Name trademark check
Is your brand name already trademarked?
A name doesn’t have to be identical to be refused. The USPTO refuses a new brand when its name is likely to be confused with a live mark for related goods. In our study of USPTO refusals, 87% of refused names were not an exact match. LogoVerify checks your name the way an examiner does and shows which live marks could block it, why, and what to change.
What an examiner looks for in a name
The test is the overall impression: how the names look, sound and what they mean, and how related the goods are. With a search box you would type each of these yourself. One check runs them all. The EL TORITO forms are illustrations, not real marks; the last column is a real USPTO refusal of each kind from our research.
| Form | For “EL TORITO” | Why it matters | A real refusal |
|---|---|---|---|
| The same name | EL TORITO | Identical words, the clearest conflict. | MONARCHrefused for MONARCH |
| A close spelling | EL TORETO | One letter apart looks alike at a glance. | FLYOUrefused for FLYOO |
| A sound-alike spelling | EL TOREETO | Spoken aloud, buyers can’t tell them apart. | TUFF BOXXrefused for TOUGH BOX |
| Plural or singular | EL TORITOS | One letter S doesn’t make a new brand. | DUKARrefused for DUKARS |
| Words joined or split | ELTORITO | Spacing doesn’t change the impression. | TIPTOPrefused for TIP TOP |
| The main word on its own | TORITO | Examiners weigh the distinctive word; very common words count as weak. | LOVELY PEPArefused for LOVELY |
| Names built on that word | TORITO GRILL | Names that contain your main word, or share it, are weighed too. | UNCOMMON BEAUTYrefused for UNCOMMON SCENTS |
Goods count as much as spelling. Every match is weighed by what you sell: your class first, then the classes the USPTO itself lists as coordinated (related). Live and pending marks count; dead ones don’t.
Most refused names weren’t an exact match
How each refused name related to the closest mark the examiner cited, in our study of USPTO refusals. A search for the exact name finds only the highlighted row: 13.3% of the refusals.
| The refused name and the cited mark | Names · n = 2,365 | Logos with words |
|---|---|---|
| One name inside the othere.g. LOVELY PEPA refused for LOVELY | 31.4% | 33.1% |
| A shared worde.g. UNCOMMON BEAUTY refused for UNCOMMON SCENTS | 23.9% | 22.6% |
| One or two letters offe.g. FLYOU refused for FLYOO | 16.7% | 13.4% |
| The exact same nameexact-name searche.g. MONARCH refused for MONARCH | 13.3% | 16.9% |
| No shared word at alle.g. ROADWISE refused for STREETWISE | 9.9% | 9.9% |
| Words joined or splite.g. TIPTOP refused for TIP TOP | 2.3% | 1.8% |
| A sound-alike spellinge.g. TUFF BOXX refused for TOUGH BOX | 1.6% | 1.4% |
| Plural or singulare.g. DUKAR refused for DUKARS | 0.9% | 0.9% |
Each refusal counted once, under the first rule that fits: exact, joined or split, plural, one or two letters off, sound-alike, one name inside the other, a shared word, none. “No shared word” cases were refused on sound, meaning, the design or the overall impression. Public USPTO records, October 2026.
A real USPTO refusal
EL TORITO: refused for the name, logo or not
On August 2, 2024, the USPTO refused an application for EL TORITO MEAT MARKET & TACOS (serial 98338671, logo with words, classes 029 and 043). The examiner cited six registered marks for restaurant services, among them the word mark EL TORITO and EL TORITO GRILL. Three reasons, in the examiner’s words:
The words
“In this case, the marks include the identical term “EL TORITO”.”
The added words, MEAT MARKET & TACOS, describe the business and had to be disclaimed.
The picture
“the fact that applicant’s mark and U.S. Registration Nos. 1653964 and 5843741 have design elements does not diminish the likelihood of confusion.”
A logo of its own didn’t help: the examiner treated the words as the dominant part.
The goods
“butcher shops, retail grocery stores, and restaurant services, are of a kind that may emanate from a single source under a single mark.”
A meat market and taco shop was weighed against restaurants: related goods, not the same ones.
The application was abandoned in December 2024.The application on TSDRThe cited word mark EL TORITO
LogoVerify research · October 2026
What we found in 4,980 USPTO refusals
We read 33,246 USPTO office-action letters on 31,609 U.S. applications filed as names, logos with words, or designs, in equal random samples, whose first examination (2019–2022) ended in an office action. 4,980 were refused because the mark was likely to be confused with an existing one (Section 2(d)).
- of refused logos with words were blocked by word marks alone
- 59%
- Plain word marks (standard characters), no stylised lettering and no design. 32% had a cited mark with a design. n = 2,156 logo applications.
