Is My Name Trademarked? How to Check, and Why Most Near Matches Mean Nothing
Short answer
Search the federal register for the exact name and for close variants, then read every match by class rather than by spelling. An exact live match in your class or a related one means the name is taken; the same name in an unrelated class usually is not a conflict. Near matches need the same reading, and most of them mean nothing: there are 4.8 million live US marks, 434,000 of them six-letter words, so nearly every short name sits one letter from an existing mark. A near match in an unrelated class is information about where names of that shape get used, not a warning.
The question has two halves, and the second is the one people get wrong. Finding out whether a name appears on the register takes seconds. Knowing what the result means takes a little longer, and it is where most of the fear in this subject comes from.
A trademark is not ownership of a word. It is the right to use a word for particular goods or services, and to stop others using a confusingly similar word for similar goods or services. The same name can be, and routinely is, registered by several unrelated businesses in different classes. See trademark classes for what the 45 classes cover.
So "is this name trademarked" is really "is this name trademarked for what I do". The rest of this page is how to answer that.
Where to search, and what each search covers
| Source | Covers | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silvol check | Live US federal marks, plus the .com | Free | Live only; excludes the dead marks that inflate other searches |
| USPTO Trademark Search (tmsearch.uspto.gov) | All US federal marks, live and dead | Free | The official system; replaced TESS in 2023 |
| State trademark registries | Marks registered with a state, not the USPTO | Free | About half of states keep one searchable; separate from the entity registry |
| WIPO Global Brand Database | Marks in other countries | Free | Only relevant if you will trade outside the US |
| Attorney clearance search | All of the above, plus common-law use, plus a legal opinion | $300–$800 | For a name about to carry real money |
"Live" is the word that matters. The USPTO database holds over 12 million records, but more than half are abandoned applications and cancelled or expired registrations. Those cannot be asserted against anyone. The number that can is 4,861,876 live marks as of the date at the foot of this page, refreshed daily from USPTO bulk data. A search that returns dead marks alongside live ones will show you conflicts that do not exist.
No federal search covers unregistered use. A business using a name in commerce has common-law rights in its region without filing anything, and those rights can defeat a later application. See common law trademark rights for how far they reach, and the business name check for how to look.
Reading an exact match
An exact match is a live mark with the same spelling as your name. What it means depends entirely on the class.
| Exact match, live | Your goods or services | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Same class | Same or similar | Taken. A new application would be refused for likelihood of confusion |
| Coordinated class | Related (software in 9, software services in 42) | Very likely taken; the classes are grouped because confusion is common across them |
| Unrelated class | Different (a bakery and a payroll firm) | Usually usable; the marks coexist because no one confuses them |
| Any class, famous mark | Anything | Taken. Famous marks are protected against dilution across all classes |
The last row is the exception people worry about most and encounter least. Dilution protection applies to marks that are household names nationally. It does not apply to the several hundred thousand ordinary registrations that happen to be well known in their own field.
Check the goods and services description, not just the class number. Class 9 covers downloadable software and also sunglasses, fire extinguishers, and life jackets. Two marks in class 9 can be as unrelated as two marks in different classes. The register lists what each mark is registered for; read it.
Reading a near match
A near match is a live mark one or two characters from your name, or one that sounds the same, or one that means the same thing. The test the USPTO applies is likelihood of confusion, which weighs sound, appearance, meaning, and how related the goods are, and a name can fail on any of them.
The instinct is to treat every near match as a conflict. The arithmetic says otherwise.
| Length | Live marks of that length, letters only | Share of the live register |
|---|---|---|
| Six letters | 434,158 | 8.9% |
There are 308 million possible six-letter strings and 434,000 of them are live marks. For a random string, that is roughly a one-in-five chance of a live mark within one substitution. For a pronounceable name, the chance is far higher, because pronounceable names cluster on the same roots, vowel patterns, and endings. In one internal test of 26 short names that had been set aside for unrelated reasons, 24 had a near match on the register. That is the base rate: a near match is the normal condition of a short name, not a signal about a particular one.
So the question is never "is there a near match". There nearly always is. The question is whether the near match is in your class, for related goods, and close enough in sound or meaning that a buyer of one might reach for the other.
| Near match, live | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| One letter off, same class, similar goods | e.g. FINANRA vs FINARA, both financial services | A real obstacle. Expect a refusal or an opposition |
| Same sound, same class | e.g. KWIK vs QUICK for the same product | A real obstacle; the test is sound as much as spelling |
| One letter off, unrelated class | e.g. a six-letter mark for fertilizer when you sell software | Almost never a conflict. Information about where that shape of name gets used |
| Several near matches, all in your class, different owners | e.g. four registrations of SCULPTA-like marks for the same goods | The field is crowded and the name is weak even if technically available. Usually worth dropping |
That last row is the one a single-result search misses. A name that returns one near neighbour looks like a coincidence. The same name with three or four neighbours in its own class, held by different owners, is a name in a crowded field, where any registration would be narrow and any enforcement difficult. Ask how crowded the field is, not only what the nearest mark is.
What a search result cannot tell you
No search clears a name. A clear result means no live federal mark was found for the strings searched. It does not weigh similarity the way an examiner will, it does not see state registrations, it does not see unregistered use, and it covers the United States only.
