What makes a strong company name?
For Australian companies, a strong name works at two distinct levels: the legal entity name registered with ASIC, and the brand name your customers actually use. These do not have to be identical, and for most businesses they should not be.
Every Australian company name must carry a suffix. If you are incorporating as a private company, the legal name must end in “Pty Ltd” or “Proprietary Limited”. Public companies use “Ltd” or “Limited”. This is a legal requirement under the Corporations Act - not optional formatting. That means your root name needs to look and sound right with “Pty Ltd” appended. “Tidal Software Pty Ltd” works. “Tidal Innovative Digital Technologies Pty Ltd” does not - it is too long to use naturally in any context.
Think about scalability before you commit. A name like “Sydney Bookkeeping Pty Ltd” creates real problems if you expand to Melbourne, Brisbane, or internationally. Geographic and category-specific names that feel grounding at launch become liabilities when the business grows or pivots. Name the company for where it is going, not only where it is starting today.
Understand the difference between a company name and a business name. Your company name (registered with ASIC at incorporation) and your trading name (also registered with ASIC as a separate business name) can be different. A company named “Meridian Holdings Pty Ltd” can trade publicly as “Meridian” or even run multiple brands under the same legal entity. Business name registration costs $44 per year or $102 for three years.
How to use the company name generator
Looking for something more specific? The company name creator might be a better fit, or if “company” skews too formal, try the business name generator. If you’re naming the brand rather than the legal entity, the brand name generator is built for that.
NameCraftr is a free, AI-powered company name generator that checks .com, .com.au, and .au availability in real time for each result, or run any shortlisted name through the standalone domain name checker to confirm. Names with all three available give you the strongest brand protection across both Australian and international markets.
Start with a specific brief. “Australian Pty Ltd” is not a useful input. “B2B SaaS platform for Australian SME accountants to automate BAS lodgements and ATO compliance reporting” will produce suggestions that are more distinctive, more registrable, and easier to protect.
Once you have candidates, run this four-step check:
- The legal suffix test. Add “Pty Ltd” to each candidate and read it aloud. Does it still work? Does it look reasonable on a contract, invoice, or email footer? Eliminate anything that becomes unwieldy.
- The domain check. NameCraftr shows .com.au, .au, and .com availability for every suggestion. Prioritise names where all three are clear.
- ASIC name search. Search at asic.gov.au before committing to anything. ASIC’s similarity algorithm does not just catch identical names - it catches phonetically similar names, abbreviations, plurals, and names where the only difference is a common word like “The”, “A”, or “Australia”. A name that seems unique can still be rejected at incorporation if ASIC determines it is too similar to an existing registration.
- IP Australia trademark search. Check ipaustralia.gov.au before investing in branding. An existing registered trade mark in your class can block your commercial use of a name even if ASIC approves the company registration.
After the generator: registering your company name
Once a name passes all four checks, follow this sequence:
Register .com.au and .au first. These are the primary domains for Australian businesses and signal local presence to customers and search engines. To register .com.au, your domain must closely and substantially relate to your registered company or business name - so do not choose a domain shortcut that diverges significantly from your registered name. Use any AUNIC-accredited registrar (Crazy Domains, VentraIP, Netregistry, or similar).
Register .com as well if it is available. This matters for international customers, investor presentations, and any future expansion beyond Australia.
Incorporate through ASIC. Company name registration happens at the point of incorporation - there is no separate pre-registration process for company names in Australia. ASIC’s current government fee for incorporating a Pty Ltd is approximately $538. You will need at least one director (who must be an Australian resident) and one shareholder. The company name you apply for must pass ASIC’s availability check at the time of lodgement.
Register a business name separately if needed. If you plan to trade under any name other than your exact registered company name, register it as a business name with ASIC ($44/year). This is a separate registration from the company name and requires an active ABN.
Apply for a trade mark through IP Australia. The filing fee is $330 per class at ipaustralia.gov.au. Class 35 covers business services; Class 42 covers software and technology tools. Trade mark rights date from the application date. File before you launch publicly.
Common company naming mistakes
Not accounting for ASIC’s similarity algorithm. Founders often check whether a name looks different from existing registrations and assume they are clear. ASIC’s algorithm looks beyond spelling - it evaluates phonetic similarity, common word variations, and abbreviations. “Tidal Pty Ltd” could be blocked by “Tidl Pty Ltd” or “The Tidal Company Pty Ltd”. Search thoroughly at asic.gov.au and treat near-matches as real risks.
Conflating company name registration with trade mark protection. ASIC registration prevents another company from registering the same or a very similar company name in Australia. It does not give you exclusive commercial rights to use the name as a brand. A competitor can trade under a similar name using a different legal entity structure - only a registered trade mark through IP Australia stops that.
Choosing a name that locks in your current location or category. “Brisbane Property Tech Pty Ltd” works fine for a local launch. It becomes a problem when you expand interstate or add services. The Corporations Act does not make it simple to rename a company - it requires ASIC lodgement, updating all legal documents, and notifying the ATO and relevant agencies. Get the name right before you incorporate.
Skipping .com.au eligibility planning. Your .com.au domain must substantially relate to your registered business or company name. If you want to operate online under a shortened or stylised version of your name - for example, trading as “Meridian” when the company is “Meridian Financial Services Pty Ltd” - you need to register “Meridian” as a business name with ASIC before you can legitimately register meridian.com.au.
Registering the domain before checking ASIC and IP Australia. Domain registration takes minutes and costs around $15 to $20 per year. A naming conflict identified after you have built branding, a website, and launched marketing can cost tens of thousands of dollars to resolve. Run the free registry checks first.