A method, system, and computer program product for a faster identification of available reference designators (ARDs) in a design automation system. An ARD utility detects a selection of one or more selected component types for placement on a circuit schematic. A list containing one or more unavailable reference designators (URDs) is sorted through to identify one or more ARDs from the list of URDs. A list of ARDs is then generated, from which a pre-determined portion of ARDs are reserved. The reserved list of ARDs is then outputted for selection by a user.