Before any name is approved, it passes three tests. All three. Every time.Test One: The Brass Plate Test Could this word appear on a brass plate outside a
300-year-old building and feel like it belongs there? If yes, it is a candidate. If it reads like
a startup product name from 2019, discard it.Test Two: The Single Word Test Is it one word? Two words maximum if one of them is
IBBE. Compound inventions (ResearchHub, LearnPath, SkillForge with camel case) are
permanently banned.Test Three: The Explanation Test If you have to explain what the name means before the
person can respect it, the name has failed. A good name creates curiosity. A great name
creates immediate recognition. A name that requires a paragraph of context is a
description wearing a mask.
These patterns produce names that belong to a different institution, a weaker one.Compound tech names with camel case: SkillPath, LearnForge, ResearchHub,
MentorLink. These are the names of SaaS tools, not of an institution that intends to outlast
a century.Adjectives posing as names: Excellence, Premier, Elite, Advanced, Enhanced. These are
modifiers. They are not names. They collapse under their own emptiness.Acronyms invented backward: Taking a desired acronym and forcing words into it. This is
transparent and it embarrasses the organization.Words that require a glossary: Anything drawn from niche academic jargon, Latin phrases
no one uses, or technical terminology that excludes before it invites.Trend words: Anything that would have felt fresh in 2015 and now feels tired. Catalyst,
Launchpad, Nexus, Ignite. These words have been used by too many organizations to
carry meaning for IBBE.
