Naming your UK company: what Companies House will and won't accept

Every UK limited company name must end in 'Limited' or 'Ltd' (or 'Cyfyngedig' / 'Cyf' for Welsh companies). That much most directors know. Beyond that, the rules around what Companies House will and won't accept catch many Arab directors off guard — particularly those who want to use a name that reflects their business identity in the Arab world.

Sensitive words require prior approval. Over 100 words and expressions are classified as 'sensitive' under the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015. Examples include: Bank, Banking, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Co-operative, Foundation, Fund, Government, Group, Holding, Insurance, Investment, National, Royal, Trust, and University. Using any of these in your company name requires written approval from the relevant regulatory body before Companies House will accept the application. 'Group' and 'Holding' are particularly common traps — many Gulf directors assume these are generic descriptors. They are not, from a UK naming perspective.

Name uniqueness: Companies House checks your proposed name against the existing register. A name that is the same as, or 'too similar' to, an existing registered name will be rejected. The similarity test is not purely exact-match — it ignores common words like 'the', 'of', 'and', and certain legal endings like 'Ltd' vs 'Limited'. In practice this means 'Al-Noor Trading Ltd' and 'Alnoor Trading Ltd' are considered the same. If your preferred name is taken, you will need to differentiate meaningfully — adding a location, a descriptor, or a distinguishing word.

Arabic script in company names: Companies House requires registered company names to be in Roman (Latin) characters only. Arabic script cannot be used in the legal registered name. Arab directors who want their Arabic trading identity represented typically do one of two things: transliterate the Arabic name into Roman characters (e.g., 'Barakah' for 'بركة'), or register the Latin name and then trade under a separate Arabic trading name. A UK limited company can legally trade under a name different from its registered name, provided the registered name appears on all official documents and correspondence.

Trading names: there is no registration process for a UK trading name (also called a business name). You simply begin using it, provided it does not infringe a trademark and does not use sensitive words without approval. Many Arab directors operate a UK company with a clear English registered name and use Arabic branding in all their marketing, social media, and client-facing materials — a perfectly legal arrangement that lets you maintain Arabic identity while having a clean, compliant UK registration.