Name of the New Charity

You need to choose a name for your charity. It is important  to check, before using  a proposed name or making any decision to adopt that name, that it will be lawful and appropriate to use that name. If the name chosen is not lawful or appropriate but you use it nevertheless, that could give rise to complaints or claims against the charity, and, as a result, you might well have to change it. This could cause expense for the charity, a degree of disruption when it changes its name, and an adverse effect on its reputation.

So what are the constraints on choice of a name? The charity may have a “working name” as well as an “official” name, but neither of those names should be the same as or too similar to the working or official name of any other charity or any other organisation. The name must not use words that the charity does not have permission to use, e.g. misleading words, famous names, “royal” words, offensive words, acronyms, or words that infringe another’s intellectual property rights. As part of your checks to see whether your chosen name is acceptable, you should check for the same or similar company names at Companies House, and for prohibitions that Companies House imposes. See H. M. Government’s guidance . You should also check on the Charity Commission website to see whether there is any existing charity with the same or a similar name to the proposed name. It would also be prudent to carry out a general internet search to check for any identical or similar names.