product-naming

Product Naming Skill

A name has to do a lot of work: signal what the thing is, fit the brand, be easy to say and remember, and not

already be taken. This skill generates candidates across different naming strategies and then evaluates them

against criteria — so you get a defensible shortlist and a recommendation, not a brainstorm dump.

Working from a brief

Given "name our new analytics feature", produce names anyway — infer the audience, the brand feel, and what

the name must convey, and label assumptions. Always flag that **trademark, domain, and existing-use checks are

required before adopting** any name — propose, don't certify availability.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else infer and label):

• What it is — the product/feature, what it does, and the value it delivers.
• Audience & brand — who it's for, the existing brand/name family, and the desired feel (serious, playful, technical, premium).
• Constraints — must convey X, avoid Y, language/market considerations, length.
• Context — is it a standalone brand, a sub-brand, or a feature within an existing product (descriptive often wins for features).

Output Format

Naming: [thing]

1. Direction — a line on what the name should achieve and the strategy mix that fits.

2. Candidates by strategy — a shortlist grouped by approach, each with a one-line rationale:

| Strategy | Examples | Feel |

|---|---|---|

| Descriptive | (says what it does) | clear, SEO-friendly, lower distinctiveness |

| Evocative / metaphor | (suggests a quality) | memorable, needs context |

| Invented / coined | (new word) | ownable, needs building |

| Compound / blend | (two ideas joined) | balance of clarity + distinctiveness |

3. Evaluation — score the top candidates against criteria:

| Name | Clear | On-brand | Memorable | Easy to say/spell | Extensible | Notes |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

4. Recommendation — the top pick (or 2), why, and the checks to run before committing: trademark search, domain/handle availability, existing-product collision, and meaning in target languages.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Names span more than one strategy (not all coined, not all descriptive)
• [ ] Each candidate has a rationale tied to what the name must convey
• [ ] Top names are scored against explicit criteria, not vibes
• [ ] For a feature within a product, descriptive/clear options are prioritised over clever ones
• [ ] A recommendation is made, with required availability checks listed
• [ ] Language/market pitfalls are flagged for the shortlist

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not hand back a flat list with no evaluation or recommendation
• [ ] Do not claim a name is "available" — you can't verify trademarks/domains; list the checks to run
• [ ] Do not over-index on clever/coined names for features that just need to be findable
• [ ] Do not ignore pronounceability/spelling — a name people can't say or type costs you word-of-mouth
• [ ] Do not skip cross-language/meaning checks for names going to multiple markets

Based On

Brand & product naming practice — strategy-driven generation, criteria-based evaluation, and pre-adoption availability/meaning checks.