Clothing Brand Names: How to Pick One You Can Actually Trademark

Most new labels choose a name the way they choose a logo: it has to look good on a tag, sound good said out loud and feel like the brand. Trade mark law asks a different question. Does the name tell buyers who made the clothes, or does it just describe them? A name that fails that test can be refused by the trade mark office, challenged by a bigger brand or left impossible to enforce against copycats. Picking clothing brand names with the law in mind from day one costs nothing, while rebranding after your first collection costs a great deal. This guide explains how examiners judge a name, the refusals that catch fashion founders most often and a checklist for clearing a shortlist before you print a single label.

Short answer: The easiest clothing brand names to trademark are invented words or real words with no link to clothing, such as an animal or object name used for apparel. Avoid names that describe the product, a plain surname, or anything close to an existing mark in Class 25. Then search the USPTO, EUIPO’s TMview and the UK register before you commit.

Key takeaways

• Trade mark strength runs along a spectrum from generic to fanciful, first set out by Judge Friendly in Abercrombie & Fitch v. Hunting World (1976).
• The USPTO most often refuses fashion names for likelihood of confusion under section 2(d), descriptiveness under section 2(e)(1) and surnames under section 2(e)(4).
• A slogan or logo printed large across the front of a T-shirt can be refused as merely ornamental, so plan how the name will appear on labels and tags.
• Clear the name in every market you plan to sell in, and check domains and social handles at the same time.

What makes a clothing brand name trademarkable?

Distinctiveness. A trade mark exists to identify the source of goods, so a name that buyers would read as a description of the clothes does not do that job. US courts sort marks into categories along a spectrum, and the standard statement comes from Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Hunting World, decided by the Second Circuit in January 1976. Judge Friendly listed the categories as “(1) generic, (2) descriptive, (3) suggestive, and (4) arbitrary or fanciful”.

The case was about fashion. Abercrombie & Fitch claimed “Safari” for a range of outdoor clothing. The court held that “Safari” had become generic for the safari outfit and its components, such as the hat and jacket, so it could not be protected for those items, while it was a valid mark for boots. The opinion also gives the classic example of the category system at work: “Ivory” would be generic for products made from elephant tusks but arbitrary as applied to soap. The same word can sit in different places depending on the goods.

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How does the distinctiveness spectrum apply to fashion names?

The table below applies each category to clothing. The example names are illustrations made up for this guide, not marks FLJ has checked, so treat them as patterns rather than suggestions.

Founders often want a descriptive name because it explains the product, and marketers like suggestive names because they do some of the selling. The legal sweet spot is suggestive, arbitrary or fanciful. Descriptive names are not hopeless: section 2(f) of the Lanham Act lets the USPTO accept five years of substantially exclusive and continuous use as prima facie evidence that a mark has become distinctive. But five years is a long time to trade without a registration, and anyone can use the same descriptive words in the meantime.

Why does the USPTO refuse clothing brand names?

Section 2 of the Lanham Act lists the grounds. Three of them account for most of the problems fashion founders face.

Likelihood of confusion, section 2(d). The USPTO refuses a mark that so resembles a registered mark, or a mark previously used in the US and not abandoned, as to be likely to cause confusion when used on the applicant’s goods. Clothing is a crowded class, and examiners compare sound, look, meaning and overall impression, not just spelling. Changing a letter or adding “Studio” or “Label” to an existing name rarely helps. FLJ explains how examiners read conflicts in its guide on how to run a USPTO trademark search.

Merely descriptive, section 2(e)(1). Names that immediately describe the goods, their material, style or intended users are refused unless acquired distinctiveness is shown. Words like “organic”, “luxe”, “athletic” or “basics” next to the type of clothing are the usual culprits.

Primarily merely a surname, section 2(e)(4). Many designers want to use their own name. A name that buyers would see primarily as a surname is refused on the Principal Register until it acquires distinctiveness. Adding a first name, or combining the surname with a distinctive word or design, often changes the analysis. Using your own name also raises a business question: if you sell the company, the buyer may own your name as a brand.

Can you trademark a slogan printed on a T-shirt?

