Project Name Generator

Codenames for software, M&A deals and side projects

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Generate project names and codenames that are short, memorable and easy to say in a meeting: single-word codenames, two-word pairings and Project-style deal names for software launches, M&A transactions, internal initiatives and side projects.

About project names

A good project name is a codename, not a description. The best ones in tech and finance share a few habits: they are one or two words, they are easy to say out loud and to type in a ticket, and they mean nothing specific about the work so the name never becomes wrong when the scope changes. Android desserts, Apple's big cats and Ubuntu's animals all work this way. So do the Project Bluebird and Project Granite labels that bankers put on M&A deals, where the whole point is that an outsider overhearing the name learns nothing.

The richest sources are well-worn for a reason: stars and constellations (Orion, Vega, Polaris), birds of prey (Kestrel, Osprey, Goshawk), minerals (Granite, Cobalt, Obsidian), weather (Monsoon, Zephyr), scientists and explorers (Kepler, Lovelace, Magellan), and calm two-word images such as Quiet Harbor or Long Meadow. Teams that name every release from one theme get a free naming system that scales; deal teams that pick a color or gemstone per target can keep several live transactions straight without confusion.

Before you commit, search the name inside your company wiki and issue tracker, check that it is not already a product or a trademark in your space, and say it in a sentence. Northstar, Keystone and Lighthouse survive that test; a clever pun usually does not.

How to choose project names

  • Pick a theme and stick to it for a series: if the first release is Orion, the next ones are Lyra and Vega, and everyone instantly knows they belong together.
  • For an M&A or confidential deal, choose a name with no connection to the target's industry, founder or location, and keep a separate codename for each party (Project Cedar buying Project Birch).
  • Say the name in a standup sentence before adopting it: "we're blocked on Keystone" works; anything that needs spelling out or explaining will get shortened into something worse.
  • Search your wiki, issue tracker and app store before committing so you don't collide with a retired internal project or a live product with the same name.
  • Keep the external product name separate from the codename; codenames can be playful (Rubber Duck, Banana Stand) because they never have to survive marketing review.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a good project name?

Short, pronounceable, easy to type, and unrelated to the specific deliverable so it stays accurate as the scope evolves. One or two words is ideal. Codenames like Kestrel, Cobalt or Blue Harbor are good because they are neutral, memorable and hard to confuse with other work.

Why do M&A deals use names like Project Bluebird?

Confidentiality. Bankers and lawyers assign each transaction a neutral codename so that emails, data rooms and calendar invites reveal nothing about the buyer or target. Common conventions are colors, gemstones, birds, trees and mythological figures, with a different name for each party in the deal.

Can I use these names for software projects, repos or releases?

Yes. Most of the list works as a repository name, internal codename or release name. For a series of releases, pick one category (stars, minerals, birds) and name each release from it in alphabetical order, which is how Android, Ubuntu and many internal platform teams keep things organized.

How do I turn keywords about my project into a name?

Take the feeling you want rather than the feature: a project about speed might become Peregrine or Fast Lane, a reliability effort might become Bedrock or Keystone, a fresh start might become Clean Slate or First Light. Indirect names age better than literal ones and are easier to trademark or brand later.

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All 500 project names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 34 names

  • Acacia
  • Afterburner
  • Albatross
  • Aldebaran
  • Altair
  • Alto
  • Amber
  • Amber Road
  • Amulet
  • Anchorage
  • Andromeda
  • Antares
  • Anvil
  • Aperture
  • Aphelion
  • Apogee
  • Arcadia
  • Archimedes
  • Archway
  • Arco
  • Arcturus
  • Artemis
  • Artifact
  • Asgard
  • Astrolabe
  • Athena
  • Atlas
  • Atrium
  • Aurora
  • Autumn Ridge
  • Avalanche
  • Avalon
  • Axolotl
  • Azure

B: 25 names

  • Babbage
  • Badger
  • Banana Stand
  • Banyan
  • Baobab
  • Barracuda
  • Basalt
  • Bastion
  • Bedrock
  • Big Sky
  • Birch
  • Bison
  • Black Pine
  • Blank Canvas
  • Blue Harbor
  • Blue Heron
  • Blue Marlin
  • Blueprint
  • Boomerang
  • Brass Tacks
  • Breakwater
  • Bridgehead
  • Brightwater
  • Bronze
  • Bulwark

