There's something electric about a good naming brainstorm. When everything clicks, you're not just throwing words at a wall—you're watching a team discover new angles, figure out what they actually care about, and stumble into territory nobody expected. That energy can really zoom a project forward.

But let's be honest: not all brainstorms feel like that. Especially with a bigger group. Without some scaffolding in place, it’s easy to end up with too many voices, not enough direction, and a bunch of ideas that go nowhere.

At Tanj, we've learned that naming brainstorms work best when they're treated like a strategic tool, not a free-for-all. The trick is giving people enough structure to stay focused without crushing the creative part. Here's what actually works.

Step 1: Get Clear on What You're Naming

Before anyone opens their mouth, make sure the whole room is answering the same question:

  • Are we naming a company, a product, or a feature?
  • Does this name stand alone, or does it need to fit into something bigger?
  • Will we need to stretch this name across future offerings?

If people aren't aligned here, you'll get wildly different ideas—and a lot of unnecessary friction.

Step 2: Set Your Naming Criteria Before You Start

A productive brainstorm needs guardrails. Without them, everyone just defaults to whatever sounds good to them personally.

So define these things ahead of time:

  • The tone you're going for (bold? approachable? technical? poetic?)
  • Who you're trying to reach
  • What your competitors sound like
  • Any legal or linguistic landmines
  • Words or themes you want to steer clear of

This isn't about limiting creativity—it's about pointing it in a useful direction.

Step 3: Split into Smaller Groups

Big groups brainstorming together? That's a recipe for the loudest person winning.

Instead, try this:

  • Break into teams of 3–5 people
  • Give each team a specific area to explore (metaphor-based names, functional names, abstract names, etc.)
  • Set a timer for 15–20 minutes

You'll cover more ground, and you won't get stuck in groupthink mode.

Step 4: Generate First, Judge Later

Nothing kills momentum faster than shooting down ideas as they surface.

So during ideation:

  • Don't debate whether something's trademarkable
  • Don't say "that won't work"
  • Don't start ranking things

At this stage, just capture everything. You can sort through it later.

Step 5: Give People Something to Work With

A blank whiteboard is intimidating. Give your teams some jumping-off points:

  • Try analogies and metaphors (nature, architecture, movement, systems)
  • Play with verbs or emotional states
  • Dig into word roots or linguistic patterns

The goal here is momentum. You're building raw material, not landing on the perfect name in round one.

Step 6: Synthesize Before You Try to Decide

After the session wraps:

  • Group similar names together by theme or structure
  • Look for patterns instead of picking winners
  • Figure out what's resonating and what's falling flat

This is where things start to come into focus.

Step 7: Remember What a Brainstorm Is Actually For

A brainstorm isn't going to hand you a finished name. That's not the point.

What it should do:

  • Help you explore different directions
  • Surface what people respond to
  • Give you solid building blocks to refine later

The best names usually come from what happens after the brainstorm—when you take the good stuff and keep working it.

Final Thought

A productive naming brainstorm isn't the loudest or the longest—it's the most intentional. With a little structure, even a big team can generate ideas that are strategic, cohesive, and actually worth developing. And that's when the real work begins.