Generate and evaluate brand, product, and startup names using linguistic science, cultural awareness, trademark heuristics, and domain availability principles. Covers naming frameworks (descriptive, abstract, coined, metaphorical), linguistic analysis, and cross-cultural safety checks. Use when naming a new product, company, brand, feature, or project.
Systematic brand and product naming with linguistic rigor and business sense.
Directly describes what the product does.
Invented words with no prior meaning.
Uses imagery or concepts from other domains.
Combines two words or word parts.
| Dimension | Weight | What to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Memorability | 25% | Can you recall it after hearing it once? |
| Pronounceability | 20% | Can a 5-year-old say it? Can non-native speakers? |
| Brevity | 15% | Ideally 2-3 syllables, under 10 characters |
| Uniqueness | 15% | Google it — is it dominated by other results? |
| Domain potential | 10% | Is the .com available or acquirable? |
| Cultural safety | 10% | Does it mean anything offensive in major languages? |
| Trademark viability | 5% | Does it conflict with existing marks in the category? |
Minimum passing score: 6.5/10 weighted average. Don't ship below this.
Gather from the user:
Produce 10-15 candidates across all 4 naming categories. Use these techniques:
Linguistic tricks:
Cross-language mining:
Apply the scoring framework above. Rank candidates. Present top 5 with:
Based on feedback:
| Issue | Example | Why It Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Hard consonant clusters | "Strplx" | Unpronounceable |
| Ambiguous vowel | "Fower" (flower? four-er?) | Confusing |
| Cultural offense | "Pajero" (Spanish slang) | Brand damage |
| Too generic | "Cloud Storage Pro" | No brand equity |
| TMI in name | "Enterprise Customer Relationship Management System" | Not a name, it's a sentence |
| Trendy prefix | "AiSomething", "SmartSomething" | Forgettable, dates fast |
Always test a name against:
Real-world failures: Mitsubishi Pajero, Chevy Nova (no va = "doesn't go"), Nokia Lumia (prostitute in Spanish slang), Ford Kuga (sounds like "cougar" and also problematic in some Chinese dialects).
## Name: [Name]
- **Category**: [Descriptive/Abstract/Metaphorical/Compound]
- **Score**: [X.X]/10
- **Pronunciation**: [IPA + phonetic spelling]
- **Meaning**: [Literal meaning, if any]
- **Rationale**: [Why this works for the brief]
- **Tagline pair**: "[Name] — [tagline]"
- **Domain options**: [available alternatives]
- **Risk flags**: [none / specific concerns]