How do I choose a good business name?

Pick a name that's easy to say, spell and remember, suits what you sell and leaves room to grow. Make a long list, cut it down, check it's free at Companies House, on the trade mark register and as a domain, then test your favourites with real customers.

How do I check if a business name is taken in the UK?

Use the Companies House company name availability checker, search the UK trade mark register on GOV.UK, and check the.co.uk and.com domains and the main social media handles. Searching Google Maps for your area is also worth doing.

Does registering a company protect my business name?

Not fully. Registering a company stops another company registering the same name, but it doesn't give you trade mark rights. To protect the name as a brand, you'd need to register a trade mark.

Should I use my own name for my business?

It can build trust, especially for services and crafts, and it's naturally unique. The drawback is that it ties the business to you, which can matter if you take on partners or sell up.

Can I use a name from a name generator?

Yes. Names from this site are free to use, but they're not checked against company or trade mark registers, so always do the availability checks before you commit.

Business Naming Best Practices

A good business name is easy to say, easy to spell and free to use: customers should be able to hear it once, find you online, and trust that you're the only business with it. This guide covers the kinds of names that work, how to check a name is available in the UK, and a short process for choosing one.

By Rich · 29 October 2026

Four kinds of business name

Most business names fall into one of four groups, and each has trade-offs:

Descriptive names say what you do: a bakery called The Hungry Kettle or a café called Ink & Loaf. They're instantly clear, but harder to protect, because ordinary words describing a trade are open to everyone.
Evocative names suggest a feeling or an image rather than a product: Grove, Mosaic, Whitebeam. They leave room to grow into new products, but need a strapline or logo to explain them at first.
Invented names are new words. George Eastman made up Kodak because he liked the letter K and wanted a short, distinctive word. Invented names like Elvix or Bondera are the easiest to register and search for, but you have to teach people what they mean.
Founder names use a person's name, as Sainsbury's did with John James Sainsbury. They feel personal and trustworthy, but can be awkward if you ever sell the business.

Hybrids work too: a heritage-style name like Old Mill & Sons combines a place with a family feel, and a blend like Marketly joins a real word to a modern ending.

What makes a name trustworthy

People trust what they can easily remember and find again. Before you fall for a name, check it against these tests:

Say it on the phone. If you have to spell it out every time, customers will get it wrong in a search.
Write it down from hearing it. Ask someone to type the name after you say it once. Clever spellings often fail here.
Keep it short. One to three words, or two to three syllables for an invented word, fits a sign, a van and a social handle.
Avoid limiting words. A place name or a single product in the name can feel wrong if you move or expand.
Check what it means elsewhere. Search the name in other languages if you might sell abroad, and read it as one word if it's a web address.

Checking the name is free in the UK

A name you can't use is no use at all, so check these before you spend money on a logo:

Companies House. If you're setting up a limited company, the name usually has to end in "Limited" or "Ltd", and it can't be the same as one already on the register. Small differences such as punctuation or adding "the" or "UK" often don't count as different. Some words, like "Royal" or "Chartered", are sensitive and need permission. Use the official company name availability checker, and read GOV.UK's guidance on choosing a company name.
Trade marks. Registering a company doesn't give you rights to the name as a brand. Search the UK trade mark register to check nobody has registered the name, or something close to it, for similar goods or services.
Sole traders don't register a name, but it still can't include "Limited", "Ltd" or "plc", and the trade mark check still applies.
Passing off. Even without a registration, an established business can object if your name is close enough to theirs to confuse customers.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. If a name is valuable to you, a trade mark attorney can check it properly.

Domains and social handles

Customers will look for you online before they visit, so the web address and handles matter as much as the sign over the door.

Look for the .co.uk and .com versions. If both belong to someone in a similar trade, that's a warning sign as well as a practical problem.
Check Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn for the same handle. A small addition, like your town or trade, is fine; a completely different handle on each platform is confusing.
Search the name in Google Maps for your area. Two cafés called The Velvet Bean in the same town will both lose reviews to each other.
Buy the domain as soon as you decide. It's cheap, and names are often taken between choosing and launching.

Testing a name with customers

You'll hear the name thousands of times; your customers will hear it once. Test it on people who don't know your plans:

Give them three names and ask what each business sells. If nobody guesses close for an evocative name, you'll need a strapline.
Ask which they'd remember tomorrow, then ask them again the next day.
Show it as a logo or a sign, not just a word in an email. Bellows & Co. reads very differently on a hand-painted board.
Listen for jokes. If the first reaction is a pun you didn't intend, customers will make it too.

A short naming process

Write down what you want people to feel: three words, such as "local, warm, reliable".
Make a long list. Aim for thirty or more, mixing descriptive, evocative and invented names. A generator helps here: the Business Name Generator and Company Name Generator give dozens in a minute.
Cut to ten using the trust tests above.
Check availability for those ten: Companies House, trade marks, domains and handles.
Test the best three with real customers.
Decide, then register the company, domain and handles on the same day.

For a café or shop, try the Café Name Generator; for a product range, the Brand Name Generator; and for a blog or podcast that will grow into a business, the Blog and Podcast name generators. All the business tools are in the Blogs & Brands hub.