1,500 ROYAL NAMES REJECTED BY COMPANIES HOUSE

With the King’s Coronation at the weekend, Simply Business research has revealed almost 1,500 ‘royal’ business names have been rejected by Companies House since 2019, for ‘breach of conduct’. It comes on the back of a freedom of information (FOI) request submitted that found that a total of 56,640 business names have been rejected by Companies House since January 2019.

From ‘Rooster Royal’, ‘Royal Peri Peri’, ‘Queen of Green’, ‘Queenie’, ‘Banterking’ and ‘Alpaca Kings’, businesses attempt to incorporate patriotic references in a bid to attract more customers and seek out the ‘royal stamp of approval’. However, many fall at the first hurdle by breaching the firm regulations set by the royal family and Companies House.

Top 15 Rejected Royal Business Names

A company name can be rejected by Companies House for two reasons, either it already exists or because it contains a restricted word – reference to Royalty is one example of a restrictive word. Royal decrees are in place that prevent businesses from using specific “Royal” terminology as it could suggest an association with a body or organisation that is protected under law.

In order to use the words King, Queen or Royal/Royalty within a business name, a business owner must provide a letter or email of non-objection from the relevant body. Companies House recommends that in order to speed up your application and increase business owners must include:

• the reason(s) you wish to use this word
• if the name represents a pub, evidence of location and length of time in existence
• evidence, if the word is a surname
• any other relevant information

The research comes as business owners are turning to creative names to help stand out from the crowd. Earlier this year, Eggucation, a chick hatching business, beat competition from other punny-names small businesses and was crowned Britain’s Best Small Business Name for 2023, winning a £2,500 prize from Simply Business.

A Simply Business recent study of 2,000 consumers revealed how a witty or funny business name can play a huge part in helping small businesses succeed, with one third (28%) of people stating they’d be more likely to shop at a small or local business with a funny or witty business name compared to those without. Two thirds (64%) of people say that they would also be more likely to notice a small or local business with a funny or witty business name.

Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business comments: “The impact that a funny business name can have on your business is incredible – our research suggests that a third of customers are more likely to spend with businesses with witty names. With the coronation around the corner, we explored the best rejected royal-themed names that haven’t quite made it due to tight regulations. We’re incredibly proud to provide tailored insurance to over 800,000 witty, creative and diverse small businesses in the UK, recognising their importance to both the economy and our local communities.”