Everything, as it turns out. Putting a bit of thought into a product name helps shape it’s direction, focus, and first impression on any prospective user.

The name, Yorecast, is one that strikes the perfect balance between sounding just like “forecast”, indicating it’s relation to weather, and also being distinctive enough to be remembered. Best of all, it’s hidden meaning literally translates to the core idea behind the creation of the app. Let me explain.

Meaning

The word “yore” actually means “of long ago or former times” (Oxford Dictionary), and so, by only changing one letter from the wore “Forecast”, I am able to have the name of the app perfectly reflect it’s one core goal - forecast the weather, but in terms of yesterday’s conditions. A forecast in relation to times of yore.

yore - of long ago or former times, Oxford Dictionary

Hence, Yorecast shows the weather, compared to yesterday

Phonetics

Phonetics are one of the most important qualities of a name, because if you can’t say it, you’ll never share it. Before I go over what I like about this name, I’m first going to list some of it’s weaknesses, because no name is perfect.

• Phonetic overlap - “yorecast” sounds exactly the same as “your cast”, which makes it more difficult to spread the name by word of mouth

• Esoteric elements - “yore” is not commonly used in the English language, which means that it’s meaning is not obvious to most.

However, many products have unique names with phonetic overlap, and many names of products and companies have no inherent meaning at all. Despite this, I believe that Yorecast has stronger redeeming qualities that trump these small nitpicks.

• Short

• Memorable - Forecast with a Y. That’s pretty easy to remember.

• Easy to say - Yorecast can be a drop-in replacement for forecast in any situation when asking about the weather, as it’s still a noun.

• Familiar - Yorecast immediately sounds like the word forecast, strongly connecting its name to its function

Closing thoughts

While the name isn’t perfect, it’s a great working title that helps me focus on the essentials, and also communicates the intention and idea behind the app I’m working on.

Hey, you’ve read the whole thing. Why don’t you visit Yorecast. Let me know what you think.

This was originally published on Read.cv.