Business Names

The main surviving use of the ampersand is in the formal names of businesses, especially firms and partnerships, particularly law firms, architectural firms, and stockbroker firms. When the ampersand forms part of a registered name (e.g. Brownless & Hong ), it should not be replaced with and.

The usage of the ampersand is subtly different from the usage of the word and in the English language. That is, the ampersand is not usually used in the main body of a piece of well-written text in place of the word and. Rather, its primary use is in proper names, particularly of businesses, where it often implies a closer relationship or connection than the word and.