What names to avoid for an LLC
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Names get refused for two reasons: the word is crowded, or the word is restricted. The first is a numbers problem you can measure. The second is a rule you can look up. Most rejected filings are the first kind.
The crowded words, measured
Counted across the 4,284,739 New York records we hold, these words already appear in this many registered names:
- ELITE: 7,276 registered names
- LEGACY: 4,940 registered names
- PREMIER: 3,816 registered names
- APEX: 2,097 registered names
- SUMMIT: 1,967 registered names
- PIONEER: 787 registered names
None of these is unusable, and none is banned. What the numbers mean is that the word is doing nothing to distinguish you. If your name is Elite Contracting and there are already seven thousand names containing Elite, the whole burden of distinguishability falls on Contracting, which is not a promising place to put it.
Restricted words, which are a different problem
These are refused unless a regulator has signed off first, and the specific list varies by state:
- Bank, banc, banking, trust, credit union. Consent from the state banking regulator.
- Insurance, assurance, underwriter. Consent from the insurance regulator.
- University, college, academy. Consent from the state education authority in many states.
- Engineer, architect, attorney, doctor and other licensed professions. Usually restricted to entities whose owners hold the license.
- Federal, State, Municipal, Commission, Agency. Commonly barred outright for implying government status.
Changes that do not make a name available
- Adding or changing the designator. LLC, L.L.C., Inc, Corp and Company are ignored when states compare names.
- Punctuation. Commas, ampersands, apostrophes and hyphens are usually disregarded.
- Singular and plural. Treated as the same in most states.
- The word The. Also usually ignored, which catches people out: a register may hold the name with a leading The when you searched without it, or the reverse.
- Numerals against words. 5 and Five are frequently treated as identical.
What actually works
Distinctiveness comes from the part of the name nobody else would have chosen. Invented words, unexpected pairings and specific references survive both the state test and, later, a trademark examination. Descriptive words do neither well: they are crowded on the register and weak as marks.
How crowded each register already is
Crowding is not uniform. A name filed against 300,000 new applications a year faces a different test from one filed in a state registering a tenth of that.
| Jurisdiction | New applications, 12 months | Per business day | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 712,650 | 2,851 | 13.6% |
| California | 614,530 | 2,458 | 15.7% |
| Texas | 590,680 | 2,363 | 18.0% |
| New York | 322,200 | 1,289 | 10.5% |
| Georgia | 279,840 | 1,119 | 15.7% |
| Illinois | 199,640 | 799 | 14.5% |
| North Carolina | 198,120 | 792 | 17.5% |
| Ohio | 185,450 | 742 | 22.8% |
| New Jersey | 175,840 | 703 | 13.2% |
| Michigan | 169,080 | 676 | 23.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 168,320 | 673 | 12.4% |
| Colorado | 167,200 | 669 | 20.0% |
| Arizona | 156,190 | 625 | 25.4% |
| Virginia | 149,900 | 600 | 15.4% |
| Washington | 118,030 | 472 | -19.4% |
| Missouri | 117,180 | 469 | 30.6% |
| Tennessee | 115,400 | 462 | 23.6% |
| Maryland | 108,980 | 436 | 12.1% |
| South Carolina | 102,010 | 408 | 15.2% |
| Indiana | 99,380 | 398 | 13.5% |
| Wyoming | 85,750 | 343 | 18.5% |
| Massachusetts | 85,600 | 342 | 11.3% |
| Utah | 84,920 | 340 | 29.0% |
| Louisiana | 82,590 | 330 | 23.4% |
| Wisconsin | 79,830 | 319 | 25.8% |
| Minnesota | 78,530 | 314 | 13.9% |
| Alabama | 78,120 | 312 | 24.7% |
| Kentucky | 77,930 | 312 | 40.5% |
| Oklahoma | 70,140 | 281 | 29.2% |
| Nevada | 69,550 | 278 | 9.8% |
| Oregon | 64,210 | 257 | -2.9% |
| Mississippi | 62,950 | 252 | 32.9% |
| Delaware | 61,150 | 245 | 2.7% |
| Connecticut | 55,460 | 222 | 16.3% |
| Arkansas | 45,900 | 184 | 24.4% |
| New Mexico | 44,310 | 177 | 20.1% |
| Kansas | 43,630 | 175 | 30.3% |
| Iowa | 38,150 | 153 | 14.1% |
| Idaho | 37,400 | 150 | 16.0% |
| Montana | 32,720 | 131 | 15.0% |
| Nebraska | 24,450 | 98 | 14.6% |
| New Hampshire | 20,230 | 81 | 23.7% |
| West Virginia | 18,950 | 76 | 20.0% |
| Hawaii | 18,660 | 75 | -2.8% |
| District of Columbia | 15,980 | 64 | 9.4% |
| Maine | 15,660 | 63 | 9.2% |
| South Dakota | 13,640 | 55 | 14.9% |
| Alaska | 13,450 | 54 | 35.5% |
| Rhode Island | 12,930 | 52 | 11.9% |
| North Dakota | 10,050 | 40 | 13.8% |
| Vermont | 8,710 | 35 | 15.7% |
Common questions
What words are restricted in a business name?
Words implying a bank, insurer, university or government agency are restricted or prohibited in most states, and some require evidence of a license before allowing them. The lists differ by state.
Does adding LLC make a taken name available?
Rarely. Most states disregard the designator when judging whether two names are distinguishable, so adding or changing LLC, Inc or Co usually does not clear a conflict.
Do punctuation and spacing make a name different?
Usually not. States generally normalize punctuation, spacing and case before comparing, so an apostrophe or a hyphen is unlikely to be the thing that makes a name distinguishable.
You can check a name against all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the search on our home page. Every result links back to the state office that holds the record.
Sources reviewed
The sources below were retrieved and confirmed in August 2026. Filing requirements and fees change with legislative sessions and agency rulemaking; check the state’s own page before acting on anything here. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
- EntityFinder’s own copies of the state business registers, refreshed nightly from each state’s published open data.
- United States Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics, retrieved via FRED.
Related
Other questions about the name itself, and the registers they apply to: