How to Choose a Limited Company Name? Tips, Considerations and Guidelines

The saying “Your business is your baby” is especially relevant when you’re launching a new venture and need to come up with a suitable moniker. To find out if your preferred name is available, your first course of action should be to perform a Companies House company name check.

This post will walk you through the process of performing a Companies House company name check and cover all the information you require regarding the implications of using a restricted company name.

5 Great Ideas for Choosing Your New Limited Company Name

Now let’s examine how to select a suitable name for your limited company.

1. Distinctive Company Name

When looking for unique business names, you will select a contractor company name. This is due to the UK’s ban on two businesses having the same name. To ensure that a name you want has not yet been taken, you should check it on the Companies House registry after you’ve found one you like. You can confirm this using the company name checker provided by Companies House.

2. Catchy Business Name & UK Company Name Generator

Searching for memorable or catchy names is a smart approach when selecting a limited company name. Using a business name generator is one technique to obtain some limited company name examples. As a potential business owner in the UK, you can choose a new name for your limited business by using the UK’s limited company name generator, which offers you a variety of options and samples of catchy limited company names.

3. Represent Your Products or Services

You may choose a company name that embodies the quality of your goods or services and distinguishes you from competitors. You may research some effective branding concepts as part of this and see what you can come up with. The greatest limited company names incorporate their goods or services into their name, which may help prospective clients and consumers remember them more easily in the future. If naming your business after your goods or services is essential, you may also locate a brand name generator online.

4. Easy to Spell

Please make sure the company name you choose is simple to spell. Please consider spelling ease of use while selecting a name for your company. It will benefit your contacts, consumers, and clients in the future if you consider this when thinking about contracting company names.

5. Easy to Pronounce

Make sure your official business contractor name is pronounceable when registering your company. This will benefit you, your clients and customers in the future as well.

What Names You Should Not Register

Before running your Companies House company name check, you must consider the following factors:

• The Royal family, the UK government, public authorities, or any other official institution should not be implied by any words in your company name.
• Meaning and connotation: If you’re picking a name based on a word, look up any slang terms or other alternate meanings. It is also worthwhile to find out if the word has a completely different meaning in another language. Take into account any implication or hidden meanings if the name is based on another name.
• Any geographical reference, such as “United Kingdom,” “London,” “Scotland,” etc., in a corporate name, implies a connection to an official organization or governmental body. Such terms and company names would need to be approved by the Companies House’s Secretary of State.
• You have to refrain from naming your business after derogatory phrases or references to illegal activities. Business names shouldn’t offend people—for example, they shouldn’t have derogatory language or imply discrimination. If “sensitive” words are to be used in a corporate name, supporting documentation must be provided. Companies House is in charge of maintaining the whole list of sensitive terms. The use of any sensitive words in a company name requires approval from the Secretary of State. This regulation is intended to make sure that the public is not misled or harmed by a particular name.
• Choosing a name that conveys the product or services rendered by your company is usually a smart idea. But, if you plan to diversify into other goods and services, stay away from selecting a descriptive name that is overly narrow in focus, since this may cause issues.
• Should you choose to use a word that denotes a particular occupation or role, you must demonstrate that you are legally qualified to perform that service. Additionally, you will require authorization from the relevant authority about your particular job or certification.
• Verify the trademark registry to prevent any intellectual property violation and any legal challenges.

Important Considerations when Selecting a Company Name

Here are some things to consider when choosing a company name.

Geographical Constraints

Is it your goal to be recognized as a “local” business? Many businesses will gain from having a town, city, or other location attached to them. It might be easier to draw in local clients if they use a name that reflects this sense of localism, such as “ Manchester Cleaning Experts Limited.” In addition, including the location might aid in search engine optimization.

However, highlighting a company’s local affiliations has a drawback as well. Specifically, including a geographic component in the company name can be bad if you intend to expand to other locations. Furthermore, for many businesses that may operate online or remotely and have a national or even worldwide clientele, location tends to be irrelevant.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

As was previously mentioned, choosing a suitable company name can assist increase website traffic, which in turn can lead to click-throughs, conversions, and eventually more clients. Keywords and phrases that describe the product or service and occasionally the area (such as “ African restaurants in London”) are typically used in search engine optimization. Considering this when selecting a company name can help with search engine optimization, particularly when paired with the domain name.

Domain names

We have already talked about how important it is to check the register of businesses to see if another company has already registered the name you’re thinking of with company House. Verifying if a suitable domain name that can be used with your selected company name is available is equally important.

The many websites for registering domain names can be used to verify this. Finding out that another company possesses the domain name after investing a lot of time in creating a distinctive name and registering it with Companies House is pointless. For global organizations, “.com” domain names are the most sought-after, while “.co.uk” domain names are ideal for UK-based enterprises.

Please note: Incorpuk offer free .com and .co.uk domain names with their company formation packages.

Trademarks

When forming a new business, you also have the option of using a trade mark. If you want to keep the name private, you must select this option. Additionally, this is a signal that might set your products and services apart from those of your competitors.

Essentially, registering a limited corporation does not safeguard the name when it comes to ideas for contractor business names. Nonetheless, the registration procedure stops other companies from forming a limited company under the same, extremely similar, or same name as yours. You will have to file a trademark application with the Intellectual Property Office to get a trademark.

Certain businesses will register a trademark as a component of their branding strategy. To see if a company name would violate a registered trade mark, it might be useful to perform some simple trademark searches.

Including “Limited” or “Ltd” in Your Company Name

Private limited corporations are required by law to have “Limited” or “Ltd” at the end of their name. Businesses registered in Wales are permitted to use “Cyfyngedig” or “CFY.” The words “Limited” in its whole and the shorter form “Ltd” are equivalent in law; both can be registered and used interchangeably following incorporation.

Dissolved Limited Company Names

It is not illegal for you to use the name of a dissolved limited company. If you want to use the name of a dissolved company, all you have to do is look into the company’s previous trade activity to see if the name has any negative or illicit implications. You will receive your own unique company registration number. However, to protect your reputation from harm, you must investigate your possible company name.

Running a Companies House Company Name Check

You just need to utilize Companies House’s “name availability checker” to perform a company name check now that you are aware of any potential problems and your available possibilities.

An Incorpuk agent can be of support to you to guarantee that all procedures, information, and research are completed without any problems. Get in touch with our committed and knowledgeable business formations team right now to learn more about selecting a limited company name or to find out more about conducting a Companies House company name check.

Companies House sensitive words and expressions

You must have the necessary authorization before using any sensitive terms or expressions in the name of your business (Companies House). To be clear, these include terms like “bank,” “international,” and “certified.” Therefore, you will need to apply to Companies House if you would like to use a word or words that are sensitive. They will get back to you in a few days after reviewing your application and making a decision.

Conclusion

There are a lot of things to think about when selecting a name for your limited company. You should make sure the name is not already in use, research potential trademark issues, and choose a name that is memorable and unique. You should also choose a name that reflects the goals and values of your company. Keep in mind that your company name is an important part of your brand, so choose wisely. Once you’ve decided on a name for your limited company, get in touch with our experts at Incorpuk for help registering, establishing, and starting your business.