How We Name Apps Before the Store
An app name is a store field, a home-screen label, and a word you will say on calls. We name products at Croncode before we fall in love with a mark. The working title can be ugly. The store name cannot be a poem that hides the job. This page is the studio sequence. It is not a list of “best app names” and it is not legal advice.
Name the job first, keep a disposable working title, then check collisions and spoken sound. A poetic word that hides the job will fail search and review conversations.
What is the difference between a code name and a store name?
A code name lives in the repo and in Slack. It should be hard to confuse with a client project. A store name lives on the listing and should survive a tired parent saying it out loud. You can ship a year of TestFlight under a code name. You cannot treat the store field as a mood board the week of submission.
Public names we already shipped: YourStyle says closet and outfit. Numira is a coined word tied to a decision job. Spylie is a character-led case name. Luviport points at a journey, not a generic taxi. Catalog: what Croncode builds.
Which checks happen before we buy a domain?
- Say the name in English and in Turkish. If one market cannot pronounce it, write a spoken hint.
- Search the App Store for exact and near twins. Saturation: ASO positioning.
- Check the bundle ID plan and who will own it. account ownership.
- Check whether the subtitle, not the name, will carry the job.
We do not claim a name is “available worldwide” from a quick search. Counsel handles marks when the product is real. Founder: Goktug Unver. Design and web: Yusufhan Sokur.
When should you keep a boring name?
| Signal | Boring name | Coined name |
|---|---|---|
| The job is new to the user | Often better | Only with a clear subtitle |
| The category is crowded with the same noun | May vanish | If you can teach it |
| Legal collision on the noun | No | Yes, after a check |
| You only like the vibe | No, rewrite | No, rewrite |
Landing pages must repeat the same word the store uses. Store landing pages. If the marketing site is enough as WordPress, do not invent a second brand system: when Elementor is enough.
How do we avoid copying a competitor’s mouthfeel?
Teardown the job they fail, not their two-syllable pattern. Teardowns without copying. If the only brief is “like X but nicer,” you are naming a clone. We will ask for the object instead. Briefing AI work: brief an AI studio.
What we will not build includes copycat listings. What Croncode will not build.
What mistakes lock you into a bad name?
- Printing merch before the collision check: ego is expensive.
- A name that promises surveillance: a detective fiction must not sound like real phone theft. Spylie is a game job, not forensics.
- English puns that die in Turkish onboarding: localize onboarding.
- Renaming every sprint: screenshots and ASO reset. Process: fixed scope vs agile.
Quote the working title and the job sentence: quote packet. Hire: hire the studio. Custom: custom software. Istanbul shipping: how we ship. Journal: /en/journel/.
How should a client walk into the naming workshop?
Bring three rejected names and why they died. Bring the job, the not-now list, and who will say the name on a podcast. Do not bring a 40-name dump. We will pick a shortlist, assign a collision owner, and keep the code name until the store field is stable. Team: Ozgur Ismet Ozkan is on the roster. Meet the group: meet the team.
If you already have users under a name, renaming is a product event, not a Figma file. Plan content around the change: thirty-day content plan. Contact: contact.
Frequently asked questions
Should the app name include AI?
Only if the job is a model job you can explain. A badge in the title ages badly when the model vendor changes.
Can the icon carry the name?
The icon carries recognition after install. The store name still has to be speakable in a review reply.
Do you trademark names in-house?
No. We do collision hygiene. Counsel files marks. Do not treat this article as legal advice.
What if the perfect name is taken on Instagram but free on the store?
Decide whether social is part of week-two retention. If it is, the collision is real. Retention: week two.
Who has final say at Croncode?
The founder on the product, after the collision check. For studio-owned apps that is Goktug Unver with Yusufhan Sokur on the word and the site.
