How to Name Your California Business
Our TRUiC California Business Name Generator can help you find an unique name for your small business. It uses AI technology to help give you the best results for your local area and industry.
Naming your California business is the most important step for starting a California business. How you decide to brand your business plays a critical role in the success it will have.
Here are the 3 steps to naming your California business:
- Step 1: Optimize Your California Business Name for SEO
- Step 2: Follow the California Business Naming Rules
- Step 3: Form Your California Business
Step 1: Optimize Your California Business Name for SEO
To generate a great business name for your California business, consider doing the following:
- Select your industry
- Add a city name to the search field above
Select Your Industry
Choosing your business industry will help our AI tool generate much better names. Also, having the industry keyword in your name will help customers easily find your business.
For example, if you’re selling insurance services, include the industry keyword “insurance” in your California business name; if you’re a law firm, include the keyword “legal.” Doing this will greatly help with local search engine optimization (SEO).
Selecting Your City or County
Lots of customers will find you by searching Google, and adding a city to your business name will help users easily find your company.
Examples of Local California Business Names:
Step 2: Follow the California Business Naming Rules
When naming businesses, you must follow the naming guidelines for California which depend on the type of business structure you have.
California Naming Rules Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s):
- Your name must include the phrase “limited liability company” or one of its abbreviations (e.g., LLC, L.L.C., Limited, Ltd., Company or Co.).
- Your name cannot include words that could confuse your LLC with a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
- Restricted words (e.g. Bank, Attorney, University, etc.) may require additional paperwork and a licensed individual, such as a doctor or lawyer, to be part of your LLC.
For a complete list of naming rules in California, you can read California's Code of Regulations.
California Naming Rules for Corporations:
- Your name must contain the word “corporation,” “company,” “incorporated,” “limited” or an abbreviation of one of these terms.
- Your name must be distinguishable from any existing business in your state. You can read more about what makes a name distinguishable in California's Secretary of State Business Entity document.
- Your name cannot use the words “bank,” “trust,” “trustee,” “credit union,” or related words without approval from the Commissioner of Business Oversight.
- Your name cannot include words that could confuse your corporation with a government agency (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).
You can also read the California state statute about corporation naming guidelines for more information.
Once you have a name, you can use the California business search on the state’s Secretary of State website to see if your desired name is available.
Step 3: Form Your California Business
Here are links to help you form your business.
If you are still unsure which business formation structure will work best for you and your small business, check out our Choosing a Business Structure guide for more detailed information.
If you would like a service provider to form your business for you, see our best California business formation services.
Our Other Business Name Generators
We have multiple business name generators. If you want a business name generator that is good for SEO, LLCs, or domains, check out our guides below:
If you're searching for a specific business name generator by industry, check out our guides below:
After You Have a Name for Your California Business:
- Get a free logo using our Logo Generator.
- Use our How to Build a Website guide for your new California small business.
