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How to name your fantasy team

Trying to come up with a good name for your fantasy team this year? Check out hundreds of names we've collected. Or, if you want it to be unique, use this guide to make your own. We'll break down the types of team names and how to come up with your own names of each type.

Types of fantasy team names

Most fantasy team names fall into one of the following categories

  • Puns

    The most common team name you'll find is a pun, usually based on a player's name. The player's name is combined with a recognizable phrase or sentence to create a team name. We'll go over several different types of team name puns and how to make each kind. Skip to how to make team name puns

  • Memes or Currently Relevant Phrases

    Team names don't have to use clever word play. Using memes that are going around or just common phrases of the day based on current events can make a good team name. The phrases your group will recognize depend a lot on your specific league. What are some phrases that your group is constantly saying or playing off of?

  • Band Name Style Names

    Pick any short phrase that contains an unusual combination of words. Think band names like "Black Eyed Peas", "Smashing Pumpkins", and "Red Hot Chili Peppers".  For some reason I only thought of vegetable based band names of the form [adjective/verb] [vegetable]...
    Notice how in each case they added more specificity. "The Chili Peppers" is ok but adding "Red Hot" makes it a better name.

  • Call Sign / Gamertag style names

    Good examples of this kind of name are the pilots call signs in Top Gun. These are short code names they have usually based on a noun.  "Maverick", "Goose", "Jester", "Hollywood", etc.

    You can also think of gamertag names or top streamers as examples "ninja", "pokimane", "mrbeast"

Names based on puns

Team name puns are created by taking a short phrase and then replacing one or more words in the phraes with a player's name that sounds similar. For example:


Take the player "Vontaze Burfict". His last name sounds like the word "perfect". We can replace "perfect" in a recognizable phrase to create a team name.

Phrase:
The 
Perfect 
Lineup 
Player:
Vontaze Burfict

In this case "Burfict" sounds a lot like "perfect". The key thing is that the phrase needs to be recognizable even after you've replaced some words with the player's name

How to make a pun

There are many different types of puns but only a few types that are commonly used for fantasy team names.

  • Rhymes
  • Similar Sounding Words
  • Partial Replacement
  • Shared Name Parts
Rhymes
Rhymes are the simplest and sometimes they work to make a good team name. However, if the beginning of the player's name and the word are quite different then it can be hard for people to quickly recognize the word. The phrase needs to be recognizable after the replacement.
"Brady" rhymes with "Shady" but the beginnings of the words, Br and S, are very different sounds.

The team name The Real Slim Brady still works ok because the word combo "The Real Slim" is very unique and recognizable. People don't even need to hear the next word to think of "Shady".

But if we use another phrase that contains "shady" but is not recognizable on it's own it doesn't work well. You could say "You're so shady" but You're so Brady isn't a good team name. "You're so" is too common and lots of words could come after that. When someone hears "Brady" there they won't necessarily think of the word "shady"
Similar Sounding Words
Names that sound like a word make good puns. The more similar they sound the better but the words don't have to be the same. The beginning and end of the word is important and the parts of the word you put vocal emphasis on.
Watson your wallet? works, because even though the o in "Watson" sounds different than the i in"what's in", the beginning and end sound similar. They both start with w and end with n and your brain fills in the gaps when you read it.
Sometimes you can find two words that sound like one name or vice-versa.
You Belichick Yourself
"Belichick" sounds like "better" and "check" put together
Replace part of a word with a name
If you can't find a word that sounds like your player's name you can try to find a part of a word instead.
VicTerry McLaurin
"Terry" sounds like the "tory" part of the word "victory"

Or you can create a brand new word by combining a word and a name. As long as this new made up word still sounds like the original word it can work.
Making Harristory
"Harristory" is not a real word but it still sounds like "history" while still including the name "Harris"
Use a partially shared name
You can also play off of people or characters that share part of their name with the player. The person has to be pretty recognizable or in a longer phrase.
Forgetting Brandon Marshall
"Sarah Marshall" is the name of a character in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Even though "Brandon" sounds nothing like "Sarah" the name works because the phrase is recognizable.
Putting it all together
Ok so how do we actually use these pun types to make a name? Let's try it with "Khalil Mack"
Let's start with "Khalil" because it's harder than "Mack" and will be a better example. Say the word to yourself over and over and listen for the sounds to try to find words that sound simlar. Try emphasizing different parts. It sounds like "kill". It also sounds like the k sound followed by "a little" ("k ah lil") Lots of phrases have "kill" in them, here are some options
  • Khalil Bill
  • Khalil Shot
  • Khalil-ing Eve
  • Khalil-ing Me Softly
  • License to Khalil
  • To Khalil a Mockingbird
As we go down the list the phrases are longer and more recognizable so they are likely to be better team names. Of course it depends on the audience. If your whole league is obsessed with the movie "Kill Bill" then Khalil Bill is a fine name
What about "-k a little", can we do anything with that? Any word that ends with the k followed by "a little" Some words are "take", "bake", "make". How about MaKhalil Dynasty ("Make a little dynasty"). It's not bad but a bit of a stretch. His last name is "Mack". Can we throw that in there?...
BaKhalil Mack and Cheese 🤔?
Ok I think we're done
What really matters
All that really matters is that you enjoy your team name. You don't need to have a unique name to get a laugh. Use one of the hundreds of names we've collected or search by player. Actually, what really matters is winning. Submit your own team names for a chance to win a Fantasy Pros subscription and dominate your league.