What each part of the prompt does
- Questions before names
- Round 1 ends with a stop. The answers about audience, feeling and the words you dislike are what separate a shortlist you can use from twenty interchangeable tech-sounding words.
- Four naming styles
- Descriptive, invented, compound and metaphor names solve different problems. Asking for a mix shows you the range, and you may find you prefer a plain descriptive name over the clever ones.
- The say-it-aloud test
- Most names are heard before they are read: in a podcast mention, a recommendation, a phone call. Checking whether someone could spell the name after hearing it once catches names that lose people at the search bar.
- Honest limits
- ChatGPT cannot check domains or trademarks in this setting, so the prompt asks it to say that instead of claiming a name is free. You do that check yourself before falling in love with one.
Variations to try
Same idea, one thing changed.
Short names only Help me name [WHAT IT IS]. Work in two rounds. Every name must be one or two syllables and no more than eight letters. Round 1: Ask me up to eight short questions that you need answered before suggesting names. Cover who it is for, what it does better than alternatives, the feeling the name should give, words or styles I dislike, and where the name will appear (domain, app store, packaging, social handle). Explain in one sentence why you are asking. Then stop and wait for my answers. Round 2: After I answer, suggest [NUMBER] names. Mix these styles: descriptive (says what it does), invented (a new word), compound (two real words joined) and metaphor (borrowed from something with the right feeling). For each name give: - The name and its style - One line on why it fits what I told you - How it sounds said aloud and whether people could spell it after hearing it once - Possible problems: hard to pronounce, an unfortunate meaning in [LANGUAGES], or likely to be confused with a common word Finish with your top three and the reason for each. Remind me to check domain, trademark and social handle availability myself, since you cannot look them up.
Renaming something that exists Help me rename [WHAT IT IS]. Its current name is causing problems that I will describe in round 1. Work in two rounds. Round 1: Ask me up to eight short questions that you need answered before suggesting names. Start by asking what is wrong with the current name and what customers already call it. Then cover who it is for, what it does better than alternatives, the feeling the name should give, words or styles I dislike, and where the name will appear (domain, app store, packaging, social handle). Explain in one sentence why you are asking. Then stop and wait for my answers. Round 2: After I answer, suggest [NUMBER] names. Mix these styles: descriptive (says what it does), invented (a new word), compound (two real words joined) and metaphor (borrowed from something with the right feeling). For each name give: - The name and its style - One line on why it fits what I told you - How it sounds said aloud and whether people could spell it after hearing it once - Possible problems: hard to pronounce, an unfortunate meaning in [LANGUAGES], or likely to be confused with a common word Finish with your top three and the reason for each. Remind me to check domain, trademark and social handle availability myself, since you cannot look them up.
If the result isn't right
- Answer the round 1 questions with examples: brands whose names you like and dislike tell the model more than adjectives do.
- Say your top picks out loud to two people and ask them to type what they heard; spelling problems show up quickly.
- If every suggestion feels similar, reply with one name you like and ask for ten more in that direction.
- Shortlist three names and live with them for two days before deciding; a name that still feels right after the novelty fades is usually the safer choice.