name

name	name
description	Generate and evaluate candidate names for a concept, pattern, or unnamed thing. Assesses cognitive load, precision, resonance, and load-bearing quality.
argument-hint	["concept or thing to name"]
user-invocable	true

Name this concept: $ARGUMENTS

Process

1. Understand the Thing

Before naming, understand what needs naming:

• What is the essence of this thing? (Not what it does, but what it is)
• What distinguishes it from related things?
• What mental model should the name evoke?
• Who will use this name, and in what context?

2. Generate Candidates

Produce 3-5 candidate names. For each:

• State the name
• Explain the metaphor or etymology
• Note what it evokes (the mental model it creates)

Draw from multiple sources: metaphor, etymology, analogy, compression, existing domain vocabulary.

3. Evaluate Each Candidate

Score each name against four criteria:

Cognitive Load — Is it easy to remember, spell, pronounce, and use in conversation? Short names with clear pronunciation win.

Precision — Does it distinguish this thing from related things? A good name makes the wrong usage feel wrong.

Load-Bearing — If you deleted this name, would communication break down? Would people reinvent it? Load-bearing names are essential; decorative names are overhead.

Resonance — Does it evoke the right mental model? Does it connect to existing intuitions? A resonant name teaches you something about the thing just by hearing it.

4. Check for Retirements

Does this new name replace any existing names? Naming creates ontology — check what this name implies about the existing naming structure:

• Does it subsume an existing term?
• Does it split an existing term into two?
• Does it rename something that was poorly named?

5. Output

## Naming: [Concept]

### Candidates
1. **[name]** — [metaphor/etymology]. Evokes: [mental model].
2. **[name]** — [metaphor/etymology]. Evokes: [mental model].
3. **[name]** — [metaphor/etymology]. Evokes: [mental model].

### Evaluation
| Name | Cognitive Load | Precision | Load-Bearing | Resonance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [name] | [low/med/high] | [low/med/high] | [yes/no] | [low/med/high] |

### Recommendation
**[name]** (confidence: high/medium/low)
Rationale: [why this name wins]

### Load-Bearing?
[Yes/No] — [Would communication break without this name?]

### Retirements
[Existing names this replaces, if any, and why]

### Ontology Note
[How this name relates to the existing naming structure]