Is your name screening the same as a NUANS report?

No. A NUANS report is a formal search product from a private search company, and Ontario's registration page says a named Ontario corporation needs an Ontario-biased one. Our screening is an earlier, practical filter that helps you avoid paying for reports on names that would never have worked.

Will you tell me whether my name infringes a trademark?

No, that's a legal opinion. We'll flag names that look close to existing marks in the federal database, and recommend you take your final choice to a lawyer or registered trademark agent.

Should I just use a number company?

Ontario lets a corporation use a number instead of a name, and some owners incorporate that way and trade under a separate brand. Whether that suits you is a legal and accounting question; from a marketing point of view, customers still need a memorable trading name.

How long does naming take?

Usually two to three weeks from the first conversation to a final shortlist, including a few days for you to test the names on real people.

Company Naming and Name Screening in Ontario

A company name has to do four jobs at once: survive being said aloud, be findable in search, be available to register and use, and still fit the business in five years. Our naming service helps you find a name that does all four, then screens the shortlist before you spend money on registration, a domain or a logo.

What the naming service is

It's a structured process, not a brainstorm in a coffee shop. We start with a short brief: what you sell, who buys it, where in Ontario you'll operate and how you might grow. From that we agree on naming criteria, generate candidates with you, and score each one.

The scoring is practical. Every candidate gets checked for:

The phone test. Say it once to someone who has never heard it. Can they spell it? Names with silent letters, invented spellings or numbers that could be words ("4" or "four") fail more often than founders expect.
Search clutter. What does a customer see if they type the name into Google? A name shared with a large brand, a common word or a place name may never rank for itself.
Registry conflicts. A quick look at the free Ontario Business Registry search for identical or near-identical names.
Trademark proximity. A look at the federal trademarks database for marks in a related field that look or sound close.
Domain and handles. Whether a sensible .ca or .com is available at a normal price, and whether the main social handles are free.
Room to grow. Whether the name still works if you add a service, a second city or a second province.

Who it's for

The service suits founders who are about to register, owners launching a second brand alongside an existing company, and anyone who suspects their working title won't hold up. It's especially useful in crowded categories such as home services, cleaning, renovation and professional services, where names drift towards the same handful of words.

It's less useful if you've already invested heavily in a name with signage, vehicles and a following. In that case the brand identity service usually gives a better return than renaming.

What's included and the timeline

A typical naming engagement runs two to three weeks:

Week 1: brief and criteria. A 60-minute call, then a one-page naming brief you approve.
Week 1–2: candidates. We develop 20–40 candidates with you and cut them to about ten.
Week 2: screening. Each of the ten is scored against the checks above, with notes.
Week 2–3: real-world testing. You say the top five to a few people who match your customer; we give you a simple script so the test is fair.
Week 3: shortlist. A ranked list of three to five, with the reasoning, ready for you to take to a lawyer and the registry.

What you do next is your call. Ontario's registration page explains, as of October 2026, that a named corporation needs an Ontario-biased NUANS report ordered from a private search company, and that a federally biased NUANS report won't be accepted. Sole proprietorships and partnerships register a business name differently. Check the current rules there before filing.

How we measure whether naming worked

Naming is hard to measure in month one, so we set early signals in advance:

In the phone test, at least four out of five listeners spell the name correctly.
Six weeks after launch, a search for the exact name shows your website or Google Business Profile on the first page.
Enquiries mention the name correctly, rather than a near-miss competitor's name.

If a name fails the phone test badly, it's cheaper to change it before registration than after printing.

Mistakes we help founders avoid

Registering before checking the domain. Founders pay the registry fee, then discover the obvious domain is parked and priced at thousands of dollars.
Naming after a single city. "Mississauga Window Pros" is clear today and awkward the day you take a job in Oakville. A place name can work, but decide deliberately.
Copying the category leader's pattern. If three competitors are "[Something] Home Services", a fourth makes you forgettable.
Assuming registration means ownership. A business name registration in Ontario and a registered trademark are different things handled by different governments. Ask a lawyer or registered trademark agent what each protects before you rely on either.
Falling for your own pun. Clever names often need explaining. If the name needs a tagline to make sense, test a plainer option alongside it.

When the name is settled, the next step is the launch website. Our long-form naming guide covers the screening steps in more detail, and the pricing page shows how naming projects are billed.

Company naming and name screening for Ontario founders