Naming a business is a legal decision wearing a creative costume

Naming a business feels like the creative part: brainstorming, testing how it sounds out loud, picking the one that feels right. Underneath that fun exterior is a decision with real legal weight, and skipping that part is where the expensive mistakes happen.

A name that sounds perfect can already belong to someone else, be trademarked in a way that blocks its use, or be impossible to register as a matching domain and company name together. Discovering that after the signage is printed is a far more expensive lesson than discovering it before.

The creative instinct and the legal check aren't in tension, they just need to happen in the right order: shortlist a few names you love, then check each one properly, before falling in love with just one.

A great name that can't be legally used isn't a name yet. It's just a good idea waiting to be replaced.