Your business name shows up on your sign, your website, your invoices, and your bank account. Choosing one is easy. Making sure you can use it, and keep using it, takes a little more checking.
The SBA’s guide to choosing a business name explains that a name can be registered or protected in four separate ways. Most small businesses try to use the same name for all of them, but you are not normally required to.
The four kinds of business names
- Entity name. This is the name your state uses to identify your business. Depending on your structure and location, the state may require you to register one. In most cases it prevents anyone else in the state from operating under the same entity name, though the SBA notes exceptions that depend on the state and structure.
- DBA name. “Doing business as” is also called a trade name, fictitious name, or assumed name. You might register it with your state, county, or city. Registering a DBA does not provide legal protection by itself, but most states require you to register one if you use it.
- Trademark. A trademark can protect the name of your business, goods, and services at a national level. It prevents others in the same or a similar industry from using your name.
- Domain name. This is your web address. You register it through a domain registrar.
Check before you commit
Start with the official trademark database maintained by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The SBA warns that businesses in every state can face trademark infringement lawsuits, which can prove costly, and it recommends checking your business, product, and service names against that database.
Then work through a simple checklist:
- Search your state’s business name records to see whether the name is already taken.
- Search the trademark database for the same or similar names in your industry.
- Check that a matching domain name is available.
- Search the name on Google and on the social platforms your customers use.
- Say it out loud and spell it for someone. If people cannot repeat it back, they may struggle to find you.
If you are a sole proprietor
If you operate under a name other than your own, the SBA says most states require you to register it as a DBA. Say you want to operate as “Miller Farm Supply” instead of your own name (a made-up example). That is when a DBA comes in. The SBA also notes that with a DBA and an EIN, you can open a business bank account. Our guides on getting an EIN and opening a separate business bank account cover those steps.
Choose a name that can grow with you
A name that describes exactly what you sell today can box you in later. If you start by selling eggs and later add hay and firewood, a name built around eggs will need explaining. A name tied to one town can also feel limiting if you later serve the wider region. Aim for something clear, easy to spell, and open enough to grow into, but not so generic that customers cannot tell you apart from everyone else.
A DBA is not ownership
This is the point that trips up many new founders. A DBA lets you use a name. It does not give you legal protection, and the SBA notes that multiple businesses can go by the same DBA in one state. If your name is central to your brand, a trademark is what offers national protection. Registering one involves legal and filing decisions worth discussing with an attorney. Our overview of business structures is a good starting point for that conversation, and a local counselor can point you to the right state offices. See free business help for new founders.
Your next step
Pick your top three name ideas and run each through the checklist this week. Note the date and result of every search, then register the name that clears every check.