Catalogue
Plain words for real trades.
We keep the list private. Below is what we look for when we hold a name, and the kinds of businesses those names suit.
Four kinds of name
The trade itself
Two or three words a customer would use to describe the work: a service, a repair, a product line. Suited to firms whose name says who they are but not what they do.
Place and service
A city or region joined to a service. Suited to practices and contractors that win most of their work within one market and want to own it by name.
Specialty retail
Names for a category a shop is known for. Suited to a retailer with a store or two and an online catalogue that is growing faster than its brand.
Professional practice
Plain names for an area of practice. Suited to clinics, advisory firms and offices whose clients search for the specialty first and the practitioner second.
What we pass on
- Anything that is someone else's brand, or close enough to be confused with one.
- Hyphens, numbers and spellings that need explaining on the phone.
- Endings other than .com. We hold nothing else.
- Names with a history of spam or abuse. Each is checked against public blocklists before we hold it.
One name you keep coming back to?
Put it in the form. A name we own gets a figure; one we do not gets a one-line no.
Ask about a name