How To Name a Business The Right Way In Nigeria | [4 Steps Guide]

How To Name a Business The Right Way 101: All the Basics You Need to Know

Name Your Business The Right Way! Your business idea needs a suitable and brandable name, and it may be the most important decision you will ever make in setting up a company. However, the name of your business has a huge impact on how clients and investors view your brand in today’s contemporary business world.

Meanwhile, it is very often overwhelming, frustrating, and exhausting researching and coming up with a suitable and brandable name for your business. Most importantly, considering that your business name and internet domain should probably be the same. In the article, we shall provide you with a simple guide to increase your chances of getting approval with the Corporate Affairs Commission-CAC in an effort to name your business the right way.

4 Quick Tips: Practical Steps To Name a Business The Right Way

Step 1

Certainly, best practice would be;

• Initial Keywords Ideas combination,
• Brainstorm a List of Names from the combined keywords,
• Narrow it down to a few decent names and after that,
• Pencil down three that suits your need for a brandable business name.

Mistakes To Avoid In Choosing Your Preferred Business Name

Beware of Prohibited Names: Any name that can mislead the public as to the nature and extent of your business activities or that is offensive, undesirable or contrary to public policy.

Beware of Restricted Names: Where a similar name had been registered earlier by the Corporate Affairs Commission, such a name is restricted. However, such a name can still be reserved. If the applicant obtains a letter of consent from the original holder of the name, the Commission may consider granting approval.

Beware of Government / Reserved Names: You need the consent of the Corporate Affairs Commission and some other enabling Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Companies & Allied Matters Act, (CAMA), 1990, if your preferred name contains any of the following words: –

• Federal
• National
• Regional
• State Government
• Municipal
• Incorporation
• Incorporated
• Project
• Certified
• Group
• Consortium
• Holdings
• Authorized
• State
• Government
• Patent
• Commerce
• Copyright
• Conglomerate
• Chartered
• Co-operative
• Building society
• Group

Beware of Professional Names: It is required that at least one Shareholder/Director/Partner provides a photocopy of his/her Educational/Professional/Training/Degree Certificate obtained from Universities, Polytechnic, Colleges of Education, Professional Memberships, Vocational Training (BSc, BA, MSc, MBA, PhD) or Professional Bodies like (COREN, NIM, ICSA, MPA, NSE, ICAN, ACA, CITN, etc.), if your preferred name contains any of the following words and Suffixes:-

• Engineering
• Consulting
• Medical
• Pharmacy
• Construction
• Management
• Financial
• Accounting
• institute
• School etc

Step 2

Shopify Business Name Generator; is one of several free online tools to help you generate your preferred business name and check the internet domain availability instantly. Moreover, your preferred company name and the Internet Domain Name should probably be the same, so check out your business names internet domain availability with online tools like Instant Domain Search®. This may sound obvious, but a miss here may cost you dearly.

Step 3

CACPublicCompanySearch; is another free online tool to help you validate your preferred business name to ensure the name is also available for registration with the CAC Nigeria – Corporate Affairs Commission. Always remember, your preferred company name and Internet domain name should probably be the same, so check out.

Step 4

Where your preferred Name Is already taken, simply reconstruct again and keep it simple. The shorter in length, the better. In the same vein, try to limit it to two syllable words if impossible. On the other hand, avoid using hyphens and other special characters. Since certain programs and directory listings work alphabetically, choose a name closer to A than Z. Nowadays, it helps if the name can easily be turned into a verb, like Register Now.

Above all, let Your Preferred Name Speak Volume of the Nature of Your Business! Try to adopt a business name that provides some information about what your business is all about. For instance, naming a Sports Betting Business “Bet and Cashout” is appropriate, but the same name would not do well for a Lottery Business. Your business name should match your business in order to remind customers what services you provide.

Hopefully, you are successful in picking a well thought out name, then maybe you should consider the importance of exclusive rights to the name and think of protecting it with a Trademark.

We offer Free Business Consultation and a Name Reservation for all our prospects. If you want to register your Business Name or Limited Liability with the CAC? Click here to see our amazing best value discounted offers or Click here to Open a Ticket.

Ideally, the entire process takes about 3–7days for business name registration and 7-14days for LLC. But sometimes could exceed depending on the workload of the Corporate Affairs Commission at the time.

So, if you want to know more about the business name registration process with the CAC Nigeria – Corporate Affairs Commission, click – Registration of Business Name with the CAC | Complete Guide.

Also, consider checking Benefits of Business Registration with the CAC Nigeria

In Conclusion

Whether you are starting a small venture, want to grow an existing one or launch a big company, you should always have Scalability in your thoughts. Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Luck is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity”.

Most importantly, we do hope you have benefited from this article, we have provided the Only Guide You Need to increase your chances of picking your preferred brandable & suitable Business Name for approval by the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Do you want to be an entrepreneur in Nigeria? which one of the two forms of business registration would you prefer? Business Name or Limited Liability? You can get started with the registration process now!

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If you need further clarification before paying for any of our plans, visit:www.corporatestarters.com. You can also send us an email at [email protected].

This article is mostly for information purposes alone and is not intended to take the place of legal advice. Readers are advised to seek proper legal advice.  If you need help in reaching a lawyer, you may consider sending us an email at [email protected] and we would be glad to connect you with a lawyer.