Does "wobble" sound negative?
I'm launching a project which I want to make big as possible. I want to find a name, but I'm not looking for any real meanings. This project is a web tool (Javascript prototype & API) so I want to give it an English name. The tool will have a lot of "~" key, so I'm trying to find a word that matches the representation of this symbole. This is how I came up with "Wobble", however it's maybe too metaphoric because "Wobble" doesn't really mean "wave" right?
Is wobble a negative word? Which word could match the tilde and which sounds positive beside "wave"?
Thanks!
This may be somewhat opinion based, but I don't think that wobble is negative-sounding in and of itself. I think it is fun and silly, in a good way - and it seems to strike the right tone for a web tool, as these often do have silly names (such as 'Pyjamas' or 'Mustache').
Positive meanings of wobble are found in the wobbling of a jelly, or a musical wobble board - and musician Jah Wobble chose it as a name that "people would never forget".
I would think that calling a software tool 'wobble' would only be negative if the tool starts to get a reputation for being unreliable - but of course you are going to make sure that doesn't happen, aren't you?
I think you should go with something more neutral. It is clear from the other responses that "Wobble" can be seen as positive or negative. So I think you should try moving towards something like:
Squiggle
noun noun: squiggle; plural noun: squiggles 1. a short line that curls and loops in an irregular way. "some prescriptions are a series of meaningless squiggles"
synonyms: wavy line, doodle
To me 'wobble' does have a bit of a negative connotation, as a wobble is typically something to be avoided, although in some cases, it could also be somewhat endearing. It's a bit like 'toddle' in that respect.
On a side note, given the actual name of the ~
character, I'm going to go the less literal and slightly punnier route, and suggest the actual name "Matilda".
Depending on the type of product Wobble can have a meaning of either funny or unsturdy/off balance.
If you have a table or a chair that wobbles, people see that negatively.
If you have a ball or other toy that wobbles, it makes it more fun.
Since you are making a tool, wobble might not be appropriate to use as a product name in this case.
Two good words I can think of that might correspond to the ~ symbol would be ripple or corkscrew. Either one puts forth a more positive image.
To help provide a modern contextual background in support of the name Wobble, I want to highlight that the word wobble has actually received a significant positive connotation in certain cultural subsets. Most famously in the past decade (and underground for a decade and change before that) a genre of music has been evolving that actually centers around something called a "bass wobble".
You may have heard of Dubstep, and may or may not find it annoying or intolerable, but that is neither here nor there. The point is that a large section of the population has a very positive emotional affect to the word wobble and to them it typically elicits good feelings, happiness, and perhaps even euphoria. On that grounds, I believe that the word wobble is about as good a choice for a development tool as windows or apple is for an operating system.
After all, though a table can wobble, a person can be defenestrated, and Eve or the wicked stepmother can ruin your life with an apple, so who's to say which is positive and which is negative?