Naming, domains and trademarks in Canada

What you will be able to do

• Screen a candidate business name against a nine-point checklist before committing to it
• Choose and secure a domain and social handles that you own and control
• Explain what an Ontario business name registration, a .ca domain and a CIPO trademark each do and do not protect

Your name is the one brand decision that is expensive to change. It goes on contracts, invoices, reviews, signage, your domain and every referral a past client ever makes. A good name is easy to say on the phone, easy to find on Google and possible to protect. Many event businesses manage one of the three. The method below helps you get all of them.

Read the transcript

Naming, domains and trademarks in Canada.

Your name is the one brand decision that is expensive to change.

It goes on contracts, invoices, reviews, signage, your domain and every referral a past client ever makes.

What a good name does.

Judge every candidate against six practical tests, not against whether you love it:

Can you say it clearly on a noisy phone line, in a crowded wedding show hall?

Five kinds of name.

For most small event businesses the sweet spot is an evocative name paired with a plain descriptor in the logo and the website title, or a founder name for solo work.

Purely descriptive names feel safe and are usually the weakest choice, because the words that describe your service are the same words every competitor uses.

The nine-point screening checklist.

Run every name on your shortlist through these checks before you buy anything or tell anyone.

Say it to five people on the phone and ask them to spell it back.

Domains and handles you control.

Register your domain in your own name or your company's name, with an email address you control, and switch on auto-renewal.

A surprising number of small businesses discover their domain belongs to a former web designer only when the designer stops answering.

Worked example: how Lantern and Lane chose its name.

Priya and Marco shortlisted four names and scored each from 1 to 3 on five tests.

The scores are illustrative.

That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.

What a good name does

Judge every candidate against six practical tests, not against whether you love it:

• Say it. Can you say it clearly on a noisy phone line, in a crowded wedding show hall?
• Spell it. Can someone who has only heard it type it into a search bar correctly?
• Remember it. Will a guest who heard it once at a reception recall it the next morning?
• Grow with it. Will it still fit if you add corporate work, a second city or a new service?
• Own it. Is it distinctive enough that nobody else in your market is using something close?
• Respect it. Does it mean anything awkward in the languages your clients speak?

Five kinds of name

For most small event businesses the sweet spot is an evocative name paired with a plain descriptor in the logo and the website title, or a founder name for solo work. Purely descriptive names feel safe and are usually the weakest choice, because the words that describe your service are the same words every competitor uses.

The descriptor does the explaining so the name does not have to. A caterer called Saffron Table can add “catering and private chefs”; a magician performing as Ezra Vale can add “close-up magic for corporate events”; a rental company called Long Table can add “tents, tables and tableware”. Keep the descriptor out of the legal name where you can, so it can change as your services change while the name stays put. It belongs in your logo lock-up, your website title, your social bios and the category fields of your Google profile.

The nine-point screening checklist

Run every name on your shortlist through these checks before you buy anything or tell anyone.

1. The phone test. Say it to five people on the phone and ask them to spell it back.
2. Google and Maps. Search the name, and close variations, with “Toronto”, “Ontario” and your service. Note any business in your region with a similar name.
3. Social handles. Check availability on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Aim for the same handle everywhere.
4. Domain. Check the .ca and the .com, and the version without “and” or the ampersand.
5. Canadian Trademarks Database. Search the name, its plural, alternative spellings and its French equivalent.
6. Ontario Business Registry. Search for registered business and corporate names that match or come close.
7. Languages. Ask speakers of the main languages in your market whether the name sounds like anything unfortunate.
8. The descriptor. Write the name with its descriptor, as it would appear on your Google profile and your invoices, and check that the two match.
9. The overnight test. Leave your top choice for 48 hours, then say it aloud again.

Domains and handles you control

Register your domain in your own name or your company’s name, with an email address you control, and switch on auto-renewal. A surprising number of small businesses discover their domain belongs to a former web designer only when the designer stops answering. Use your domain for email too: an address at your own domain looks more established than a free webmail address, and it travels with you if you change providers.

