Do You Italicize Business Names (Magazine Titles, Charity Names, Newspaper Name, etc.)

do you Italicize Business Names

While writing a business name, you can use capital letters because capitalization of business or company name is correct but you can’t italicize a business name because it is incorrect. Whether the name is real or frictional, business and brand names are not set off in italics. You can use the italic format for the name/title of magazines, newspapers, books, albums, etc. but you should not use the italic format for business names.

Why not Italicize Business Names    

We already know that the italicization of the business name is incorrect, but why? It is not required to italicize a business, brand, company, or social media network, or even a restaurant because people have a clear idea of what Facebook means, or Pepsi means, or Mcdonald’s means. These are the names of products, services, or establishments. So, just use the capital letters to establish the named item in the context. For example – 

I bought a 1-kilo apple from the store

Smith bought an Apple iPhone from the store

I picked up a Mac at the store

Here the first line indicates information about fruits; the second line indicates a phone and the third line indicates a computer. So, it takes very little to make everything clear, therefore, italics aren’t necessary. Moreover, calling attention to the name of products or services will only create a distraction and it will make the readers wonder why the names are italicized.

Italicize Business Names

How To Reference Company/Business Names On Paper

You can reference company or business name in APA style or other styles like MLA format, etc. If you check the magazines of the business world then you will see all the names are written in APA style. Here APA style stands for “American Psychology Association” and it is a style of writing used typically for business or social sciences. Some writing styles for business names are – 

1. Associated Press (AP) Style: A writing style used by journals

2. Modern Language Association (MLA) Style: It is used in the liberal arts and humanities fields

3. American Medical Association (AMA) Style: It is used for medical writing

So, AP style will refer to a business name if it is making headlines, MLA style will refer to a business if it is talking about a publisher, and AMA style will refer to a business that is a pharmaceutical company and mentioned in a medical journal.

If you want to reference a company’s name in APA style then you can simply input the name of the company within the context. But, if you are not writing in APA style then you can use other formats to write the company name. While writing the company name you should keep the name the same way that it was written. In AP style you can mention the name of the company within the text and you don’t need to write out the entire name each time you mention the company. But for MLA format, you have to use the full name of the company every time you mention it in the context.

Do You Italicize Magazine Titles?

If you are writing the name of a journal or magazine in an APA paper then the title of the journal should be in italics and you have to capitalize all the major words. On the other hand, if you are writing the name of the magazine in the middle of the article then the name should be in quotation marks. And all the major words should be in capital letters. Moreover, if the name of the magazine, plays, newspapers, and freestanding publications are quoted in text or bibliography, then they should be italicized.

Do You Italicize Charity Names?

The italicization of the company/organization name is not correct and Charity is a type of non-profit organization, right? So you should not italicize the charity names. What you can do is use the capital letter for the charity name every time you use the name in the context. For example – 

Your charitable donation to the March of Dimes helps fund our mission,” not “Your charitable donation to March of Dimes helps fund our mission.”

Do You Italicize Newspaper Names?                    

Yes, you can italicize newspaper names as well as the title of the newspaper. But if you want to write the title of the work then you should enclose it in quotations. If it is an English language newspaper then you should omit any introductory article in the newspaper title. On the other hand, if it is a non-English language newspaper then you can retain the title.

FAQs About Do You Italicize Business Names

Do You Put Business Names In Quotes?

You can’t put business names in quotes whether it is a single or double-quote. So when you are writing business names, don’t use the quotation mark to indicate the business.

Do You Italicize Company Names In APA?

In APA format, you can only capitalize trade and brand names of drugs, equipment, and food but not italicize them. You can only use the italics for titles of books, periodicals, films, videos, TV shows, and microfilm publications.

Do You Put Organization Names In Quotes?

No, you can’t put organization names in quotes and also you can’t italicize the organization names. You can only use the capital letter for the name.

What Is The Shortcut For Bold And Italic Text?

The shortcut for bold text is “Ctrl+B” and the shortcut for italicizing is “Ctrl+I”.

Do You Italicize App Names?

Yes, you can italicize app names, software titles, etc. For example – Kindle, Instagram, etc.

References:

1. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/314982/do-you-italicize-fictional-company-names/314989
2. https://greedhead.net/are-business-names-italicized-in-novels/

Last Updated on February 6, 2022 by

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