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4 Tips For Naming Your Company

Before you can register your company with Companies House, you need to decide what you’re going to name your company.

While you can change a company name after incorporation, it’s not ideal, especially if you have already started to trade.

Some business owners find it easy to come up with a company name that suits not only what they do, but is also memorable. However, you might find that you need long sessions with your target market, or a way of testing multiple names before you finally find one that hits all the right notes.

If you’re unsure where to start when trying to name your company, the following tips should help you on your journey.

Man doing research at a desk

1. How do you want to be perceived?

As a person, you might be easygoing and humorous, but is that how your business should be perceived? Deciding to use humour in your name can depend on the industry you’re in and whether your target audience expects it and would find it appropriate.

Examples from a 2023 BBC article include: Dark Side of the Bloom (florist), Love you a Latte (cafe), and Some Fin Fishy (pet shop).

However, puns and humorous business names might not be appropriate for a solicitor or a funeral director.

Therefore, before using humour in your new company name, consider whether your audience would appreciate it as much as you do, or even whether the name could be misinterpreted as your company not taking business seriously.

2. Does it need to be short and snappy?

Short, snappy company names are often quite memorable and may use abbreviations or initials.

Although you might need to register your company using its full name, there’s nothing stopping you from using initials or abbreviations in your marketing and branding.

However, you might land in hot water if your initials spell something rude or have an inappropriate rhyme.

You also need to consider whether using initials or abbreviations will convey your company’s purpose and messaging. Without a clear message, you might find you need to spend more on marketing materials to make what you do clear.

Although if you are considering using a longer name for your company, shortening it can help make it memorable to your audience (think of the British Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly known as the BBC).

3. Is it confusing if you don’t say what you do?

Consider the following: “X, Y, and Z Business Solutions”. While it might seem clear that they provide business solutions, it’s a vague term and could mean anything in the business world.

They could be providing a service that waters your office plants, a general cleaning service, or they could be a wholesale copier paper supplier. All of these could be interpreted as a “business solution” as they are, after all, providing solutions for problems businesses have.

If they changed their name to “X, Y, and Z Business Auditing”, it’s suddenly much clearer that they provide auditing services for businesses.

4. Is the domain name available?

You’ve decided on your perfect company name, and you’re now planning ahead to make sure you can have a website that works for you. The only problem is that the domain name is already registered to someone else.

Anyone searching for your company might end up on the other business's website without realising the difference. 

This might not be the end of the world, as you can have a different domain name from your company name. It’s still something you need to keep in mind to ensure your company can be easily found online.

Register Your Company Name Today

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