How to Name a Store: Name Ideas, Testing, and Protecting Your Rights

To choose a store name, identify your customers and product range, create several options, and test how easy they are to pronounce, spell, and remember. For the finalists, separately search for other businesses’ names, applications, and registered trademarks, and check domain names and social media usernames. An available website address and positive customer feedback do not guarantee that using a name will not infringe someone else’s rights.

Before ordering signs, packaging, and advertising, approve the final spelling and assess the legal risks. If you plan to invest in promoting the name, decide in advance who will secure the trademark rights. For a store in Ukraine, prepare Ukrainian-language product information, advertising copy, website content, and social media pages. A protected foreign-language trademark may be used in the form in which it received legal protection; accompanying information for customers must meet the language requirements.

Identify the store’s intended customers

The owner should prepare a brief for themselves, the team, or the specialist who will create the name. Write down who will buy the products, what need will bring them to the store, and why they will choose your store. Describe a specific purchasing situation; this will help you assess names against the business’s needs.

Hypothetical example: A small store sells gifts, greeting cards, and wrapping materials. Its main customer wants to buy a small gift on the way to a meeting and have it wrapped straight away. The name should be easy to say in conversation, suitable for a sign, and still appropriate if candles or décor are added to the product range.

Record the following in the brief:

• Main product category: clothing, food, gifts, home goods, or another product range.
• Customer: their need, typical budget, and how they choose products.
• Sales format: physical store, website, social media, or a combination.
• Desired impression: for example, attentive service, practicality, or a wide selection.
• Growth plans: new categories, other cities, or in-house products.
• Restrictions: words, unwanted associations, and difficult spellings to avoid.

The result should be one paragraph that explains why a particular name suits the store. Share it with everyone involved in choosing the name so the team applies the same criteria.

If the store is already operating, prepare a naming brief based on its actual product range. In Torgsoft, the person responsible for inventory can open «Склад → Стан складу» (Warehouse → Warehouse status), review the list of products for the relevant accounting center — a store or warehouse — and prepare examples of the main categories, models, and prices for the owner. Use this information to describe the product range for the naming writer so they can focus on the products the store actually offers its customers.

Create name options using different approaches

You can prepare 15–20 options for the first list. This is a practical guideline that lets you compare different approaches before focusing on one name.

• Associations with the purchase. Write down words related to the purpose of the products, the occasion for buying them, or the customer’s action.
• Combining word parts. Create a new word from two familiar roots. Read it aloud to spot awkward sound combinations.
• Invented word. Prepare several short options and ask people what associations they bring to mind without explaining the author’s intent.
• Owner’s name. Consider whether it suits the store’s format and whether it will be convenient to use if partners join or the business is sold.

For the hypothetical gift store, a shortlist might include “Даруня,” “Згорточок,” and “Листолад.” “Даруня” is associated with giving gifts, “Згорточок” with wrapping, and “Листолад” could suit a store with a notable share of greeting cards and paper goods. These are illustrative candidates for the exercise. Before using any of them, carry out the search for similar names and trademarks described below and assess the legal risks.

Add a Ukrainian-language description to each option: “подарунки та пакування” (“gifts and wrapping”), “одяг для дітей” (“children’s clothing”), or “товари для дому” (“home goods”). Assess both elements together: the description should help customers understand the product range.

Screen out names that pose legal risks

For a store in Ukraine, choose a trademark with reference to Articles 5–6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services” No. 3689-XII. A trademark is a designation that enables one person’s goods or services to be distinguished from those of others. Distinctiveness matters for a name: customers should perceive it as identifying a particular business.

A name that only describes goods or services may not receive independent protection. For example, the phrase “Магазин подарунків” (“Gift Shop”) describes the business. The law allows certain descriptive designations to be protected if they acquired distinctiveness through use before the application was filed. Descriptive elements may also form part of a trademark as non-protected elements, provided they do not dominate its image. For a new store, it is practical to look for a name customers can distinguish from an ordinary description of the product range.

Before testing, remove the following options from the list or refer them for legal assessment:

• Names that may mislead. This includes names that may mislead as to the manufacturer, quality, characteristics, or geographical origin of goods. Do not use a name to suggest an origin or status the store does not have.
• State symbols, official names of states, names of international intergovernmental organizations, official seals, and awards. Article 6 requires the consent of the competent authority or owner to include such elements in a trademark, and the element must be designated as non-protected.
• Names of well-known works, characters, and personal names. Article 6 restricts reproducing the titles of works known in Ukraine, quotations, and characters without the rights holders’ consent, as well as the names, pseudonyms, and images of people known in Ukraine without their consent.
• Designations and symbols prohibited by law. Assess historical names and historical figures separately under Articles 5–6 before sending them to a designer.

When assessing similarity, consider whether the designations could be confused, including whether one could bring the other to mind. Under Article 6, a potential obstacle may be another person’s mark that was filed earlier or registered in Ukraine for the same or related goods and services. For a well-known mark, the obstacle may also apply to unrelated goods and services if use of your name would indicate a connection with the mark’s owner and could harm their interests.