Keep a simple access register: every domain, hosting account, social handle and email account, with the login owner, the renewal date and the card it bills to. Review it once a year. When a freelancer sets up an account for you, ask them to make you the owner or administrator from the start, not to add you later. Losing access to an Instagram account with years of event photos or a domain with years of search history is one of the most expensive branding mistakes a small business can make, and one of the easiest to prevent.

Avoid hyphens and numbers. If your name contains an ampersand, register the version with “and” and the version without, and redirect both to one site.

Worked example: how Lantern & Lane chose its name

Priya and Marco shortlisted four names and scored each from 1 to 3 on five tests. The scores are illustrative.

West End Weddings failed on availability and would have trapped them if they moved into corporate work or Peel. Lantern & Lane lost a point on spelling because of the ampersand, so they registered lanternandlane.ca and lanternlane.ca, pointed both at one site and took the same handle on every platform. Their first-year naming costs were modest: the Ontario business name registration, two domains and, later, a trademark application once bookings justified it.

Renaming an existing business

Rename only when the current name is causing real harm: a legal conflict, constant confusion with a competitor, or a name that no longer fits what you sell. If you do, keep the old domain and redirect it, update your Google Business Profile rather than creating a new one, tell past clients and partners directly, and run “formerly known as” on your website for a year. Reviews and referrals are slow to rebuild, so protect them through the change.

In Canada and Ontario: three different kinds of protection

A business name registration, a domain and a trademark are separate things, and many small businesses assume one covers the others. It does not. This is general information, not legal advice; for your own name, check the sources or ask a trademark agent or lawyer.

Ontario business name registration. Sole proprietors and partnerships that trade under a business name register it through the Ontario Business Registry. Registrations must be renewed, so check the current term and fee on the Ontario Business Registry services page before you file, and diarize the renewal date. Registration records who is behind the name. It does not give you exclusive rights to it. The federal government’s business-name guide notes that even provincial incorporation gives exclusive use of a corporate name only in the province where you incorporate, and suggests a trademark to better protect your brand.

Trademark registration with CIPO. A registered trademark is the strongest protection for a brand name across Canada. CIPO is clear that a trade name can be registered under the Trademarks Act only if it is also used as a trademark, so the name has to identify your services in the market, not just appear on your incorporation papers. Key points from CIPO’s guidance:

• Services are grouped by Nice class, and the fee covers one class with an extra fee for each additional class. Event businesses most often look at Class 35 (advertising and business services), Class 41 (education, entertainment, sporting and cultural activities) and Class 43 (services for providing food and drink). Check the current fee on CIPO’s site.
• Searching the Canadian Trademarks Database is optional but recommended, and the Registrar will not search for you. Search every spelling, including French.
• An application moves through formalities, examination, publication in the Trademarks Journal, a 2-month opposition period and registration. CIPO forecast that an application filed in October 2026 would wait about 8.2 months for examination.
• A registration lasts 10 years from the registration date and can be renewed every 10 years for a fee.

CIPO’s guide to trademarks explains each step.

.ca domains. CIRA, which runs the .ca domain, applies Canadian Presence Requirements. Eligible registrants include Canadian citizens of the age of majority, permanent residents who are ordinarily resident in Canada (living here more than 183 days in the preceding 12 months), and corporations under the laws of Canada or a province or territory. Someone who meets none of the other conditions but owns a registered Canadian trademark may register a .ca that matches the exact word component of that trademark. Owning a domain gives you no trademark rights, and holding a trademark does not reserve the matching domain for you, so secure both.

GTA practice notes

In a market of millions, name clashes are common. Before you settle, search Google Maps across the whole GTA and the Golden Horseshoe, not just your own neighbourhood, because a couple in Oakville will happily book a vendor from Markham and will be confused by two similar names. Pay particular attention to names that use common event words such as “elegant”, “luxe”, “celebrations” or “moments”, which are crowded.

Remember Google’s rule on business names. Your Google Business Profile name must match the name you use in the real world, on signage and stationery, with no added taglines, services or locations. If your registered name is “Lantern & Lane”, that is your profile name, and “event planning” goes in the category and description. Choosing a name that works on its own, without keywords bolted on, saves you from the temptation later.

Worksheet

Download the worksheet and complete it for your own business, using Lantern & Lane as the model where it helps. Keep it with your marketing plan. It takes about 10 minutes.

Download the worksheet (PDF)