Fence company name generator

A fence name should say fence. Most customers search "fence company" plus their town, and a name with the word in it reads as the answer.

Avoid tying the name to one material ("Cedar Fence") if you also put in vinyl or chain link. Picket, Rail, Post and Line give you words that fit every material.

Most strong trade names pair one word that says what you do with one word that makes the name yours. The generator draws on these for fencing:

Here is what the generator gives with no name or town filled in, five of each style. These are ideas, not checked names; run any you like through the checks below.

With a name picked and checked, the next steps are the license questions, insurance, and the first customers. Our guide to starting a fence business goes through them in order, and the free business plan generator turns your services, prices and startup costs into a plan you can download or print.

A name idea is only an idea until you have checked it. The generator does not look anything up, on purpose: it cannot see your state's records, and a domain that looks free today can be gone tomorrow. Work through these in order. Most take a few minutes each.

1. Your state's business name search. Your Secretary of State (or corporations division) usually has an online search of registered LLCs and corporations. The SBA notes that most states do not let you register a name someone else has already registered. Search the exact name and the main word on its own.
2. Your county or city DBA records. If you trade under a name that is not your legal name, you may need an assumed name, trade name or "doing business as" (DBA) filing. Depending on where you are, those are filed with the state, the county or the city, so a name can be free in one list and still in use in another.
3. Federal trademarks. Search the USPTO trademark database for the name and close spellings. Most trade services sit in Class 37 of the international (Nice) classes, headed "construction services; installation and repair services", so look closest at marks registered there. A live trademark in your class, even in another state, is a reason to pick again.
4. The domain. Look the domain idea up at any domain registrar. If the .com is taken, adding your town or trade (for example the name plus "fence") usually works better than switching to an unusual ending.
5. A plain Google search. Search the name plus your state. If a fence business two towns over already uses it, your customers will mix you up, and their reviews will show up when people look for you.
6. Social handles. Check Facebook and Instagram. You do not need them all, but a matching handle is easier to put on a yard sign.

The SBA's guide to choosing a business name explains how the state name, the DBA, the trademark and the domain differ. They are separate registrations, and passing one does not mean you passed the others.

Your Google Business Profile is where most local customers will first see your name, so it pays to pick a name that works there as it is. Google's guidelines for representing your business say the profile name has to match the name you use in the real world: on your truck, your sign, your paperwork.

In plain words, the guidelines rule out adding to your name:

• Marketing words or taglines ("best", "#1", "affordable", "24/7")
• Service or town keywords that are not part of your real name
• Phone numbers, website addresses or hours
• Words in all capitals, and special characters you do not use on your signage
• LLC, Inc. or special characters, unless you can show you use them consistently on signs, cards and invoices

So "Cheap Fence Install Near Me" is only allowed if that is truly what your business is called and how it is known. Google says unnecessary information in a business name is not permitted and can get a profile suspended.

This is why a name that already says the trade is useful. If your registered name is something like the ideas above, the fence word is part of your real name, and Google treats it that way.