Give every finalist
the same test.
Bring names you already like. Put them into the same sentence, compare them with the rest of your project and keep your own reasons beside the spelling.
Names in use
Try the same shortlist in three situations. Record what works in each one.
Earlier and revised spellings
Review your last eight revisions in the selected situation.
A few names. One fair comparison.
You supply the purpose and decide what works. The trial exposes spelling relationships and your own constraints; it does not assign an unexplained “best name” score.
Run a trial to open three situations for your shortlist, or try the courier example →.
Your final name record
This is your chosen name and your own record of the checks you completed. Record unfinished checks as pending.
Checks I have actually made
See a decision being made.
The ferry pilot’s three stops.
Three attractive labels begin with the same word. Follow a storm journey and decide which shared detail helps the world, and which makes an urgent direction harder to follow.
Read the original case →STORY / A FAST SCENEThe last hour on the radio.
A producer, caller and engineer need distinct names while a live broadcast begins to unravel. Keep a family connection without asking the reader to solve three near-identical introductions.
Read the original case →SOCIAL / A LASTING INTRODUCTIONA sky beyond the first series.
A creator’s night-sky notebook grows into something broader. Separate the channel name, series title and exact handle, then test what each candidate actually promises.
Read the original case →ELVEN NAMES / PUBLIC AND PRIVATEThe glassmaker’s two signatures.
A short name belongs at the bench; a public form records a workshop obligation. Give each spelling a social purpose before adding another ceremonial title.
Read the original case →FAMILY NAMES / A PLACE TO BELONGA place at the kiln.
A household, a workshop and a reputation need not share one label. Keep a family connection while leaving its members room for different futures.
Read the original case →MAGIC ITEMS / POWER AND LIMITThe footprints in the cellar.
A lantern reveals a trail without promising a safe return. Compare a reassuring title with what the object can actually show its next owner.
Read the original case →What the trial can show
Every finalist uses the same sentence. Length checks use Unicode code points, including spaces and punctuation. Required and excluded phrases match whole words after case and accent normalization. A candidate that misses one of your requirements stays visible so you can decide whether to revise the name or the requirement.
Pair comparisons look for the same normalized spelling and a small letter-edit distance. Character mode also compares first words, so Mira Vale and Mina Ward can receive an opening-word observation even when their surnames are quite different. A shared final word is shown as a possible relationship, not a reason to reject related characters. Accent marks, spaces and punctuation can carry meaning; the comparison explicitly tells you when it has removed them.
What still needs a human test
Letters are not pronunciation. A pair with different spelling may still sound alike, and a close spelling may be easy to distinguish in your intended accent. Read one ordinary scene aloud, ask a listener what they remember and record the difficulty they actually describe. “No trigger” means only that these limited comparisons did not find their particular patterns.
Keep, revise and set aside are your decisions. The trial does not derive personality, legal ownership, account availability or a verified word origin from a spelling. Use the single-name checker for limited identifier-format checks and clearly labeled manual search links. For a new batch, return to the focused tool directory.