And with the company’s expansion into Northern Virginia with the Access acquisition, Asbury said Union’s name was going to be confused with other banks in that market.

“We don’t want to be operating multiple different bank brands,” he said.

Besides, Asbury said, many banks across the country operate under the Union Bank name.

“It is a good strong name,” he said. “Union Bank & Trust is limited. Atlantic Union Bank is a unique identifier.”

The company said it considered hundreds of name options and conducted research on the new name with customers who responded positively to it. Shareholders will need to approve the change to the name of the parent company when it holds its annual meeting in early May.

Access branches will be renamed Atlantic Union Bank when the conversion to Union’s computer systems takes place in mid-May. Union’s branches in Virginia also would get the new moniker at the same time.

The company does not initially plan to change its UBSH stock ticker symbol.

“There’s no compelling reason to change the ticker. We will let some time past and get some feedback and then we are going to re-evaluate,” Asbury said.