How to check if an app name is taken: a 10-minute checklist
The exact steps we run before calling a name clear, in the order that catches problems fastest.
You can do all of this by hand in about ten minutes per name. It’s worth doing for your final two or three candidates, even if you use a tool for the long list.
The checklist
- Domains: check .com, .app, .io, .ai, .co and .dev. Note which are taken.
- Open every taken domain. Is it a live business, a parked page, or a for-sale listing with a price?
- App Store: search the exact name in the US and in each country you plan to launch in. Look for exact and close matches.
- Google Play: search the exact name and scan the package names in the results.
- Bundle IDs: check com.name.app, app.name and com.name on both stores.
- Trademarks: search the USPTO for the exact name, a spaced version and a wildcard. Focus on live marks in classes 9 and 42.
- If you sell in Europe or the UK, search TMview as well.
- Search the web for the name plus “app”, and the name plus your category.
- Check GitHub and npm if developers will see the name.
- Write down what you found and when. Things change.
When to stop
Drop a name as soon as you find a live product in your field with the same or a very similar name. Don’t try to argue your way past it. A name that needs defending before launch will need defending after launch too.
Check your own name
Domains, both app stores, bundle IDs and every live site using the name, in under a minute.
Check a name