A corporate, limited liability or partnership name is the name under which the organization is formed, or registered, and must include a distinct qualifier, for example, . inc, llc, pllc, llp, lp, pc.

A trade name is the name under which a business operates or does business. The trade name is NOT the true or real name of the business. For example, Verizon Center is the trade name of the DC Arena, LP. It is the name that is most commonly associated with the business.