Choose a desirable, usable name

• Get your name right the first time. If you don't choose your name carefully, you may be forced to change it, which will require amending your Articles of Incorporation, changing your domain name, obtaining new listings in telephone and other directories, and purchasing new stationery. By getting the name right the first time, you can build a strong brand that will last.
• Name variations. Be aware of spelling and punctuation variations of your chosen name, as well as synonyms, homonyms, and phonetic equivalents.
• Purely geographic or generic names. It's wise to steer clear of purely geographic or generic names, because they're easy to forget and difficult to protect. Geographic names can be very limiting, particularly when it's likely that your corporation will have a Web site that's accessible from anywhere in the world.
• Incorporating an already existing business. If you're incorporating an already existing business, you may wish to add "Inc." or "Corporation" after that name.
• Using your own name. If you're set on using your own name as your corporation's name, then go ahead and do that, by adding "Inc." or Corporation" after your own name.
• Ask for suggestions. One final inquiry should be to ask colleagues, business associates, customers, clients, vendors, friends, and even spouses, siblings, and parents, for suggestions and comments on your name choices. You might end up with a perfect reason to eliminate a name you thought was great. And best of all, not only are these suggestions useful, but they're also free.
• Legal restrictions and requirements for name. Because corporations are creatures of the state in which they're incorporated, you must follow any naming requirements and legal restrictions of the state in which you have chosen to incorporate. A corporation is generally identified with a corporate designator at the end of its name, such as "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Limited," "Company," or an abbreviation of the preceding, "Corp.," "Inc.," "Ltd.," or "Co."

Each state will have its own specific legal restrictions on corporate names. These restrictions can be as simple as stating preference for upper or lower case, or they can prevent the corporation from having certain words in its name, such as "bank," "financial institution," "cooperative," "Federal," "Reserve," "National," or "United States."

Secretaries of State may also have an unwritten policy on swear words or words that appear to be "obscene." Unless you have a very good reason and are interested in spending large amounts of time and money on a fight, you'll want to stay away from those types of names for your corporation.

Each state's Secretary of State manages the corporate formations, which include providing information on the requirements and legal restrictions for corporate naming.