Enterprise or Enterprises in a Company Name? (Examples)

You may have seen company names written with the words “enterprise” and “enterprises” and had doubts about which is correct. This page explains the differences between “enterprise” and “enterprises” and shows how each term is used in a sentence.

Enterprise or Enterprises in a Company Name?

Both “enterprise” and “enterprises” are perfectly correct to include in a company name. “Enterprise” means either a project, undertaking, or a company. Therefore, if you want to imply that your business undertakes multiple projects, you would use “enterprises” in the company name.

The Cambridge Dictionary states that “enterprise” means both a “business” and “business activity”, which explains why people often use the word in the plural as part of the company name to represent that they perform multiple “commercial activities.”

Another definition is similar to the word “initiative” and relates to how determinedly an activity or project is performed.

Here are some examples of enterprise in a sentence:

1. Local enterprises have offered donations to earthquake victims.
2. They showed great enterprise in setting up the project bearing in mind all the challenges they faced.
3. I want to work for an enterprise that values its staff.
4. I was hired to work for Mary’s Rural Enterprises as a tree surgeon.

Enterprise

The word “enterprise” has two primary definitions. The first refers to a business or company, and the second refers to the actual projects or business activities the company undertakes.

There is also another meaning for the word “enterprise”, which is similar to “initiative” and “perseverance” in performing business activities or setting up businesses.

Here are some examples of the word “enterprise” in a sentence:

1. This company is now a private enterprise, but the Government owned and ran it at one point.
2. They were praised for the enterprise they showed whilst setting up the project.
3. New laws in the 1800s made sure that no single enterprise could achieve a monopoly over any industry.
4. An enterprise must encourage innovation amongst its staff if it is to succeed.

 Enterprises

The word “enterprises” is the plural version of “enterprise” and is often seen in company names worldwide. The meaning either relates to the companies themselves, as in “multiple enterprises”, or to several different commercial or business activities.

More often than not, when you see the word “enterprises”, it is referring to “multiple businesses” or “multiple business activities.” The reason that the “s” is often added  to company names is basically to reinforce that the company undertakes various or multiple “enterprises.”

Here are some examples of “enterprises” in a sentence:

1. Many enterprises went out of business because of declining revenue during the COVID pandemic.
2. The Government is setting up additional funding to help struggling enterprises in the local area.
3. Enterprises should make sure that their hiring policies are inclusive and fair.
4. More small enterprises go out of business in their first year rather than the second.
5. He set up a charitable enterprise to help abandoned animals in his city.

Which Is Used the Most?

The Google Ngram for global use shows that “enterprise” has pretty much always been more common than “enterprises”, except for a brief period from 1988 to 1997, when “enterprises” was more frequently found.

In a  general sense, the popularity of both terms has decreased dramatically since the mid-1990s.

The Google Ngram for American English also shows that “enterprise” and “enterprises” are less common in the US than in the United Kingdom.

Final Thoughts

The words “enterprise” and “enterprises” are both fine to use for company names. The latter simply implies that the company undertakes multiple projects or commercial operations. They are also used to refer to the companies themselves, either in singular or plural.