A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name which a business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 trades under for commercial purposes, although its registered, legal name

Legal name (business)

The legal name of a business is the name under which the business conducts its operations.- United Kingdom :In the UK businesses that trade under names other than those of the owner or a corporate entity must display the name of owner and an address at which documents may be served, or the name and...

, used for contract

Contract

A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...

s and other formal situations, may be another.

As an example, the company Panda Chemical Manufacturers, Inc. may use the more friendly name Panda Pharmaceuticals when it holds itself out to the public. In this example, Panda Pharmaceuticals is the trade name.

Historically, some segments of the pharmaceutical and chemical industry have misused the phrase trade name as being synonymous with product or brand name. This practice over the last decade seems to have lessened but still does persist.