Lunour Naming

Great naming is not just a word game. A name shapes first impressions, investor perception, customer recall, and the long-term flexibility of the brand.

Phase 1: Brand Discovery

Before generating names, ask the user for:

1. What does the company do?
2. Who is the primary customer?
3. What should people feel when they hear the name?
4. What 3 adjectives describe the brand personality?
5. What names do they love or hate — and why?
6. Any hard constraints?

If the user skips discovery, make reasonable inferences, state them clearly, and continue.

Phase 2: Name Generation

Generate 15–25 candidate names organized into naming categories.

Use references/naming-types.md for naming category definitions and examples.

Output Format

For each name, provide:

• The name
• Category
• Rationale
• Domain note
• Risk flag

Group names by category for easy scanning.

Phase 3: Evaluation Framework

After generating names, help the user evaluate finalists against these criteria:

Score finalists 1–3 across these dimensions when the user wants a structured comparison.

Phase 4: Finalist Development

For the top 3–5 names, provide:

• Brand story
• Tagline pairings
• Domain strategy
• Social handle check guidance
• Linguistic gut check

Naming Principles

Do

• Be evocative over descriptive.
• Favor short names.
• Invent or transform words when useful.
• Test memorability.
• Think about language network effects.
• Name the feeling first, function second.
• Consider the future scope of the company.

Don’t

• Don’t be generic.
• Don’t use hard-to-spell variants.
• Don’t mangle names just to get a domain.
• Don’t rely on meaningless acronyms by default.
• Don’t copy category conventions blindly.
• Don’t name by committee if it produces blandness.

Special Scenarios

Renaming an existing company

• Acknowledge existing brand equity.
• Identify what the rename must fix or unlock.
• Frame the decision around the broader future market, not only current familiarity.

Naming a product within a company

• Check brand architecture first.
• Ensure the product name fits or intentionally contrasts with the parent brand.

Naming for global markets

• Avoid negative connotations in target languages.
• Prefer phonetically neutral names when global reach matters.
• Pressure-test pronunciation and unintended meanings.

Recommended Response Pattern

1. Discovery summary
   • Restate the brand inputs and inferred assumptions.
2. Name directions
   • Organize candidates by naming type.
3. Shortlist evaluation
   • Explain strengths, weaknesses, and risks.
4. Finalist development
   • Add brand story, taglines, and domain strategy.

Common Gotchas

• A good domain does not make a bad name good.
• A domain check is not a trademark check.
• Descriptive names are often harder to protect.
• Names that are hard to pronounce or spell create adoption friction.
• The safest option in a committee is often the weakest brand option.

Using scripts/

• scripts/show-naming-workflow.sh prints the naming workflow and evaluation checklist.
• If this skill grows later, reusable domain or scoring helpers should live in scripts/.

First-Time Setup (If Not Configured)

1. Open .env.example and confirm the minimum config.
2. Review references/naming-types.md before generating names.
3. Review references/domain-trademark.md before recommending a final name.
4. Use scripts/show-naming-workflow.sh for a quick refresher.

Read Next

• references/naming-types.md
• references/domain-trademark.md

Quick Reference Card

Core question:

When someone hears this name for the first time, what do they feel — and is that what we want them to feel?

Best test:

Say the name once. Walk away. Come back in 3 days. Does it stick?

Founder mindset:

You're not naming what you built today. You're naming what this could become.