of Agunnaryd.

Humour

Humour always needs to be used with care, and can make it harder to expand to new markets and audiences, but can be ideal for small businesses needing to project a friendly and informal personality and wanting to stand out with dozens of similar businesses in their local market. There are many humorous small business names in Scotland, such as Spex Pistols optical boutique, The Fast and the Furriest dog walking service, Dae It Yersel home improvements, Calm a Khazi plumbing and The Codfather chip shop.

Symbols

Using symbols can be tempting but you can’t use them in limited company names. You also can’t use them in domain names where you can only use letters, numbers and hyphens (or international characters for different languages).

Every business must display its business name - and other details - to inform customers and suppliers who they are dealing with. You should not print your stationery until you're certain your proposed name is acceptable.

Limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) must wait until registration is complete and a Certificate of Incorporation has been issued.

A sole trader or partnership must obtain prior approval to use a sensitive word in their proposed business name.

You must display a sign with your company or LLP name:

• in characters that can be easily read
• in a place where visitors can easily and clearly see it at any time and not just during business hours
• continuously

You must also include your company's or LLP's registered name on all hard copy and electronic business correspondence including:

• letters, notices and other official publications
• emails
• bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements and order forms
• cheques signed by or on behalf of the company
• orders for money, goods or services signed by or on behalf of the company
• bills of parcels, invoices and other demands for payment, receipts and letters of credit
• your website - you do not need to include the company name on every page but it must be displayed so it can be easily read

You do not have to state directors' names on business letters unless you want to do so. However, if you do decide to include directors' names, then you must state all the directors' names.

If you are an LLP with more than 20 members, you don't need to display the members' names. However, you must keep a list of members at your principal place of business and state that the list is available for inspection.

Displaying a name online

If your business has a website, you must display:

• general information about your business - including business name, address, email address, VAT registration number (if applicable)
• details of any relevant professional body that you belong to or any authorisation scheme to which your service is subject

Abstract names can be effective when trying to create something short, memorable and unique - making it easier to register, find an available domain name and protect as a trademark. It is also useful for flexibility, for example if your business offering is more complex, if you plan to evolve or extend your offering, or if you might diversify into new markets. However often you will need to invest more in marketing to help customers understand more about who you are and what you do.

• Moonpig (Moonpig.com Limited). The abstract name for the online card retailer was chosen to be unique in Google searches and available as a domain name, as well as short, phonetic and easy to visualise in a logo.
• Zoopla (Zoopla Limited). At the time the business launched, most main property website competitors had descriptive names, and the founder wanted something that would stand out and reflect that they were innovating with a new approach.

Once you have some ideas, hopefully you will find some that are original (not used by anyone else or already trademarked) and unlikely to be confused with other businesses.

Use the following to search for your proposed name:

• Company name availability checker
• Search for a trademark

Do general searches online and on social media platforms to see if:

• any other organisations use that name such as charities, community organisations, sole traders etc
• your chosen words have any other meanings in slang or other languages

You will need a digital presence so the availability of the same domain name as your business name options may influence your final choice. The 'domain name' will be your web address and the basis for your business email address.

Ideally it will be the same as your business name. If it’s not identical, it should be very similar to minimise customer confusion. If the name you want is not available, you could consider variations on it, e.g. adding your location onto the end. Or you may wish to reconsider the name of your business entirely.

To check availability of domain names, simply search online ‘domain name registration UK’ and you will see many providers which have a search facility such as 123Reg (given the topic of this article, it's worth mentioning this is an example of an alphanumeric business name) or GoDaddy (another example of a business with an abstract business name chosen to be memorable and simple, with an available domain name).

The final check is that your preferred name complies with rules for your chosen business legal structure. This is covered in other articles by Business Gateway and the UK Government which also cover how and where you should display your name:

• Sole trader
• Partnership
• Limited partnership
• Limited company or limited liability partnership