- of refused names were blocked by a mark with a logo
- 25%
- At least one cited mark had a design element; 7% more by stylised lettering. n = 2,366 name (standard character) applications.
- of refused names were not an exact match
- 87%
- Only 13% matched the cited mark exactly; 10% shared no word with it at all. Logos with words: 83% not exact. n = 2,365.
- of refused names cited a mark outside the applicant’s classes
- 27%
- 17% only in a related class, 10% in another class. Logos with words: 25%. n = 2,365.
- median wait from filing to the refusal
- 4 months
- 128 days for names (middle half 91–223 days, n = 1,933), 131 for logos with words (n = 1,633).
- of refused names ended abandoned
- 71%
- Against 45% of names in the same sample that were not refused. Logos with words: 67% against 36%. n = 2,371.
How we counted: letters from the USPTO’s TSDR records, every mark the examiner cited looked up in the USPTO’s daily data, counted per application and per mark type, never pooled. Related classes follow the USPTO’s own coordinated class list; some old registrations still carry pre-2002 class numbers. The sample is applications that got a first office action, not every application.
USPTO, grounds for refusalFull tables, method and dataPublic USPTO records. Counts of letters, not legal advice.
The USPTO’s base application fee is $350 per class, paid when you file (USPTO fee schedule, since January 19, 2025). A first screen costs less than finding out four months later.
How to check a name in one step
Type your brand name
Type the name you want to use, and what you sell if you know it. No signup for the first screen.
We search it the way an examiner does
The name is searched in USPTO records in the forms an examiner weighs (the same name, close spellings, common sound-alike spellings, plurals, split or joined words, each distinctive word), across live and pending marks, in your goods and the classes the USPTO lists as related.
See what could block it
You get a plain-English verdict, the live marks that could block the name, why, and clear alternatives already checked.
Have a logo too?
Examiners refuse new brands for the words and for the picture. If your logo has words in it, LogoVerify checks those words as a name and the whole logo against live and pending USPTO logos, in the same check. Start with the name and add the logo any time.
What a name check can’t tell you
A name can be refused for other reasons than an existing mark: it only describes what you sell, it is mainly a surname, or it names a place. It can also clash with a foreign-language word that means the same thing. In our sample of 9,037 name applications with a USPTO letter, 12% were refused as merely descriptive, about half as often as for a conflicting mark (27%). LogoVerify doesn’t check those grounds; a trademark attorney does.
Registering a company, a domain or a social handle doesn’t give you trademark rights, and doesn’t tell you whether a mark already covers the name. LogoVerify covers USPTO records only. It is a first screen before you file, not legal advice.
Questions about name checks
How do I check if a business name is trademarked?
Search the USPTO's records for the name, and not only for the exact spelling: an examiner also refuses names that look, sound or mean alike, for goods that are related to yours. In the USPTO's free Trademark Search you type each spelling, sound-alike, plural and word split yourself, then filter by class and judge each record. LogoVerify runs those forms in one check (the same name, close spellings, common sound-alike spellings, plurals, split or joined words, each distinctive word), across live and pending marks in your goods and the related ones, and tells you which marks could block the name and why. Registering a company or a domain does not tell you whether a trademark already covers the name. It is a first screen, not legal advice.
Read moreDoes a name have to be identical to be refused?
No. The USPTO refuses a mark that is likely to be confused with an existing one, and that test looks at the overall impression: how the names look, how they sound and what they mean, together with how related the goods are. A close spelling, a sound-alike, a plural, the same words joined into one, or a name built on the same main word can all be cited against a new application. That is why LogoVerify checks the forms an examiner weighs, not only the exact name. (General information, not legal advice.)
Read moreCan I use a name that is trademarked in a different class?
Sometimes, but the class number alone does not decide it. Examiners ask whether the goods are related: whether buyers would think they come from the same source. Goods in different classes can still be related, such as coffee and cafes, or clothing and bags. LogoVerify weighs your own class first, then the classes the USPTO itself lists as coordinated (related), and says when the answer depends on what you sell. A trademark attorney can tell you whether a specific overlap matters. (General information, not legal advice.)
Read moreDoes LogoVerify check the name as well as the logo?
Yes. Examiners refuse new brands for the words and for the picture, so one LogoVerify check covers both. Your name is checked against USPTO records in the forms an examiner weighs: the same name, close spellings, common sound-alike spellings, plurals, split or joined words, and each distinctive word. A logo with words in it is checked twice: the words as a name, and the whole logo against live and pending USPTO logos. Every match is weighed by the goods you sell and the classes the USPTO lists as related. You can start with only a name or only a logo and add the other later. The result is one plain-English verdict with the closest matches explained.
Read moreRelated
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