Editorial Policy

What we are trying to do

A visitor arrives at WittyNames with a blank field and a deadline of about thirty seconds. Our measure of a good page is that they leave with a name they are happy to use. Word count is not the measure. A page that gets somebody to a decision in twenty seconds is doing its job better than one that reads like an essay.

How a name list is built

1. We start from a real category. Group chat, work team, five-a-side, WiFi, quiz night, fantasy league. Each has a different tone and a different length limit, and we write to those rather than producing one generic list.
2. We check the limits. Before publishing a list we confirm the practical character limit for that use, so the suggestions actually fit where they are going.
3. We read every name aloud. A name that looks fine and sounds wrong is cut. So is one that only works if you already know the joke.
4. We filter. Slurs, harassment, anything aimed at a real person, and anything sexual in a category that families use — all removed before publication, not after a complaint.
5. We remove duplicates. Lists get compared against each other so the same twenty names are not recycled under six headings.

Visitor suggestions

Suggested names are read by a person before they appear. We edit for length, fix spelling, and drop anything that names a real individual. Being on the list is not an endorsement of the joke — only a judgement that it is harmless and usable.

Corrections and updates

Pages that describe a platform rule or a character limit are revisited when that platform changes. When we correct something factual, we change the page rather than leaving the old claim standing. If a reader shows us we were wrong, we say so on the page.

What we will not publish

• Names built to insult a named person or a protected group.
• Lists copied wholesale from another site.
• Pages created only to have another page, with nothing new in them.
• Promises the generator cannot keep, such as a name being guaranteed unique or legally free.

Use of writing tools

We use software assistance while drafting and proofreading. Every page is read, edited and signed off by a person, who is responsible for what it says. Tools do not replace the reading-aloud step or the filtering step.

Independence

We do not sell places inside name lists. Where a page carries advertising, it is marked as advertising and is kept separate from the list itself.

Telling us we got it wrong

Send the page link through the contact page. Reports about a name that targets a real person are handled first.