If you advertised a name that was both desirable to the customer and legally available – but you did not yet reserve it, you'd have the risk of the customer or

If you advertised a name that was both desirable to the customer and legally available – but you did not yet reserve it, you'd have the risk of the customer or competitors grabbing the name first. Perhaps changing the name is trivial – for an expert in the jurisdiction's procedures. But a little bothersome for typical out-of-jurisdiction customers. You might thus try a new name so you could advertise it safely, and give customers the one-stop, one-step shipping experience they want. Further, as companies are sold, you might churn names. For example, if a customer bites on a certain name, if they don't want it on exactly the legal-form/age company where it is currently parked, you might transfer it to another company that matches their other needs. If you realize that the style of name they chose is rising in popularity, you might generate a new name of that kind, but then place it on an older company with a name that's been long-passed over. I would expect a deeper analysis of whether any of the short-lived names then moved to other entities (where they perhaps were used for longer periods) to be able to confirm or disprove this speculation.