Okay so today I wanna talk about that headache everyone gets – picking names for trios. Doesn’t matter if it’s a work project group, your band, or even your fantasy football defense. Getting three people or things to sound good together? It’s weirdly hard. My own trio naming attempts usually ended up sounding like a law firm nobody wants, or just plain dumb. Seriously, why is it so tricky?
The Breaking Point & Starting Fresh
Last month, I started this side project with two buddies. Call it AppX. Cool project, awful temporary name. We kept calling ourselves “The AppX Team” like some boring corporate drones. We needed something real. Something with personality. Something that didn’t make us cringe saying it. So, I decided to actually write down my process. No fancy theories, just real steps taken in my messy notes app.
Step 1: Grab Coffees & Brainstorm Solo (Messy!)
First, I knew trying to name anything with three heads immediately jumping in would be chaos. We’d be fighting over puns vs serious names forever. So, I grabbed a coffee, opened a blank page, and just dumped every word or phrase even remotely connected to what we were doing, how we felt, words about three.
- Connection, Bridge, Link
- Spark, Flash, Ignite
- Three, Triad, Delta
- Build, Create, Forge
- Pixel, Byte, Stream
Seriously, this list looked stupid. “Forge”? “Stream”? But the point was to get anything out. Didn’t judge, just dumped.
Step 2: Force Myself To Play With Words
Looking at my stupid list, I had to try mixing the words together. I ignored meaning and just listened to sounds.
- SparkLink Forge
- Pixel Delta Ignite
- Bridge Three Build
- Byte Stream Triad
Most sounded horrible. Like, really bad tech startups. But “Pixel Delta” had a nice ring. Saved that one. “Byte Stream” felt cold.
Step 3: Bring In The Crew (But Not Too Much!)
Okay, time for the other two. I showed them my messy list and the few combos that kinda worked. Crucially, I didn’t ask “what do you like?”. That gets messy fast. Instead, I asked “What feeling do we want people to get?“. For us, it was energy, movement, building momentum. Also, “What names instantly make us hate them?” Everyone agreed “Forge” sounded old and heavy. And names ending in “ly” were out.
This took maybe 15 minutes. Kept it focused. Not a free-for-all.
Step 4: Mash Words Based on Feelings
Back to my notebook. Knowing we wanted energy and movement, I circled words like “Spark”, “Flash”, “Link”, “Rise”, “Current”. Then I started mashing them into three-part names again, focusing less on literal meaning and more on vibe.
- Flash Current Rise
- Rise Spark Link
- Shift Pixel Charge
- Beta Spark Loop (leaned on tech words here)
“Shift Pixel Charge”? Nope. “Flash Current Rise”? Too long? “Rise Spark Link” felt a bit better.
Step 5: Say Them Out Loud & The Final Click
This is the killer step. I said every name out loud like I was introducing us at a meeting. “This is Flash Current Rise.” Sounds awkward. “This is Beta Spark Loop.” Meh. Then I hit “Rise Spark” just by itself. Said it fast. Said it slow. It had pop. It felt energetic. Easy to remember. Not embarrassing. It even hinted at three – Rise (one), Spark (the second action/the spark), implied the third (whatever we build).
Boom. We presented it to the guys. One “Yeah, that works.” The other “Infinitely better than The AppX Team.” Done. No weeks spent scratching heads.
So, not bragging, but it actually worked! Way smoother than past disasters. Keeping it messy, focused on feel, and forcing myself to yell the names sealed it. No magic, just steps.