C: 42 names

  • Cadence
  • Camelot
  • Canyon
  • Capella
  • Capstone
  • Capybara
  • Caracal
  • Carthage
  • Cascade
  • Cassini
  • Cassiopeia
  • Castling
  • Catalyst
  • Causeway
  • Cerulean
  • Chapter One
  • Checkmate
  • Checkpoint
  • Chickadee
  • Chimera
  • Cipher
  • Citadel
  • Clean Slate
  • Clear Signal
  • Clearwater
  • Clover
  • Codex
  • Cold Harbor
  • Cold Snap
  • Colonnade
  • Copernicus
  • Copper Beech
  • Cornerstone
  • Corona
  • Crescendo
  • Crimson
  • Crooked River
  • Crow's Nest
  • Crucible
  • Curie
  • Cyclone
  • Cypress

D: 10 names

  • Daedalus
  • Dark Horse
  • Dawn Patrol
  • Deep Field
  • Delphi
  • Delta
  • Dragonfly
  • Drawbridge
  • Dune Sea
  • Dynamo

E: 16 names

  • Early Bird
  • Early Light
  • Ebony
  • Eclipse
  • Elysium
  • Ember
  • Endgame
  • Enigma
  • Epilogue
  • Equinox
  • Estuary
  • Euclid
  • Euler
  • Evening Star
  • Excalibur
  • Expedition

F: 25 names

  • Fable
  • Far Shore
  • Faraday
  • Fast Lane
  • Feedback Loop
  • Fennec
  • Fibonacci
  • Fifth Gear
  • Firebrand
  • Firefly
  • First Light
  • Fjord
  • Flare
  • Flint
  • Flux
  • Foothold
  • Forge
  • Foundry
  • Fourth Wall
  • Fresh Ink
  • Frontier
  • Fugue
  • Fulcrum
  • Full Circle
  • Furnace

G: 17 names

  • Galahad
  • Galileo
  • Gambit
  • Garnet
  • Garrison
  • Gateway
  • Gauss
  • Glass Mountain
  • Glimmer
  • Glyph
  • Golden Hour
  • Goshawk
  • Grandmaster
  • Gray Wolf
  • Greenfield
  • Griffin
  • Ground Truth

H: 24 names

  • Half Moon
  • Harrier
  • Headland
  • Hearth
  • Heat Shield
  • Heather
  • Hedgehog
  • Heirloom
  • Helios
  • Helix
  • Hemlock
  • Hermes
  • High Tide
  • Hollow Oak
  • Honeycomb
  • Hopper
  • Horizon
  • Hornbill
  • Hornet
  • Hummingbird
  • Huygens
  • Hydra
  • Hypatia
  • Hyperion

I: 7 names

  • Icarus
  • Ignition
  • Indigo
  • Iron Compass
  • Iron Horse
  • Iron Lantern
  • Ivory

J: 4 names

  • Jade
  • Jaguar
  • Janus
  • Jasper

K: 9 names

  • Kairo
  • Keel
  • Keepsake
  • Kepler
  • Kinetic
  • Kingfisher
  • Kite String
  • Kova
  • Kraken

L: 25 names

  • Lancelot
  • Last Mile
  • Late Frost
  • Lattice
  • Launchpad
  • Laurel
  • Ledger
  • Lemur
  • Leviathan
  • Liftoff
  • Locket
  • Lodestar
  • Lodestone
  • Long Game
  • Long Meadow
  • Long Shadow
  • Longshot
  • Loose Thread
  • Lovelace
  • Low Orbit
  • Lucky Penny
  • Lumo
  • Lynx
  • Lyra
  • Lyric

M: 19 names

  • Magellan
  • Magpie
  • Main Quest
  • Mako
  • Manta
  • Marathon
  • Mariner
  • Marlin
  • Maxwell
  • Meadowlark
  • Merlin
  • Mesa
  • Milestone
  • Minerva
  • Momentum
  • Monsoon
  • Moonshot
  • Moonstone
  • Morning Glory

N: 11 names

  • Narwhal
  • Nebula
  • Neon Tide
  • Nexa
  • Night Owl
  • Nightshift
  • Nightwatch
  • Nocturne
  • Nomad
  • North Ridge
  • Nova

O: 16 names

  • Oak Door
  • Obsidian
  • Ocelot
  • Odyssey
  • Okapi
  • Olympus
  • Opal
  • Open Sky
  • Orbix
  • Orca
  • Oriole
  • Orion
  • Otter
  • Outrider
  • Overdrive
  • Overture

