Choosing a name for your business may seem like the fun part of the deal – and it is. But it’s absolutely vital that you get it right. What about the involvement of Sean Parker as portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the 2010 movie The Social Network? At one point, Parker says to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg): “Drop the ‘The.’ Just ‘Facebook.’ It’s cleaner.” And, he helped make himself a few billion dollars in the process by this complex “drop the THE” business insight!

Your company or product name is usually the first thing your customers read or hear and it will form an immediate impression in their minds of what’s on offer – whether you like it or not.

So put a lot of thought into this.

The name(s) you choose are likely to be around for quite some time, particularly if they’re successful. If they aren’t – well just maybe the nomenclature will have contributed to that failure!

One of the safest options is to call the company something relatively conservative, but to name the product/s in more innovative ways. Procter & Gamble is relatively staid, for example, but it doesn’t stop the products having whizz-bang names down the years.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as coming up with a great name. There are legal complications, potentially.

If it’s a company name you’re concerned about and yours is or will become a Limited Company, then you’ll need to register the name with Companies House (or use an agent to do this for you). Their website includes information on company naming and what names aren’t available – and there are a lot of these unfortunately.

And if it is available, there are still a few more rules, as follows:

It must end with ‘limited’ (or Ltd), ‘public limited company’ (or plc) or Welsh equivalents if you are a company.

If you have a limited liability partnership your name must end with ‘limited liability partnership’ or LLP (including Welsh equivalents) if you are an LLP.

Also, you must ensure that your chosen name isn’t offensive and doesn’t include any sensitive words or expressions unless you’ve obtained specific permission to use them which, let’s face it, is unlikely!

With product naming, the trademark issues can become even more complex. Go to the UKgovernment’s Intellectual Property Office at www.ipo.gov.uk for further advice.

This article was written by David, who specialises in offering advice to start-up businesses. He frequently blogs his advice too, telling people about everything from the latest payday loan to the best banks.