Almost all words in the English dictionary -- the shorter ones, at least -- are already registered as a business name, trademark or URL. This makes it very difficult for start-ups to find an original name.

Sometimes a business owner has set her or his heart on a particular name, but then discovers that the name is already in use and the domain name is taken. It is tempting to add a punctuation mark or two to the name in a bid to appear different. So, the company that would have liked to call itself Proforma decides to go for Pro/forma or Pro-forma, and Get Sorted becomes Get Sort'd.

Valid and invalid characters

You would probably not be able to register these businesses at the UK's Companies House, or the equivalent in your country, as your name would be deemed too similar to that of an existing company. Moreover, most registration bodies have strict regulations about what characters are allowed in a name. You should check these first before deciding on a name.

Even if you are running a very small business that you don't plan on registering with Companies House or the equivalent, you will probably want an internet address that is the same as your business name.  Domain names may consist of the 26 letters of the alphabet, the digits 0-9 and the hyphen, and that is all. Other characters eg the slash or tilde (~), are only allowed in subdomains, ie the URLs of the secondary pages of your site. So, Pro/forma and Get Sort'd will not be able to have the slash or apostrophe as part of their domain names, although the hyphen in Pro-forma will be allowed.

If you insist on keeping quirky punctuation marks as part of your business name, potential customers might have great difficulty finding you on the web. Your rival with the ordinarily spelled name will most likely get hits that were destined for you. If you want the name Web Marketing Solutions, but the URL webmarketingsolutions.com is already taken, it would be better to think up a completely different name rather than choose the URL web-marketing-solutions.com, as few people will remember to type in the hyphens.

Apostrophes

The apostrophe is common in written English, but it cannot form part of a domain name. This is not a problem for some companies. McDonald's and Victoria's Secret both contain an apostrophe, but their URLs are easy to guess -- mcdonalds.com and victoriassecret.com. The apostrophe is just omitted.

If the apostrophe in your name isn't indicating possession, as in the words McDonald's and Victoria's, but is performing the other function of the apostrophe in English, namely replacing a missing letter, then this might cause problems. If people learn about Get Sort'd by word of mouth, they are likely to guess the internet address as getsorted.com -- and the rival company Get Sorted will benefit.

Before you add an apostrophe to your business name, think about how you attract customers. There is a salad bar chain in England called Chop'd. For many businesses this would be a bad name choice -- not only is there an unusual apostrophe, but there is only one p where most people would expect two. However, a fast food business with branches at busy train stations and on busy high streets relies on the footfall of passing trade, and so the shop name is less important. If people like what is on display, or like the decor, they will buy their lunch there; few people choose to grab a quick sandwich or salad by googling for one.

If most of your clients come to you via word of mouth, or by surfing the internet, an unexpected apostrophe is not such a good idea. A life-coaching company called Coach'd will probably miss out on business, which instead will go to the company called Coached. In fact, there is a site coachd.com, but it is pronounced Coach D, and refers to an individual with the nickname D.

At first you might be disappointed that the name you so desperately wanted for your business has been registered by someone else. Resist the temptation to use a similar name with quirky punctuation. Choose something completely different -- it will gain you more business in the long run.