The search is only as good as the variants you tried. An examiner searches phonetic equivalents, plurals, alternate spellings, and foreign-language equivalents. If you searched the exact name once, you searched a fraction of what the examiner will.
And a name can be available and still be a bad name. Descriptive names (BEST COFFEE for coffee) are hard to register regardless of what is on the register. Names that describe a quality of the goods, name a place, or are primarily a surname face refusals that have nothing to do with conflicts.
How to search properly, in ten minutes
- Search the exact name on Silvol or tmsearch.uspto.gov. Note every live result and its class.
- Search the obvious variants: the name without vowels, with a doubled letter, with the common misspelling, and as it sounds (KWIK for QUICK). The register is full of marks spelt to avoid the word they sound like.
- Search the meaning if the name is a real word in any language. A foreign word is treated as its English translation under the doctrine of foreign equivalents.
- Read every live result by class and by goods. Same class, similar goods: a conflict. Unrelated class: usually not.
- Count the near matches in your own class. One is a coincidence. Several, from different owners, is a crowded field.
- Check the state registry for any state where you will operate, and search the open web for unregistered use.
- For a name you will spend real money on, get a clearance opinion. What you have done so far is the work that makes that opinion cheaper and shorter.
Worked examples
Three names, three different readings of the same kind of result.
An exact match in an unrelated class
A software startup searches its chosen name and finds one live registration, for fertilizer, in class 1. The goods are unrelated, the buyers are unrelated, and no one purchasing agricultural chemicals would reach for accounting software. Usable. The coexistence is exactly what the class system is for.
A near match in the same class
A payments company searches its name and finds a live mark two letters away, also for payment processing, in class 36. Then two more, both in 36, from different owners. Drop it. Not because any one of them is fatal, but because the field is crowded and a fourth entrant will register narrowly, if at all, and defend nothing.
A near match that means the same thing
A skincare brand searches its coined name and finds nothing exact. A closer look shows the coined name is one letter from the Italian word for the product's main ingredient, and a live class 3 mark uses that Italian word. A real obstacle. Meaning counts as much as spelling, and a foreign word is read as its translation.
Common questions
How do I know if a name is trademarked?
Search the federal register for the exact name and close variants, then read each live result by class and goods. Silvol searches live marks and the .com together for free; the USPTO's Trademark Search covers the full database including dead marks. Neither covers state registrations or unregistered use.
How do I check if a business name is trademarked?
The same way. A business name is trademarked if a live federal mark covers it for goods or services similar to yours. The state business entity registry is a separate system and does not check trademarks.
Can I use a name that is already trademarked in a different industry?
Usually, yes. Trademark rights attach to particular goods and services, and the register is full of identical names coexisting in unrelated classes. The exception is a famous mark, which is protected across all classes against dilution.
What if my name is one letter different from a trademark?
It depends on the class and the goods. One letter off, same class, similar goods, is usually too close, because the test is likelihood of confusion and includes sound. One letter off in an unrelated class is almost never a problem, and with 434,000 live six-letter marks alone, nearly every short name has one.
How similar is too similar for a trademark?
There is no fixed distance. The USPTO weighs sound, appearance, meaning, and how related the goods are, together. Two marks that look different but sound the same can conflict; two that differ by one letter in unrelated fields usually do not.
Is a trademark clearance search the same as a trademark search?
No. A trademark search is what you run yourself: exact and variant strings against the register. A clearance search is done by an attorney, covers phonetic and foreign equivalents, state registers, and common-law use, and comes with a written opinion on registrability. The first is free and takes minutes; the second costs $300 to $800.
What does "live" mean on the register?
A mark that is registered and maintained, or applied for and pending. Dead marks, meaning abandoned applications and cancelled or expired registrations, cannot be asserted against you. Over half of the USPTO's records are dead.
Can a name be trademarked if the .com is taken?
Yes. Domains and trademarks are separate systems. A registered domain gives no trademark rights, and a trademark gives no claim to a domain, though a trademark owner can sometimes recover a domain registered in bad faith. See trademark vs domain name.
Does searching a name on Silvol or the USPTO reserve it?
No. Searching records nothing and reserves nothing. A name typed into the Silvol check is not stored, listed, or acted on. The only way to reserve a name federally is to file an application.
Do I need to trademark my name in every class?
No, only in the classes where you actually use or intend to use it. Registering in classes you do not use is a waste of fees and the registration can be cancelled for non-use. See what a trademark costs for the per-class arithmetic.
Can a name be trademarked by two different companies?
Yes, in different classes for unrelated goods, and it happens constantly. The register is organized by goods and services precisely so that the same word can serve unrelated businesses.
What is a common law trademark?
Rights that come from using a name in commerce without registering it. They are limited to the region of actual use, they are real, and they can defeat a later federal application. See common law trademark rights.
Keep reading
- Is my business name taken? The four places a name can be taken
- Trademark classes: the complete list, with live counts
- Common law trademark rights
- How much does a trademark cost
Silvol checks a name against live US federal trademarks and the .com zone. It is not a law firm, does not clear names for use, and does not cover state registrations or unregistered marks. Register counts are computed from USPTO bulk data and refreshed daily.
Register counts as of September 13, 2026. Silvol is not a law firm and does not clear names for use.