Can Two Businesses Have The Same Name?

When coming up with a business name for your LLC or DBA there are a lot of steps that you need to do. Registering for a DBA is actually quicker, but you need to have an existing legal entity in order to register. A DBA is not a legal business structure for your company, nor does it protect your company in any way. DBA stands for ‘doing business as’ and to summarize, it is a fictitious name that you have registered as a trade or nickname for your legal entity. It is basically needed when you want to expand your trade or services for your business.

An LLC however, stands for ‘Limited Liability Company’ and it is needed for your business structure of the company and it can protect your business against lawsuits. An LLC is beneficial for a corporation company that is looking to protect their assets and save themselves time on legal paperwork such as filing taxes.

Regardless of which name you need to register for, you need to still consider a few factors before you complete that step. One of those factors that you need to consider is, ‘can two businesses have the same name?’ 

We have listed a few points below to help you understand the answer to this question that may be on your mind as an entrepreneur or business owner.

The name that you come up with

When you come up with a name for your LLC or DBA, you need to bear in mind that the name should be unique, catchy and easy to remember. It is utterly important for your name to be unique, because if it is too similar or the same as an existing business name, it will be rejected by the state that you are registering in.

Each state has a different set of rules, however they all have the common ground of not allowing two businesses to have the same name. In order to prevent this problem, there are solutions to that: free online tools and the U.S. Federal Trademark Search. 

There are free business name generators online that you can use to come up with a name and they can help brainstorm different words that can match each other. Another great reason to use a business name generator is to also check the availability of a domain name.

By using the U.S. Federal Trademark Search, you can check to see whether your name is unique and available to use. It can also make your company credible when registering with the U.S. Federal Trademark Search.

Does my domain name have to be unique too?

If you are looking to expand your business online, then you would need a domain name that is available and can relate to your business. You can check availability for blog names and domain names by using a business generator online and it is advised to obtain it right away. If you leave this step to a later date, it will only be a disadvantage to you, since there can be a huge chance that the domain name that you’d want can be taken. Many companies and blogs are operating online, with new ones sprouting up daily. The world may be huge, but there are people out there with minds that may think alike and may just take your idea. 

Can a DBA name be the same as an LLC?

Since your LLC name is your legal entity for your business, your DBA name has to be different. As we have stated above, your DBA is a name that you are ‘doing business as’, which means that it is considered to be a nickname or trade name under the same legal entity, but with a different name. An example can be that your LLC business name is ‘Dog grooming fun LLC’ but you want to expand your service of your business to dog sitting. Your DBA name would then be ‘Dog sitting Express’. You also do not need to pay for additional tax when registering for a DBA, since you are still operating under your existing legal entity.