P: 86 names

  • Pale Blue Dot
  • Palimpsest
  • Palisade
  • Pangolin
  • Paper Tiger
  • Paperclip
  • Parallax
  • Pascal
  • Pathfinder
  • Pegasus
  • Pelican
  • Penumbra
  • Percival
  • Peregrine
  • Perihelion
  • Perseus
  • Phoenix
  • Photon
  • Pinwheel
  • Pioneer
  • Pivot
  • Plain Sight
  • Plasma
  • Platypus
  • Pocket Knife
  • Polaris
  • Porcupine
  • Portcullis
  • Prelude
  • Prism
  • Procyon
  • Project Anchor
  • Project Aspen
  • Project Beacon
  • Project Blackbird
  • Project Bluebird
  • Project Cedar
  • Project Cobalt
  • Project Compass
  • Project Condor
  • Project Copperfield
  • Project Crossroads
  • Project Daybreak

P, continued

  • Project Driftwood
  • Project Emerald
  • Project Evergreen
  • Project Falcon
  • Project Glacier
  • Project Granite
  • Project Greenlight
  • Project Halcyon
  • Project Harbor
  • Project Hawthorn
  • Project Heron
  • Project Ironwood
  • Project Juniper
  • Project Kestrel
  • Project Keystone
  • Project Lantern
  • Project Lighthouse
  • Project Magnolia
  • Project Marigold
  • Project Meridian
  • Project Monarch
  • Project Nightingale
  • Project Northstar
  • Project Onyx
  • Project Orchid
  • Project Osprey
  • Project Redwood
  • Project Saffron
  • Project Sapphire
  • Project Sequoia
  • Project Silverback
  • Project Snowcap
  • Project Summit
  • Project Thunderbird
  • Project Tidewater
  • Project Tungsten
  • Project Wildflower
  • Project Windward
  • Prologue
  • Prometheus
  • Puffin
  • Pulsar
  • Puma

Q: 8 names

  • Quantum
  • Quarry
  • Quartz
  • Quasar
  • Quetzal
  • Quiet Harbor
  • Quiet Storm
  • Quokka

R: 19 names

  • Radiance
  • Rain Shadow
  • Ramanujan
  • Rampart
  • Raven
  • Red Kite
  • Redoubt
  • Relic
  • Rhapsody
  • Riddle
  • Rigel
  • Riptide
  • Rolling Stone
  • Rosetta
  • Rotunda
  • Rowan
  • Rubber Duck
  • Rubicon
  • Rune

S: 42 names

  • Sable
  • Safe Harbor
  • Saguaro
  • Salt Flat
  • Scarlet
  • Scepter
  • Second Wind
  • Selene
  • Sentinel
  • Serval
  • Sextant
  • Short List
  • Side Quest
  • Sigil
  • Silent Falcon
  • Silver Arrow
  • Silver Lining
  • Sirius
  • Skipping Stone
  • Skylark
  • Slate
  • Slingshot
  • Slow Burn
  • Sojourn
  • Solstice
  • Sonata
  • Spark
  • Sparta
  • Spectrum
  • Spire
  • Spring Tide
  • Springboard
  • Steeple
  • Sterling
  • Still Water
  • Stone Bridge
  • Storm Glass
  • Stormwatch
  • Summer Lantern
  • Sunstone
  • Swift
  • Switchback

T: 27 names

  • Talisman
  • Tall Grass
  • Tanager
  • Tempest
  • Tempo
  • Tensor
  • Thermopylae
  • Thin Ice
  • Third Rail
  • Thistle
  • Tidemark
  • Tinderbox
  • Tiro
  • Titan
  • Topaz
  • Torque
  • Totem
  • Toucan
  • Touchstone
  • Trailblazer
  • Trident
  • Tuatara
  • Tundra
  • Turbine
  • Turing
  • Turret
  • Typhoon

U: 3 names

  • Ulysses
  • Umbra
  • Undertow

V: 13 names

  • Valhalla
  • Vanguard
  • Vanta
  • Vector
  • Vega
  • Velo
  • Velvet Hammer
  • Ventra
  • Vermilion
  • Viridian
  • Vortex
  • Voyager
  • Vulcan

W: 15 names

  • Warm Front
  • Wayfarer
  • Waypoint
  • White Pine
  • White Rabbit
  • Wide Angle
  • Wild Card
  • Willow
  • Winding Road
  • Windmill
  • Winter Garden
  • Wolverine
  • Wombat
  • Woodpecker
  • Wren

Z: 3 names

  • Zenith
  • Zephyr
  • Zero Hour