Sometimes, but the way it appears on the shirt matters as much as the words. The USPTO refuses matter that is merely ornamental, meaning decorative features that do not identify the source of the goods, under TMEP section 1202.03. In its overview of failure-to-function refusals, the USPTO lists size, dominance and location as factors, gives a large display of a logo on the front of a garment as an example of a refusal, and cites a phrase refused because many third parties used it on jewellery.

The practical fix is to use your brand name the way brands use names: on the neck label, a sewn-in tag, a hang tag or a small chest placement, and to file with a specimen that shows that use. A big graphic slogan can still sell shirts; it just may not be a trade mark. If you sell band or festival merchandise, FLJ’s piece on merch bootlegging covers the reverse problem of printing other people’s marks.

Which class covers a clothing brand name?

Class 25 of the Nice Classification covers clothing, footwear and headwear, and it is the core class for almost every apparel label. Many brands also file in Class 18 for bags and leather goods, Class 14 for jewellery, Class 3 for fragrance and cosmetics, and Class 35 for online retail store services. Each class costs extra. At the USPTO the base application fee is $350 per class, with surcharges of $100 per class for insufficient information, $200 per class for a free-form description instead of the ID Manual and $200 per extra 1,000 characters, under fee changes in force since 18 January 2025. You can work out which classes you need with FLJ’s trademark class finder.

Outside the US, EUIPO’s basic online fee is €850 for one class, €50 for the second and €150 for each class from the third. GOV.UK says a UK trade mark costs at least £205. Searching before you pay these fees is far cheaper than an opposition.

How do you clear a shortlist of clothing brand names?

Start with three to five candidates, because the first choice often fails. For each one, run these checks in order, and stop as soon as a name hits a serious problem.

Step 5 matters because US trade mark rights come from use, not only registration, so a small brand that has sold under a name for years may block you even without a federal filing. Steps 6 and 7 are not legal requirements, but a name you cannot hold online is a weak commercial asset, and squatters do register fashion names to sell them back, as FLJ explained in fashion brands and cybersquatters. Step 9 sits with your company setup, covered in our guide to starting an LLC for a fashion brand. Registering a company or a domain does not give you trade mark rights.

What should you do once you have a name?

File early. In the US, an intent-to-use application lets you secure a filing date before launch, and in the EU and UK, registration rather than use is the main source of rights, so the first to file usually has the advantage. Decide whether to file the name as a standard character word mark, a logo, or both. A word mark protects the name in any font, which is usually the priority for a new label.

FLJ’s step-by-step guide to trademarking a clothing brand covers filing bases, examination, publication and maintenance, so this guide stops at choosing the name. If an examiner raises a refusal, or a search turns up a close mark in Class 25, that is the point to pay for a trade mark lawyer rather than after you have stocked a season’s labels.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I trademark a clothing brand name that describes my clothes?

Not straight away in most cases. The USPTO refuses merely descriptive names under section 2(e)(1). You can register later if the name acquires distinctiveness, and five years of substantially exclusive and continuous use is accepted as prima facie evidence under section 2(f).

Can I use my own surname as a clothing brand name?

You can use it, but a name that is primarily merely a surname is refused under section 2(e)(4) until it acquires distinctiveness. Adding a first name or a distinctive word often helps, and remember a buyer of your business may end up owning the brand.

What trademark class is a clothing brand?

Class 25 covers clothing, footwear and headwear. Brands often add Class 18 for bags, Class 14 for jewellery and Class 35 for online retail services. Each class carries its own fee, which at the USPTO starts at $350.

Is a clothing brand name with one letter changed safe to use?

Usually not. Under section 2(d), examiners compare the overall sound, appearance, meaning and commercial impression of marks, so a one-letter change or an added word like “Studio” rarely avoids a likelihood of confusion refusal in Class 25.

Why was my T-shirt slogan refused as ornamental?

The USPTO refuses decorative matter that does not identify source under TMEP section 1202.03, and large slogans across the front of a shirt often look decorative. Show the mark on a neck label or hang tag, or evidence that buyers see it as a brand.

Does owning the domain name protect my clothing brand name?

No. A domain name, company name or social handle does not create trade mark rights on its own. Rights come from using the name as a brand for goods and, more reliably, from registering it in each market where you sell.