Every popular Toronto WNBA name suggestion and why none of them are good enough

I’m not a hater I just need the name to be perfect, is that too much to ask?

Hey fam, Chelsea here, Raptors HQ Editor-in-Chief, WNBA writer, and apparently now Toronto WNBA name guru? The more I state my opinion on the matter, the more people come to me to ask what I think about the suggestions.

Rather than just waste time on twitter stating my opinions, might as well use this platform I have complete access and freedom to, to convince you all why every idea on the market right now is NOT GOOD.

I really don’t mean to be a hater, I promise. I just care SO much about this franchise already and I want the name and branding to be PERFECT. Striving for perfection never hurt anyone, right? Right?

In my first article about the matter, I described what I did and didn’t want in a name for the Toronto WNBA franchise. Basically it couldn’t be lame/cliche, overly girly, or just weak. I want to strike fear into our opponents! I said no weather/nature names!

Then, I went to the official announcement for the team, and Toronto WNBA President Teresa Resch, aka ultimate girl boss and a personal hero of mine, described what she wants in a name. We had similar visions, though she doesn’t mind as much if the name is more feminine and she wants it to be connected to the roots of Toronto/Canada.

So, with all of that knowledge in mind, let’s go over some of the popular names circulating the internet:

Names That I Personally Think Are Terrible and Why

I’m gonna be called a hater, aren’t I?

Let’s start strong with the one I’ve seen the most over the past few days, the Toronto Northern Lights. First, if you’ve read this far/read my last piece on this, you understand how I hate nature/weather names. They rarely work, unless the weather/nature at hand is like cool/powerful/intimidating (Storm, Hurricane, Tornado, etc).

First, “Toronto Northern Lights” is a mouthful, it’s too long. People then suggested just calling them the Northern Lights so that they represent all of Canada, but at the end of the day, it’s still Toronto’s team. The WNBA has already released Toronto branded merch, and it’s just a weak suggestion in my opinion. The name should be a subtle nod to Canada, not a pander to cliches and stereotypes of the country. That’s why anything with “North” in it is not my jam, because the Raptors have coined “We The North” and North in general has become a Canadian moniker. Not to mention that the Northern Lights aren’t JUST in Canada.

Next, Toronto Huskies is circulating around. I used to be a very vocal supporter of this name, but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not good enough to me now, because it feels like we are just recycling the name of an old men’s team. This team should create its own identity, it’s own branding, and not just bring back something tired and common.

Lastly, Toronto Towers has been going around as well. Apparently it’s because of the CN Tower, which immediately is a no because, come on, we can think harder than that. Yet, the true reason this name sucks is that before you think CN Tower, I hear “Toronto Towers” and immediately think of the Twin Towers, as most likely anyone else born before the year 2000 would. I think that immediate association makes the name insensitive and we should avoid it all together. On top of ALL of that, calling a team of women’s basketball players, who are tall, the TOWERS is a little sus overall. It’s a no from me fam, sorry.

What people don’t realize when they are just randomly spewing out name ideas, and this is totally fair because the average person isn’t a sicko like me who thinks about this team all day, is how much THOUGHT needs to go into it. You need to squeeze out every deeper meaning, association, and branding scheme that comes into play with EVERY idea you create. If the name idea you have automatically makes multiple people think of an infamous event in world history, for example, it needs to be immediately cut.

Names I Think Are Slightly Better But Not Perfect

I’m not ALWAYS a hater. I like some names. Sometimes…

Right off the bat, I don’t think Toronto Royals is a bad name. I actually like it quite a lot, when you think about thing like opulance, branding, queens, all the great colours and visuals you can bring in. It’s closer, but not perfect. For one main reason — it’s association to colonialism, especially in a place like Canada. Again, you have to think about associations and connotations, and to have a team named the Royals and then also have a land acknowledgement statement before every game (something the Raptors currently do), seems… performative.

Next, Toronto Dragons is fun… dragons are sick. You can have excellent imagery with dragons, any colour, etc. I think my main problem with this one is that Resch already stated the fact that she wants the name to have an association with women and Canada. While you can pull the women association very loosely with the dragon from the movie Shrek (lol), dragons aren’t very “Canadian.”

Lastly, Canadian Olympian and former WNBA player Kayla Alexander suggested “Toronto Terror” to me a few weeks ago, and I think it’s my favourite suggestion so far. A Terror is the name for a group of Raptors — it relates to the Toronto Raptors subtly without being too overt, which then makes the Canadian connection in a way. It’s a badass, intimidating name, which is high on my list as well. Doesn’t exactly scream “women!” but that’s not too much of a personal problem for me. In the end, my biggest complaint about the name Toronto Terror is that it’s a little bit of a tongue twister… especially with a Toronto accent.

I’ll leave you with one thing I am sure of, which is COLOUR SCHEME. I have a favourite idea and a second favourite idea in this case. My first favourite idea for colour is peach — I think it’s cute, unique, and fun for summer. Not too pink and not too orange, would look great on merch, etc. After that I like teal, for all of those same reasons, but blue is a little more of a winter colour to me.

Let me know your thoughts here or hit us on twitter @RaptorsHQ or @chelsealeite to tell us your suggestions!