Limited companies have a level of protection for their business name, as no other Ltd company can trade under the same (or a too similar) name. Trade marks are the ultimate protection for a sole trader business name in the UK. However, getting a trade mark is expensive and will take a few months before it’s protected.
You will also need to consider legal expenses to enforce your trademark should someone use it. Having a trademark will give your business name prestige and if the name is very important then we recommend you trademark it. It can be straightforward to do this yourself see: https://www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/trade-marks
