Five free business name generators dominate the search results in 2026. Each does one or two things well, and each skips the one thing that matters most: trademark checking. Here is the honest comparison, with the one tool that does check trademarks at the bottom (because it is mine and I want to be transparent about the bias).
1. Atom.com
The biggest player by traffic. Atom is fundamentally a premium-domain marketplace with a name generator on top — type your industry, get hundreds of candidates, each priced 1,000-50,000 USD because the .com domain comes with the name. Brandability is real because the names are pre-vetted as buyable. The catch is the price tag and the missing trademark check.
Killer feature: every name shown comes with a registered domain ready to buy. Cuts steps 1 and 3 of the naming process into one motion. Saves time at significant cost.
What it does not do: trademark check. None. Atom assumes you will hire an attorney for that, which is fair, but the user-facing flow does not flag it. Founders who pay 5,000 USD for a domain often assume they have done the diligence.
2. Namelix
AI-generated business names with logos, free to use, free to download a basic logo. Generates 50-200 candidates per query, surfaces .com availability inline. Most popular among solo founders and indie hackers.
Killer feature: free unlimited generations and inline logo previews that are usable as a starting point. Good for fast brainstorming.
What it does not do: trademark check. Namelix is fundamentally a generator; it offloads everything else to other tools. Domain availability is checked but trademark is not.
3. Shopify business name generator
Free generator hosted by Shopify, aimed at e-commerce founders. Type a keyword, get 100 candidates with .com availability flags. Funnels you toward Shopify store creation if you pick one.
Killer feature: free, simple, integrated with Shopify if that is your build path.
What it does not do: trademark check, naturally. Also limited to short keyword-based generation; the candidates feel slightly samey because the algorithm is more constrained than Namelix.
4. Wix business name generator
Similar to Shopify — free, generates a list, funnels you toward Wix site creation. Less popular than the others because the candidates are less brandable on average.
Killer feature: integration with Wix if that is your platform.
What it does not do: trademark check. Plus, the generation quality is noticeably below Atom and Namelix.
5. Looka
Branding-bundle tool — generates names, logos, and basic brand assets in one flow. Charges for the logo download (typical paid tier 65-90 USD/year). Names are free to browse.
Killer feature: end-to-end branding workflow if you want logo and basic style guide alongside the name.
What it does not do: trademark check. Looka focuses on visual branding, not legal clearance.
6. The one that does check trademarks (mine)
The free tool at /tools/business-name-generator-trademark/ generates 20 brand name candidates with Claude (similar quality tier to Namelix in my testing), then runs a real Signa.so trademark check on the top 12 across USPTO, EUIPO, and WIPO Madrid. Each name shows: brandability score (0-100, Claude-assigned), trademark conflict count, and the top 3 conflicting marks with owner, filing date, NICE class, and status.
Killer feature: the trademark column. Currently the only free generator I have found that does this. The data is fresh — under 24 hours for USPTO and EUIPO, 1-7 days for WIPO Madrid.
What it does not do: domain marketplace integration like Atom (so you check domains separately), logo generation like Looka, NICE class smart filtering yet (every conflict shown regardless of class — you filter by reading), or country-specific offices outside the major three. Built as the trademark-first generator; the rest is deferred to v2.
Side-by-side on the columns that matter
Brandability of generated names: Namelix and the trademark tool tie for first; Atom is third; Shopify and Wix tie for fourth; Looka is fifth.
Domain availability: Atom is first by a mile (it is a marketplace); Namelix and Shopify tie for second; Wix and Looka tie for fourth; the trademark tool does not check domains at all.
Trademark check: only the trademark tool does this. Atom, Namelix, Shopify, Wix, Looka all skip it.
Free tier generosity: the trademark tool is the most generous (10 fresh searches per IP per day, unlimited cached); Namelix and Shopify are similar but unlimited; Atom is free to browse but the names are paid; Looka is free to browse, paid to download.
Logo: Looka and Namelix do logos; the trademark tool does not.
Which one to use, by use case
Pre-revenue founder, small budget, naming a SaaS or DTC brand: trademark tool first to clear the legal angle, then Namelix for visual variation, then attorney for clearance.
Pre-revenue founder, larger budget, willing to pay for a premium domain: Atom for the marketplace browse, but THEN run the picked names through the trademark tool before paying. Atom does not flag trademark conflicts; you can still buy a 5,000 USD domain on a name that gets you sued.
Indie hacker / side project: Namelix for speed, trademark tool for the clearance step. Skip Looka unless you specifically want a quick logo.
E-commerce founder building on Shopify: Shopify generator for the integration, trademark tool for the clearance, Looka if you also need a logo.
Brand-led launch with a real budget: Atom for the marketplace, trademark tool for clearance, attorney for final review, branding agency for visual identity. Six-figure naming process; appropriate for venture-backed launches.
What this comparison does not tell you
All of these tools are name generators. None of them assess strategic fit (will this name work in 5 years when you pivot?), product-market positioning (does the name communicate your wedge?), or audio branding (does the name work in a podcast ad read?). Those are human-judgement calls that no tool can make.
Treat any generator as the candidate-surface step. The decision is still yours.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Atom not check trademarks?
Atom is a domain marketplace; their revenue model is selling premium domains, not legal clearance. Adding a trademark step would reduce conversion to the domain purchase. The omission is intentional from a business standpoint, costly to users from a clearance standpoint.
Is Namelix the same as the trademark tool?
No. Namelix generates names and shows .com availability. The trademark tool generates names with Claude and runs a real trademark check across three offices. Different layers of the workflow.
Can I use Atom to find a name and then check it elsewhere?
Yes, and this is a reasonable workflow if Atom's domain marketplace is what you want. Pick 3-5 candidates from Atom, run them through the trademark tool, then take the survivors to an attorney for clearance.
What about international name generators outside these five?
Smaller regional tools exist (Squadhelp, NameMesh, Brandroot) but none of them check trademarks either. Same pattern: generate, sell domain or merch, skip the legal step. The cease-and-desist letter does not care which generator the name came from.
What to do next
Run a quick generation on the trademark tool at /tools/business-name-generator-trademark/ for your industry and see whether any obviously good names come back clear. Free, 20 seconds.
Read the pillar piece on why generators skip trademark check.
Read the 5-step naming methodology.
Or book a 30-min call if you want a second opinion before you commit.