How to Prepare and Screen a Company Name
Author: Junanda ConsultingReviewed by: Junanda Service Team2026-09-19
Naming a company is not simply a matter of finding something that sounds good. The name has to be approved by the registration authority, and the decisive test is whether it is similar to a name already on the register. Many founders stall at exactly this point: the name they like is rejected on submission, and repeated revisions delay the whole registration timetable. The practical answer is to understand how a company name is structured, prepare several alternatives, and screen them yourself before you file.
The Four-Part Structure of a Company Name
A properly formed company name normally consists of four parts:
Administrative division + trade name + industry + form of organisation
| Element |
Function |
Example note |
| Administrative division |
Shows the jurisdiction of the registration authority |
Such as "Guangzhou" or "Guangdong" |
| Trade name |
The core distinguishing element of the enterprise |
Generally composed of two or more Chinese characters |
| Industry |
Indicates the industry of the main business |
Should echo the main direction of the business scope |
| Form of organisation |
Indicates the legal form of the enterprise |
Such as a limited liability company or a joint stock company |
The trade name is the most important element in the approval comparison, and it is also the part with the greatest recognition value and the part most worth investing in over the long term. The available options for the administrative division and the form of organisation are constrained by registration requirements, while the industry description should match the main line of business. Industry words unrelated to the actual business should not be chosen at random.
Choosing the Trade Name
A good trade name usually has the following characteristics:
- Strong distinctiveness: it is not a generic word and does not describe a common attribute of goods; the more distinctive it is, the more likely it is to pass;
- Easy to read and remember: simple characters, a natural pronunciation, nothing obscure, and easy to pass on by word of mouth;
- No similarity and no awkward homophone: it should not sound close to a well-known name in the same industry, and homophones should not carry negative or ambiguous associations;
- Durable in long-term use: it should extend well to a brand, a domain name and a trade mark in future.
One warning is worth repeating: the more "ordinary" a trade name is, the more likely it is to collide. Many founders favour the same handful of auspicious characters, and the result is an extremely dense field of similar names in the same industry, which makes approval difficult. Making the trade name somewhat more distinctive can, by contrast, sharply improve the chance of getting through at the first attempt.
Names That Are Prohibited or Restricted
The following are usually prohibited or strictly restricted:
- being similar to an enterprise name already registered in the same industry;
- containing the name of a state or related expressions, or improper use of wording such as "China", "Chinese" or "national";
- involving the names of party, government or military bodies, or mass organisations, or their abbreviations;
- containing words with undesirable effects, or expressions contrary to public order and good morals or liable to cause misunderstanding;
- involving well-known trade marks or expressions that conflict with the prior rights of others;
- using another person's influential name or trade name, which may constitute infringement;
- irregular use of the industry description or the form of organisation, for example an industry word that does not match the business.
In addition, certain names may only use particular wording where the applicant holds specific qualifications or approvals, so that wording does not fall within the range that can be freely chosen in the ordinary way.
How Similarity Is Assessed, and How to Screen Names Yourself
Registration authorities usually compare several dimensions when deciding whether names are similar:
- Wording: whether the names contain the same or a highly similar trade name;
- Pronunciation: whether they are pronounced the same or very nearly the same, including homophones;
- Meaning: whether the overall meaning is likely to cause confusion;
- Industry: whether they belong to the same or a related industry;
- Form of organisation and administrative division: even where these are not identical, the names may still be treated as similar;
- Prior rights: whether there is an earlier registration or prior rights held by another party.
The point of understanding this logic is that you should not only look for a name that is exactly the same; you should also consider the room for similarity in pronunciation, character form and meaning.
Before submitting, it is worth carrying out one round of searching yourself:
- Search the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System by trade name keyword for registered enterprises in the same industry;
- Change the keyword wording and search again using homophones, near synonyms and split characters;
- Pay attention to entities in the same industry in the same city and compare pronunciation and character form one by one;
- Record the search results, rather than submitting as soon as an idea feels right.
The cost of doing this is very low, yet it can significantly reduce the number of rejections.
Preparing Three to Five Options and Ranking Them
A single option carries the highest risk. Prepare three to five, and rank them against the following dimensions:
| Ranking dimension |
Explanation |
| Compliance |
No obvious prohibited or restricted feature; rank these first |
| Similarity risk |
Those with lower risk after searching take priority |
| Brand extension |
Those that lend themselves to a trade mark, a domain name and platform accounts take priority |
| Readability |
Those that are easy to read, easy to remember and easy to pass on by word of mouth take priority |
| Fit with the business |
Those that match the main business direction closely take priority |
The purpose of ranking is that once the first choice is rejected, the second can be submitted immediately without going back to the drawing board, which saves time.
A Company Name Is Not a Trade Mark, and Renaming Has Knock-On Effects
This is a very common misunderstanding: approval of a name does not mean it can be used as a trade mark. Name pre-approval settles whether there is a conflict at the registration level, whereas a trade mark concerns prior registration in specific classes of goods or services. The two have different scopes of examination and different standards of assessment.
It therefore makes sense to run a trade mark search at the same time as deciding the trade name. If the trade name is to serve as a core brand over the long term, trade mark planning should be considered early. Otherwise you may end up in the awkward position where the company name has been approved but the trade mark has already been registered by someone else, leaving you either to acquire it at a high price or to change your name.
If a name change does become necessary later, a great many things are affected and the consequences should be assessed in advance:
- the name recorded in various administrative licences and qualifications;
- bank account details and the specimen seal kept on file;
- the name of the holder of trade marks, patents, copyright and other intellectual property;
- contracts signed with third parties and the identity of the performing party;
- accounts on various platforms (e-commerce, payment, recruitment, social media and so on);
- invoices, seals and social insurance and housing provident fund registration details;
- public disclosures and marketing materials.
Every change of name means a systematic round of information updates, and the cost is far from trivial. Getting the name right at the formation stage is therefore the most cost-effective approach.
Self-Check Checklist
| No. |
Check item |
Result |
| 1 |
Name structure complete: administrative division + trade name + industry + form of organisation |
|
| 2 |
Trade name distinctive, not a generic word, no obscure characters |
|
| 3 |
No state names, no party, government or military body names, no other prohibited features |
|
| 4 |
No words with undesirable effects, no misleading homophones |
|
| 5 |
Publicity system searched by homophone, near synonym and split-character methods |
|
| 6 |
No obvious similarity with same-industry entities in the same city after comparison |
|
| 7 |
Checked whether any well-known trade mark or prior right conflict exists |
|
| 8 |
Three to five alternatives prepared and prioritised |
|
| 9 |
Preliminary trade mark search carried out and brand planning assessed |
|
| 10 |
Knock-on cost of a future name change assessed |
|
This article is general business information prepared by Junanda Consulting. Specific policy positions, tax rates, deadlines and procedural requirements are subject to the latest official versions issued by the competent authorities. To understand how these requirements apply to your business, please contact Junanda Consulting for further information and support.
