trade name

Noun

trade name (plural trade names)

1. A name used to identify a commercial product or service; may or may not be a registered trademark.
   • Near-synonyms: brandname, brand name, trademark

   Synonyms:

   brandname, brand name, trademark

   Antonyms:

   generic name, description

   1. The company-specific name for a drug (medication), in contrast with a nonproprietary name such as an INN (international nonproprietary name), USAN (United States adopted name), JAN (Japanese accepted name), and so on.
      • Patients who come to the pharmacy counter may remember the trade name of their prescription but not the nonproprietary name, or vice versa.
2. The name under which a business or firm operates.
   • Their corporation has been doing business under a different trade name in recent years; the terms of service say something about "Acme Incorporated dba Apex Advanced International Systems."
   • While British Railways has remained the official title, it is perhaps of interest that this is not a statutory body but is really only a trade-name!1958 January, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 11