If you find a conflict with an earlier registered mark or trade name, discuss with a patent attorney whether it is possible to obtain consent from the owner of the earlier right. Paragraph 6 of Article 6 allows such registration with the rights holder’s consent if there is no possibility of misleading consumers. Keep an alternative name on your list until you have agreed on the terms and obtained a legal assessment.

Test pronunciation, spelling, and recall

The owner or an employee helping with the choice can hold short, individual conversations with 8–12 people who resemble the intended customers. This small group can help identify difficulties, but its answers cannot be treated as the opinion of the entire market.

1. Show the name without an explanation. Ask, “What do you think is sold here?” and “What prices would you expect?” Record the answers word for word.
2. Ask participants to read it aloud. Note variations in stress, pauses, and mistakes. Repeated difficulties are a reason to change the spelling or set the option aside.
3. Dictate the name to another participant. Ask them to write it down without help. This will show whether a customer can tell a friend the name or enter it in a search.
4. Check the Latin-script spelling. Transliteration means representing a Ukrainian word with Latin letters. Show the spelling selected for the website address and ask the person how they would read it. Separately, dictate the address and ask them to write it down.
5. Return to the name at the end of the conversation. After a few other questions, ask the person to recall it. Record the exact spelling they give.
6. Show the name together with the store description. Find out whether the person can now tell what is sold and whether their first impression matches the actual product range.

Explain the idea only after the participant has answered so you do not influence their associations. If you are testing several names, vary the order in which you show them. In a shared table, record the number of correct readings, correct spellings written from dictation, and successful recalls, as well as any unwanted associations.

Compare the finalists using a clear scale

Agree on the criteria and their weights before scoring. A weight shows how important a criterion is for your store. Score each name from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates significant difficulty and 5 indicates the best fit for the criterion.

For pronunciation and spelling, you can use this illustrative scale: 5 points for at least 90% correct answers; 4 for 75% to less than 90%; 3 for 60% to less than 75%; 2 for 40% to less than 60%; and 1 for less than 40%. For fit with the product range, the team should explain its score in writing. This scale helps structure the discussion, but it does not provide a statistically reliable forecast of customer behavior.

Hypothetical calculation example: All the scores below are fictional and are shown to demonstrate the method. Each criterion’s contribution equals its score divided by 5 and multiplied by its weight. The maximum total is 100 points. Each cell shows the score first, followed by its contribution to the overall result.

For “Даруня,” the calculation is: 4 ÷ 5 × 30 + 5 ÷ 5 × 25 + 3 ÷ 5 × 25 + 4 ÷ 5 × 20 = 24 + 25 + 15 + 16 = 80. The one-point difference between the top two candidates is too small to support a confident decision based on a small group. Repeat the tasks that caused difficulty with other potential customers.

Assess legal eligibility separately. High scores for pronunciation and recall do not remove a conflict with someone else’s rights.

Search separately for business names and trademarks

Search for stores and trade names

For each finalist, search in a search engine, on maps, marketplaces, and social media. Search for the exact word in quotation marks, the spelling without spaces, the Latin-script version, and the name together with a product category and city. Separately search for the names of legal entities in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Associations.

Supplement the registry search with a search for stores in operation: customers may know a retail location by the name on its sign. A trade name is the name a business uses to distinguish itself in its commercial activity. Article 6 of Law No. 3689-XII takes into account conflicts with trade names of other persons that are known in Ukraine and whose rights arose earlier, in relation to the same or related goods and services.

Record the matches you find, their product ranges, locations, and links. If a similar name is already being used by a store in the same category, refer the case to an intellectual property specialist before making a final choice.

Search for trademark applications and registrations

Open section 19 on the “Trademarks” page of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations. From there, you can open the Special Information System, Global Brand Database, and Madrid Monitor. In the Special Information System, select “торговельна марка” (“trademark”) as the object, include applications and protection documents, and enter the name in the keyword field.

1. Search for exact matches. Repeat the search using the Ukrainian and Latin-script spellings.
2. Search for similar options. Change the endings, check for a shared root, similar sound, and spellings with and without spaces.
3. Open the result records. Compare the designation, applicant or owner, filing date, legal status, and list of goods and services.
4. Choose the relevant classes. The International Classification of Goods and Services groups goods and services for trademark registration. Prepare a list of your business activities: store services and, if planned, goods under your own name. Select classes to match that list.

Assess the goods and services themselves and how closely related they are, even if they fall into different classes. For international registrations, find out whether protection extends to Ukraine. The absence of an obvious match in a self-conducted search does not guarantee registration or the absence of claims. If you plan significant expenditure, ask a patent attorney—a specialist in acquiring and protecting intellectual property rights—to assess identical and similar marks.

Check the domain and social media usernames

A domain is a website address, and a social media username is a unique page identifier. For the two finalists, list the addresses you need and check their availability with a registrar and directly on the platforms. Also ask the registrar about the registration terms for the domain zone you have chosen.

