Choosing a Company Name

Company names in Ireland must be pre-approved for availability and acceptability.

The Companies Registration Office (CRO) has an advanced electronic name reservation system. A company name can be refused if:

  • It is identical to or too similar in style to a name already appearing on the register of companies
  • It is offensive
  • It would suggest state sponsorship
  • It is generally recommended that company names include extra words so as to create a sufficient distinction between names
  • Certain words and their abbreviations, together with accents and punctuation marks, are not sufficient to distinguish between company names
  • Place names are not considered to be a sufficient distinction between company names e.g. Ireland, Dublin
  • Similar descriptive elements e.g. staff/employment agency, or the inclusion of only a general or weak qualification such as holding, group, systems, services, solutions, enterprises, international, etc. may not be regarded as a sufficient distinction between company names
  • Names that are phonetically and/or visually similar will be refused. This includes names where there is a slight variation in the spelling and the variation does not make a significant difference between the names
  • A number on its own will not be accepted as a sufficient distinguishing mark, unless the company concerned is part of the same group and a letter of association is provided
  • If a name includes words which imply specific functions e.g. holding, group, further information may be required by the CRO to support the application
  • Names containing certain words cannot be used unless approved by relevant bodies. These include the words bank, banc, banking, banker, insurance, re-insurance and assurance, society, co-op or co-operative, university, institute of technology, regional technical college

Namechecking Service

Please use our free name checking service to check the availability of your proposed company name.

Free Company Namechecks
Formacompany.ie Ltd
Blair House
Upper O’Connell Street
Ennis
Co Clare
Ireland