How to Check If a Business Name Is Already Taken

Checking if a business name is taken means verifying it isn't already in use as a trademark, a registered business entity, a domain, or an established brand — across all of those at once, not just one. Skipping any of them is how founders end up rebranding six months in.

Here's the problem: a name can look wide open and still be taken in a way that matters. The domain might be available but the trademark registered. The .com might be free but three other companies already operate under the name in your industry. Checking one source and calling it "available" is the most common — and most expensive — naming mistake founders make.

This guide walks through every place you need to check, how to do each one manually, and how to do all of them at once.

The five places a name can be "taken"

A truly available business name needs to clear all five of these. Any one of them can block you:

1. Trademarks — Is someone already using this name as a registered or pending trademark, especially in your industry?
2. Domains — Is the .com (and the extensions you care about) available?
3. Business registrations — Is there already a registered LLC or corporation with this name in the states you operate in?
4. Social media handles — Are the handles available on the platforms you'll actually use?
5. Search competition — When you search the name, is the first page already crowded with other companies?

Let's go through each.

1. Check trademarks (the one people skip)

This is the check that matters most legally and the one founders most often ignore. A registered trademark can force you to rebrand — or worse, expose you to legal action — even if you got there first informally.

Search the USPTO's Trademark Search tool for your exact name and close variations. Look for live marks in the same class of goods or services as your business.

A word of caution: a basic search like this is a knockout screen — it catches obvious, exact conflicts. It is not a full legal clearance. Similar-sounding names, related industries, and common-law (unregistered) rights can all create conflicts a simple search won't surface. If the name matters, have a trademark attorney do a full clearance before you file.

2. Check domain availability

Go to any domain registrar and search your name. But don't just check the .com — check the extensions that fit your business (.ai, .io, .co, and others are increasingly common for startups).

If the .com is taken, that's not automatically a dealbreaker anymore — but know that it usually means someone else is established under that name, which loops back to your trademark and search-competition checks.

3. Check business entity registrations

Every U.S. state maintains a searchable database of registered business entities through its Secretary of State. Search the states where you'll incorporate or operate. Delaware is worth checking regardless, since it's where most startups incorporate.

You're looking for an existing LLC or corporation using your exact name. A match doesn't always block you (rules vary by state and business type), but it's a strong signal the name is in use.

4. Check social media handles

Search your name on the platforms you'll actually use — X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube. You want consistent handles across the ones that matter for your brand. A name where every good handle is already taken is a name you'll fight an uphill branding battle with.

5. Check search competition

Finally, just search your name on Google. If the first page is already dominated by other companies — especially in or near your industry — you'll spend years trying to outrank them for your own name. A name with a clear search landscape is far easier to build on.

The faster way: check all five at once

Doing all five checks by hand means five different tools, a dozen browser tabs, and interpreting each result yourself. It works — but it's slow, and it's easy to miss something.

That's exactly what we built BrandScreen to do. Enter a name once, and it checks trademarks, domains, business registrations, social handles, and search competition — then rolls everything into a single 0–100 Brand Score, so you know at a glance whether a name is clear and ownable. The first check is free.

Check if your business name is available →

The bottom line

A name isn't "available" because the domain is free. It's available when it clears trademarks, domains, business registrations, handles, and search — together. Check all five before you commit, and you'll avoid the costly rebrand that catches founders who checked only one.

Once you have a shortlist, our guide on how to name a startup walks through the full process, and do I need to trademark my business name? covers protecting the name you land on.