How a Condo Building Gets Its Name

The name of a condominium development plays a major role in its marketing. Some names given to developments burnish the brand. Others miss the mark completely, sounding absolutely pretentious and ridiculous.

The New York Timesrecently ran an article about how challenging it was for an Upper East Side Manhattan property to name their building once they gave creative license to the condo board members. Big mistake: The building's residents considered The Prestige and The Ashton, but ultimately, after 18 months, they agreed on (yawn) The Sterling.

"The process of naming a condo project typically involves the sales and marketing team, [and] the developer or sponsor," says Lisa Maysonet, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman. "The location, the theme, the characteristics, [all] create a lifestyle. The most ridiculous names are the ones that are hard to remember, and have nothing to do with the character of the project."