So I'm trying to lock in a name for my little coffee subscription thing and I figured I'd do the responsible thing and run it through a few name search sites. Site A says 'available!' Site B says 'taken.' Site C just gives me a vague shrug and shows me a bunch of ads for domain brokers. Now I'm less confident than when I started. What's actually going on with these sites?
Naming
I used three different name search websites and got different answers
They're all checking different things against different databases at different times. One might be looking at trademark registries, another at domain records, another at business name filings in each state. 'Available' on one site basically means 'we didn't find an exact match in the slice we looked at.'
Site C told me my own legal name was taken once. I wouldn't trust it to tell me the sky is blue.
Also worth remembering none of these sites are your lawyer. A name search result isn't clearance. If a close-enough name exists in the same industry you can still get a nasty letter later. Cheap search now, expensive problem later.
How much are you planning to spend on this name? Because if it's like $50 and a dream, honestly just pick your favorite of the three answers and move on.
I ran into the same thing last year. Turned out two of the sites had stale data from months ago. The third one actually showe the right answer but buried it behind a 'free report' upsell. I'd cross-check against the actual USPTO search and your state's business registry directly instead of trusting a middleman
Yeah, the direct sources are the only ones that matter anyway. The middleman sites are basically scrapers with a nicer font.
Not to derail but a coffee subscription called Clockwork Otter is genuinely a great name so maybe the universe is telling you something.
Seconding the direct registry check. And check the social handles too, not just domains. You don't want the perfect name and then discover the handle is held by a dormant account from 2009.
Or just embrace it. 'Mostly Available Coffee Co.' has a certain charm.
The stale data angle didn't even occur to me. I pulled the actual state registry and one of the three sites was flat wrong — the name is clear in my state, the discrepancy was a domain squatter. So now the question is whether I care enough about the .com to argue with a squatter.
You don't. Pick a different domain ending and keep the name. Squatters sit on those for years.