How to choose a company name?

Choosing a company name in the UK is an important step, and there are several legal, practical, and branding considerations you need to take into account before registering it with Companies House.

This post explores what you need to know before choosing a company name.

Pro Tips:

Before finalising your name, create a shortlist and run each name through these checks:

• Companies House name checker

• UK IPO trademark checker

• Domain and social handle search

• Google search (to check for major existing businesses using that name)

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What to check before choosing a company name?

1. Your name must be unique and not already in use

It cannot be the same as or too similar to an existing registered company or LLP.

Use our Companies House name availability checker to check your company name availability.

Example: You can’t register “Green Energy Ltd” if “Green Energy Solutions Ltd” already exists - it may be considered too similar.

2. Avoid 'same as' names

Companies House treats certain words as non-distinctive (like “UK”, “Services”, “Group”, or punctuation), so names that only differ in these ways may be rejected.

Example: “Bright Tech Ltd” and “Bright Tech UK Ltd” would be seen as “same as”.

If the existing company gives written permission and you're part of the same group, it might be allowed.

3. Don’t use a name that’s too similar to a trademark

Even if the company name is available at Companies House, it could still infringe on a registered trademark, which could lead to legal trouble later.

Use the UK IPO Trademark Search to check for conflicts.

4. Avoid 'sensitive' or restricted words

Some words require permission or justification (like “bank”, “charity”, “royal”, “British”, “authority”).

You can’t mislead people into thinking your company is connected to the government, a public authority, or a professional body if it isn’t.

View a full list of sensitive words and GOV.UK guidance

5. You must include a legal ending

If you’re setting up a private limited company, your company name must end in:

• Ltd or Limited (You can choose either; they mean the same thing legally)

Example: “Green Horizon Ltd” or “Green Horizon Limited”

6. Check domain and social media availability

Even though not legally required, it’s smart to check that your company name (or something close) is available as a:

• Domain name (e.g., greenhorizon.co.uk)

• Social media handle (e.g., @GreenHorizon)
  

This helps with branding and avoids confusion.

7. Don’t use offensive or misleading names

Companies House will reject names that:

• Contain offensive language

• Are deliberately misleading (e.g., implying you’re a government body)

8. Optional: Trade name or business name

You can operate under a trading name different from your legal company name.

Example: Your company is registered as "Smith & Co Ltd" but trades as "Smith Interiors"

Just make sure the trading name:

• Follows the same rules (not offensive, no sensitive words, not trademarked)

• Is not itself registered by someone else