To check if an app name is taken, run a live search of the App Store and Google Play for the exact name — the free app name checker does this across 10 countries in one click. On the Apple App Store, names must be globally unique: an exact title match means the name is off the table. On Google Play, duplicate names are allowed, so the real question is whether the name is already crowded. Then confirm on iOS by reserving the name in App Store Connect, and clear the trademark registers before you commit.
That's the whole method. The rest of this guide explains each layer — because the three checks answer three different questions, and skipping one is how apps end up renamed two weeks before launch.
Why "Is This Name Taken?" Has Three Different Answers
An app name lives in three separate systems, and each can block you independently:
- Store search (discovery): what users can find today. If another app already owns the name in search results, you'll fight it for every install even when the stores technically let you publish.
- App Store Connect (availability, iOS only): Apple's uniqueness rule is enforced here, and it covers reserved names too — names held by apps that haven't shipped yet and are invisible to store search.
- Trademark registers (legal): a name absent from both stores can still be someone's registered mark. Apple's guideline 5.2 and Google Play's impersonation policy both reject apps that ride a known brand's name.
Step 1: Run the Live Store Search
Start with the discovery layer, because it's instant and it kills most bad candidates. Type the name into the free app name checker, pick the store and country, and read the verdict:
- Taken: an app's title matches your name exactly. On iOS that ends the exact string; on Android it means you'd share the name with an incumbent.
- Close matches: no exact match, but apps start with or contain your name. The string is usable — decide whether the overlap buries you.
- Clear: the live search found nothing. Good sign, not a guarantee — reserved iOS names don't appear in search.
Check your top two or three markets, not just the US: names collide differently per storefront, and a name that's clear in English markets can be taken in Japan or Brazil.
Step 2: Understand Apple's Unique-Name Rule
Apple requires every App Store app name to be globally unique — the store will not accept two apps with an identical name field. Two details matter:
- Uniqueness applies to the full 30-character string. "Drift" taken does not mean "Drift: Habit Tracker" is taken. This is why nearly every successful app uses the brand-plus-descriptor pattern.
- Reservation is the real claim. Creating the app record in App Store Connect reserves the name before launch. If the name is free there, it's yours (Apple can reclaim names from apps that are never published, but that takes months).
Google Play has no equivalent rule — titles aren't exclusive. That cuts both ways: nobody can block your name, and you can't block anyone else's.
Step 3: Clear the Trademark Layer
A store search is not a trademark search. Before printing the name on your icon, screenshots, and marketing, search the USPTO trademark database for US coverage and EUIPO for the EU, focusing on software and mobile-app classes. You're looking for exact matches and confusingly similar marks in your category. This isn't legal advice — for a name you plan to build a company on, a trademark attorney's clearance search is worth the fee — but a ten-minute register search catches the obvious conflicts free.
What to Do When the Name Is Taken
Don't abandon the brand word — extend it. Apple's rule cares about the full string, so these patterns keep your name and stay unique:
- Name: Keyword — "Drift: Habit Tracker" (the strongest pattern: the descriptor is indexed for search)
- Name — Category — "Drift — Daily Routines"
- Modifier + Name — "Get Drift", "Drift HQ", "Drift Go"
Treat the descriptor as keyword research, not decoration. The name field carries more ranking weight than any other metadata slot, so the words after the colon should be terms people actually search. Score candidates with the free keyword difficulty checker, follow the full process in the app store keyword research guide, and read our app title optimization guide for how the title drives rankings on both stores.
Name Cleared — Now Build the Listing Around It
Once the name passes all three layers, the descriptor keyword you chose becomes the seed for the rest of your metadata: subtitle, keyword field, and description should extend it, not repeat it. AppDrift's AI metadata generation builds the full listing around your name within every character limit, and before you submit, the free App Store rejection checker catches the common guideline problems — including name-related ones — while they're still cheap to fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if an app name is taken for free?
Use AppDrift's free app name checker. It runs a live App Store or Google Play search for the name in any of 10 countries, reports exact and close title matches, and requires no sign-up. For iOS the authoritative confirmation is reserving the name in App Store Connect.
Do App Store app names have to be unique?
Yes. Apple enforces globally unique app names — two apps cannot share the exact same name field. The uniqueness applies to the full string, so "Drift" can be taken while "Drift: Habit Tracker" is available. Reserving a name in App Store Connect holds it before launch.
Can two apps have the same name on Google Play?
Yes. Google Play does not enforce unique app titles, so multiple apps can share a name. The practical concern on Android is discoverability: if established apps already use the name, your app competes with them in search and users may install the wrong one.
Does checking the store also check trademarks?
No. A store search shows what's live on the App Store and Google Play; trademarks live in separate registers. A name can be absent from the stores and still be trademarked. Search the USPTO (US) and EUIPO (EU) before committing — a name confusingly similar to a known brand risks rejection under Apple's guideline 5.2 or Google Play's impersonation policy.
What if my app name is taken?
Keep the brand word and make the full string unique with a descriptor: "Name: Category Keyword" or "Name — Descriptor". On iOS this satisfies Apple's uniqueness rule, and the descriptor doubles as your strongest keyword placement since the name field carries the most weight in store search rankings.
