Trade name and Business name

09:38 Mar 30, 2017 

Exactly!

Well, in the absence of fuller context, 'business name' in EN is very often a synonym for 'company name' — just as in FR, if one wishes to be strictly accurate, one would say 'business' (= 'entreprise') since not all 'businesses' are necessarily literally (legally!) 'companies'. Hence why more context is vital, to find out how and why these two terms are being used.
Business name can = company name = raison social
Trade name can = 'trading as'

BUT other usages are also possible...

09:06 Mar 30, 2017 

forms would ask you for "raison sociale" of the business as it's the name under which the business is officially registered - but that's the equivalent of the "company name" under which a company would be registered in UK.

Another fly in the ointment: by definition "raison sociale" can only apply to companies, while there is nothing to stop a sole trader to use a business name or a trading name.

08:24 Mar 30, 2017 

Be that as it may, 'raison social' is one of the two equivalent things that you are usually asked for when filling in various official forms etc. in France. It's the same idea basically as in the UK, when we see things like "company XYZ, trading as 'ABC' "

'Trade name' can, however, be a little ambiguous, depending on context and whether or not it is being used with precision.

08:03 Mar 30, 2017 

a starting point regarding "Trade name" and "Business name":

https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/choose-company-...
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business-partnership/naming-your-p...

and if you compare with

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="raison sociale"

I can't see either of them being "la raison sociale" ...

12:00 Mar 29, 2017 

merci encore Tony !

10:19 Mar 29, 2017 

Il y a un qui est 'raison social' — mais je ne me souviens plus laquel !