The short version is that the App Store treats your app's name like a username: it has to be unique. So two apps cannot share the exact same App Store name, whether they are yours or belong to different developers. What trips people up is the difference between the name on the store listing, which must be unique, and the name under the icon on the home screen, which does not. Here is how naming actually works and how to handle a name that is already taken.
Short answer
No, two apps cannot have the same App Store name. The name you set for your listing in App Store Connect must be unique across the entire App Store, so if another developer has already used it, or you have used it on one of your own apps, you cannot reserve it again. Per Apple's guidance on app names, the name can be up to 30 characters and should be unique and not infringe on trademarks. The home screen display name is separate and does not need to be globally unique, but the store listing name does. To get around a taken name, differentiate it and lean on your subtitle and keywords.
What you should know
- Store names are unique: no two App Store listings can share the exact same name.
- This applies to your own apps too: you cannot reuse a name across two of your apps.
- The limit is 30 characters: app names are capped, so keep them concise.
- Display name is separate: the name under the icon need not be globally unique.
- Trademarks still apply: a unique name can still be rejected if it infringes on a brand.
Can two apps have the same name on the App Store?
No. App Store names function as unique identifiers for listings, so the moment a name is registered to an app, it is unavailable to everyone else, including you for a second app. When you reserve a name or set it in App Store Connect, Apple checks it against existing names, and a clash means you must choose something else. This holds regardless of category, so a game and a utility still cannot share an identical name. The rule exists so users can find and distinguish apps, which is also why Apple polices names that are confusingly similar or that copy a well-known app, not just exact duplicates.
What about the home screen name versus the store name?
They are two different things. The table separates them.
| Name | Where it appears | Must be unique? |
|---|---|---|
| App Store name | The store listing, search results | Yes, across the whole App Store |
| Display name | Under the icon on the device home screen | No, set by CFBundleDisplayName |
| Subtitle | Below the name on the listing | Not a name; used to differentiate |
So while the App Store listing name has to be unique, the display name your users see on their home screen is set separately and can be shorter or different, and it does not need to be globally unique. This is why an app can list as "AcmeNotes: Fast Notes App" yet show simply as "AcmeNotes" under the icon.
How do you handle a name that's already taken?
Differentiate the listing name and carry the rest in your subtitle and keywords. If your ideal name is gone, add a distinguishing word or a brand prefix to make the App Store name unique, then use the subtitle, which sits below the name, to describe what the app does, and use the keyword field so search still surfaces you for the terms you wanted. Avoid the temptation to pick a name that is nearly identical to a popular app, since Apple rejects confusingly similar names under its rules on copycats and spam. If the name you want is held but clearly unused, it may free up over time, but you cannot count on that, so plan a unique name you can actually ship under.
What to watch out for
The first trap is assuming you can register the same name for two of your own apps, perhaps a free and paid version; you cannot, so differentiate them or use a single app with in-app purchases. The second is choosing a name that is unique but infringes a trademark, which gets rejected under the intellectual property rules even though the string is technically available. The third is over-stuffing the 30-character name with keywords, which reads poorly and can be flagged as inaccurate metadata. Naming is a metadata and branding decision rather than a security one, so it sits apart from a pre-submission scan such as PTKD.com (https://ptkd.com), which reads the compiled binary against OWASP MASVS for the security side. Treat the name as a unique identifier you choose carefully, and the subtitle and keywords as where the rest of your positioning goes.
What to take away
- Two apps cannot share the same App Store name; the listing name is unique across the entire store.
- You cannot reuse a name across two of your own apps either, so differentiate versions or use in-app purchases.
- The home screen display name is set separately and need not be globally unique, unlike the store listing name.
- Differentiate a taken name and use the subtitle and keywords, and remember a unique name can still be rejected if it infringes a trademark.