Say the address aloud to another person. If you have to explain numbers, hyphens, or letter substitutions each time, consider a simpler option. For pages, you can use the same spelling of the name with a short category clarification if needed to distinguish the page.

Domain availability does not mean you have permission to use someone else’s designation. Article 20 of Law No. 3689-XII provides that rights may be infringed by using, without the owner’s consent, their trademarks and the designations defined in paragraph 5 of Article 16 in domain names. Adding the word “shop,” a city name, or a number does not in itself remove the risk that customers will confuse the names.

After assessing the legal risks, register the necessary addresses under the business owner’s control. Save access details, set up account recovery, and set domain renewal reminders so the store can continue managing its pages and website.

Prepare Ukrainian-language information for customers

When setting up a store in Ukraine, the owner must consider language requirements separately from the choice of name. Under Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language” No. 2704-VIII, sellers serve consumers and provide information about goods and services in Ukrainian, including through online stores and catalogues. This information may be duplicated in other languages. At a customer’s request, personal service may be provided in another language acceptable to both parties.

Give the designer Ukrainian-language text for product range descriptions, information signs, and advertising messages. Ask the website administrator and the employee responsible for social media to prepare Ukrainian-language product descriptions, purchase terms, and seller information. Product information must be available before purchase; Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Consumer Protection” No. 1023-XII sets out requirements for its content. In particular, customers need the product name, main characteristics, price, purchase terms, and seller information, subject to the requirements for the relevant product.

How to use a foreign-language name

Under Article 42 of Law No. 2704-VIII, trademarks are used in the form in which they received legal protection. If a protected mark is written in another language, give the designer that exact version. Alongside it, prepare a Ukrainian-language description of the product range and other information for customers. Using Latin letters in a new name does not by itself establish legal protection or justify treating all accompanying text as an exception to the language requirements.

Prepare advertising copy for an ordinary store in Ukraine in Ukrainian. Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Advertising” No. 270/96-ВР allows intellectual property objects to be used in the language in which they are legally protected, and website addresses and other internet identifiers to be written in Latin letters. A design can therefore combine a protected foreign-language trademark, a website address in Latin script, and Ukrainian-language advertising copy.

What the website and social media pages must contain

Under part six of Article 27 of Law No. 2704-VIII, websites and social media pages belonging to businesses registered in Ukraine that sell goods or services in Ukraine must be in Ukrainian. Versions in other languages may be provided alongside them. The Ukrainian version must contain at least as much information in volume and substance and load by default for users in Ukraine.

Before launch, the owner should view the website as a customer and make sure the menu, categories, product pages, and order terms are available in Ukrainian. For social media pages, review the store description, pinned information, and posts offering products. If you add materials in other languages, arrange for them to be prepared so the Ukrainian version remains complete.

Agree on the spelling and protect the rights before making major expenditures

The owner should approve one consistent version: the Ukrainian name, the Latin-script version for addresses, a product range description, and rules for capitalization and spaces. Give this version to the designer, website administrator, and employee responsible for social media. Before paying for designs, check them against the approved spelling.

If the name will become the business’s main designation, discuss registration of the word mark and, if needed, the logo with a patent attorney. Decide who will be the applicant and rights holder. Under Article 5 of Law No. 3689-XII, the scope of protection depends on the mark’s representation and the list of goods and services entered in the register. When planning the budget, account for fees for filing the application and publication, and the duty for issuing the certificate; payment procedures are listed in sections 13 and 21 of the “Trademarks” page. Agree separately on the cost of the specialist’s services.

Filing an application does not yet mean the mark is registered. For national registration, the certificate confirms the acquisition of the right, and the rights arising from it take effect from the filing date. The ® symbol indicates that the mark is registered in Ukraine; the certificate holder’s right to use it is set out in paragraph 10 of Article 16. Add it to the design after registration, once you hold that right.

Before paying for a large packaging run or a permanent sign, the owner should have a concrete result: final spelling, test findings, an assessment of legal risks, the necessary addresses secured, and a decision on trademark registration. If a significant disputed similarity remains, delay this expenditure until it has been resolved.

Official sources

• Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services” dated 15 December 1993 No. 3689-XII: Articles 5–6—protection requirements and grounds for refusal; Article 16—certificate holder’s rights and the ® symbol; Article 20—rights infringements, including in domain names.
• Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language” dated 25 April 2019 No. 2704-VIII: part six of Article 27—websites and social media pages; Article 30—service and consumer information; Article 32—language of advertising; Article 42—use of trademarks.
• Law of Ukraine “On Consumer Protection” dated 12 May 1991 No. 1023-XII: Article 15—product information and how it must be provided to customers.
• Law of Ukraine “On Advertising” dated 3 July 1996 No. 270/96-ВР: Article 6—language of advertising, intellectual property objects, and internet addresses.
• Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations: “Trademarks”: sections 13 and 21—payments; section 19—search for applications and registered marks; section 23—contacting patent attorneys.