Shakespeare was right to question – what’s in a name? As it turns out, a name can represent a lot about an entity.
Selecting a name for your company is an important task when setting up a new venture. Your name will help define the image of your business, so you should take some time out to get it right the first time. If you want the audience (customers) to be able to find you, talk about you, and recommend you, you must have a business name, which must define who you are, identify what you sell and help to impress investors. A company name is also the foundation of trademark design, which can be of substantial value if you ever want to franchise or sell your company.
Rules for Choosing a Right Business Name
When it’s time to choose a business name, gather your trusted friends, family, or colleagues for a brainstorming sitting and work through these rules.
- The name must be easy to spell and memorable. Your potential customers must be able to recall the name of your business to find it when searching online effortlessly.
- Brands must have a visual element. Most people don’t picture anything when they read their company name, but generally, they ‘see’ mental imagery when listening or reading to language.
- Brands must have a positive connotation. Most words have both denotative and connotative meaning. A word’s connotation can be positive, neutral, or negative, depending on the emotional associations that people generally make.
- Make sure the name is available. A miss here will cost you dearly. Your business name and internet domain name must probably be the same, so check out your preferred names with your concerned authorities.
- Sample probable customers. Come up with a few diverse name choices and try them out on potential consumers, co-workers, investors. Skip your friends and family who know too much. Ask questions about the names to see if they give off the impression you desire.
- Consider using the generic name rather than a specific one, in case you decide to change direction as a business at a later stage.
To put it, it's more than just a name; it's the identity of a whole brand. It deserves time and attention, and when controlled properly, it'll change business forever.
Registering your Trade Name
Every country has its rules and guidelines for choosing a trading name and registering it. For example - let us talk about the United Arab Emirates.
Generally speaking, the rules for choosing business names in the UAE are relatively straightforward and not unusual. For instance, you cannot give your brand the same or very similar name as an internationally-recognized business like McDonald's, Calvin Klein, and Google etc. apart from this, below are a few rules to be followed before registering a trading name in the UAE.
Rules and Guidelines for Registering Trade Name in the UAE
- A business name must reflect the business activity
- The name must not be similar to the company name of an existing business in the UAE
- The name must not contain indecent or obscene words, and must not be offensive to the general public even if it is a person’s name
- The title should not indicate God’s names or his divine neither in Arabic nor in English
Procedure to Register your Trade Name in the UAE
Apply with the DED (Department of Economic Development). Submit the necessary documents along with the application and trade name registering fees must be paid at the counter.
You can also take help from a business setup consultant in the UAE who can take care of the procedure. We at Commitbiz are here to help you register your trade name at the DED. Contact us today for more information.
