Company formations

How To Choose A Good Limited Company Name

You may have a fantastic business idea, a well-defined target market, and a marketing plan in place –now all you need is to decide what to call your business! When it comes to choosing a good limited company name, there are a few restrictions. You also cannot choose exactly the same name as someone else’s limited company, so it is important to check whether the name you want is available by searching for it on the Companies House website.

Developing Your Brand

Remember that your company name is in effect the word that will become synonymous with your brand – the unique element that singles out your goods or services from others in the marketplace. Although it is possible to change your company name at a later stage, it is expensive to do so – and you will have to change your website, company literature, stationery etc. – so it is well worth getting it right first time.

A Memorable Name

If you choose a limited company name that is not easy to spell, not easy to remember, or perhaps suggests that you offer goods or services that are completely different from your business, e.g. you sell kitchens and call yourself ’Fred Smith Consultancy’, then you are not making the most of the branding opportunities that a good, memorable name can offer. Some of the largest brand names do not have anything to do with the products or services that they offer, e.g. Zurich (financial services), Apple (computers), Amazon (online store) amongst many others.  

The Restrictions

Aside from not being able to use the same limited company name as someone else, regardless of whether that registered company is dormant or trading, there are other restrictions. You cannot include the letters ‘plc’ in your company name if you are a limited (LTD) company, and obviously you should avoid using other people’s trademarks in your company name. In addition, you cannot use offensive or ‘sensitive’ words either.  

Think Ahead

If you are starting up in business offering a narrow range of goods or services, there may always be the chance that you will choose to expand in the future. If you have named your business too narrowly, this may cause you problems in the future. For example, if you called yourself “Sarah Brown Secretarial Services” but you also began to offer copyrighting and proofreading services, you may dissuade potential clients from using your services because your name does not reflect all that you do. In these circumstances, it would be better to use “Sarah Brown Business Support Services” or just “Sarah Brown Limited” instead.

Domain Names

Before you go ahead and incorporate the company with the name that you want, it is also worth looking at domain names to ensure that you can get one that correlates with your company name. More and more businesses are choosing to go online and some even consider it vital to have a presence online, even for ‘shop window’ purposes.

Securing a domain name is not just important for your company’s website, but also provides you with a professional looking email address. You do not have to build a website at the very beginning of your business’s life, but it is worth having the registered domain name to ensure that no one else takes it. You can generally secure a domain name for around £10 for one or two years, which is a small price for peace of mind!    

If your business is web-based, you may consider that it is worth searching for available domain names, and then consulting Companies House to see whether the correlating company name is available to ensure uniformity of your brand.  

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