Short answer. Yes. The name of a limited partnership must include the word 'Limited'. Article 1844 requires the certificate of formation to state the name of the partnership, adding thereto the word "Limited", so the designation is part of what the law demands to create the partnership.
What the law says
The name of the partnership, adding thereto the word "Limited"
Civil Code, Article 1844 — Formation of a Limited Partnership. Read the full provision →
The word is required by law
Article 1844 lists what the sworn certificate forming a limited partnership must state, and the very first item is the partnership name with the word "Limited" added to it. This is not decoration. The word is a public signal that the entity is a limited partnership, in which certain partners answer for debts only up to their contribution. Anyone dealing with the firm sees, in its very name, that it is not an ordinary partnership where every partner is fully liable. The requirement sits inside the list of details the certificate must contain before it is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Why the label protects outsiders
Limited liability is a privilege the law extends only in exchange for transparency. Creditors and customers decide how much to trust a business partly on who stands behind it. If a limited partnership could trade under a name that looked like an ordinary partnership, outsiders might extend credit believing every partner was personally answerable, when in truth some partners' exposure is capped. The Limited tag closes that gap by putting the warning where no one can miss it — on the name itself — so people deal with the firm knowing the nature of the liability they face.
What happens without it
Because the word is part of the statutory formula for forming the partnership, leaving it out is a defect in the certificate, not a harmless stylistic choice. A more serious risk falls on a limited partner whose name appears in the firm name or who lets the firm operate without the proper designation: the law of limited partnerships can strip away the liability shield where the required disclosures are not observed. The safe course is to register and consistently use the full name, Limited included, on contracts, receipts, and signage.
Substantial compliance still governs formation
Article 1844 closes by saying a limited partnership is formed where there has been substantial compliance in good faith with its requirements. That standard cushions honest, minor slips, but it is not a licence to omit a core element like the name designation on purpose. Partners should treat the Limited requirement as mandatory and build it into the registered name from the start, rather than gamble that a court will later excuse its absence as a trivial imperfection. Correcting the name afterward means amending the certificate on file.