DBA is simply an acronym that stands for “doing business as”. It’s a term that refers to a company’s trade name. In other countries like Canada or England, DBA is sometimes seen as T/A (Trading As) or O/A (Operating As), but they all mean the same thing. For example, Walmart’s trade name is Walmart, The Importance of Filing a Trade Name for Your Business Mar 19, 2019 · A trade name is the name a business uses to identify itself. A trade name can be different from the legal name the business has been registered as, for corporate status. For example, a business might be incorporated as "XYZ Holdings" and do business under the trade name "Alphabet Productions, Inc."