MLS Atlanta team name suggestions (and poll)

Apr 16, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Team owner Arthur Blank celebrates with fan Jacob Austin of Atlanta during the announcement of an MLS expansion team in Atlanta. The event was held at Ventanas. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

Last week we found out that the city of Atlanta would be getting an MLS expansion team, but owner Arthur Blank announced that the team name, color scheme and logo would be all up to the fans.

Because of that, naturally, we decided that it would be cool to throw around some name suggestions for the newest team in Atlanta and start some discussion on what would fit best for the city, what sounds the coolest, what would offer the best logos or what might offer the biggest laugh.

To kick things off, we’ll start with the always classy Brad Rowland.

Brad Rowland (@BTRowland):

"Atlanta FC is my pick for the name. Yes, that’s boring, but with the less-than-stable footing that the MLS has in much of the sports community, taking a swing at a name that becomes a joke could be bad for everyone. Give me the classic feel of this (boring) name and let the product and the Arthur Blank machine do the work."

Brad had to steal my thunder.

Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo):

"While I was going to go with Atlanta FC for my name, I’ve decided that it’s a good thing that Brad beat me to the punch. After much deliberation (seriously, I did a full MLS team name search, looked up legit EPL teams and even did some extensive Wikipedia research) I have realized that the obvious choice is much more elegant and classy: FC Atlanta.The reasoning:1) The Atlanta Falcons are “technically” the Atlanta Falcons Football Club, so Atlanta FC is just too close for my taste.2) Atlanta SC (soccer club) is ridiculous.3) FC Atlanta flows off the tongue much more smoothly.But seriously, I like FC Atlanta because it sounds like a good team. Manchester United and Real Madrid have boring names but they kick but every year. There’s a reason no one’s ever heard of the San Jose Earthquakes. The name is lame. FC Atlanta all the way."

Fletcher Keel (@FletchTopper):

"I’ve been saying all along that it should be one of two options.1.) Atlanta United – it follows the desire of many of the Atlanta fans to adopt a traditional European soccer name, as well breaks away from the bounty of ‘FCs’ in the MLS (FC Dallas, Sounders FC, Red Bulls FC, New York City FC, etc.) and rival DC United as the only team in the league with that moniker.My second suggestion, and the one I am a bigger fan of, is to call the team Atlanta Phoenix. It embraces the spirit of the official symbol of the city as the mythological bird that rises from the ashes, much like the city did after Sherman burned it to the ground. I can’t go into much more detail than that, except to say I think it’d be one of the most unique names in all of sports, and would fit the color scheme of red black and yellow/gold nicely."

Han Vance (@hanvance):

"ATLiens or Atlanta Hustle, aka The Hustle*I do like Atlanta United"

Ben Pace (@BentheCPA): 

"The Atlanta Gridlock"

Now we’ll list several of the recommended names on the official name suggestion forum for the new club:

• “Phoenix” (this one is pretty popular)
• “Pigeons”
• “Terminus FC Express”
• “SC Atlanta” (lame)
• “Atlanta Legion FC”
• “Rising”
• “Atlanta Locomotive” (what?)
• “Atlanta Knights”
• “I’m not a very creative guy but I’m pretty much fine with any name that doesn’t have “FC” in it. That just seems way too contrived” (umm… the uncreative people should be crazy about names with FC in it. Standard as it gets)
• “Atlanta Dragons” (lol)
• “Firebirds”

Feel free to vote on your favorite name recommendation or write in your own thoughts about the MLS Atlanta team name in the comments below.