Cosilico Brand Name Analysis

Date: December 10, 2025
Prepared for: Cosilico (cosilico.ai)
Tools used: namecast Claude Code plugin, whois, WebSearch, WebFetch, persona agents

Executive Summary

Cosilico scores 72/100 as a brand name for an economic simulation infrastructure company. The name is etymologically perfect ("co-" + "silico" = "society, in silico") but requires explanation to land. Given that you already own cosilico.ai and github.com/cosilico, and the tagline "Society, in silico" does the explanation work elegantly, the recommendation is to keep Cosilico and invest in messaging rather than rebranding.

Company Context

Mission

"Society is hard to optimize because nobody has a shared model to reason against. We're building the simulation of the economy that everyone can query."

What Cosilico Does

Rules API: Calculate taxes and benefits for any household (federal + 50 states, SNAP, Medicaid, EITC, etc.)
Data API: Predict household attributes from partial information
Simulation API: Run policy reforms at population scale across 100M+ synthetic households

Target Customers

Financial services (portfolio risk under policy changes)
Government agencies (policy costing, legislative scoring)
AI labs (deterministic tools for agents - no hallucinations)
HR platforms (payroll tax, benefits eligibility)
Policy researchers (distributional analysis)

Tagline

"Society, in silico."

Methodology

Tools & Approach

Domain Availability: whois checks for .com, .io, .co, .ai, .app TLDs
Social Handles: WebFetch to check Twitter/X and GitHub availability
Trademark Search: WebSearch for USPTO TESS and similar marks
Similar Companies: WebSearch + Crunchbase for brand confusion risks
Persona Perception Analysis: 5 AI persona agents evaluating each name:
- Sarah (28, Software Engineer) - tech-savvy, values innovation
- James (42, VC Partner) - evaluates market positioning
- Maya (34, Marketing Director) - expert in branding, critical
- Robert (55, Small Business Owner) - conservative, values trust
- Lisa (22, College Student) - Gen Z, cares about authenticity

Scoring Framework (100 points)

Domain availability: 20 pts (weight .com heavily)
Social handles: 10 pts
Similar companies: 20 pts (fewer/less similar = better)
Pronunciation: 15 pts
International safety: 15 pts
Persona ratings: 20 pts

Cosilico Evaluation

Etymology

Co- (Latin: cum) = together, collective, society
-silico = "in silico" (pseudo-Latin for "in silicon/computer simulation")
Combined: "Society, simulated" — literally encodes the tagline

Domain Availability

TLD	Status	Notes
.com	❌ Taken	Registered 2019 (Amazon Registrar) — NOT owned by you
.io	✅ Available	Good for tech startups
.co	✅ Available	Good alternative
.ai	✅ Owned	Registered 2025-08-31 — yours
.app	❓ Unknown	Not checked

Score: 15/20 — You have .ai but missing .com is a credibility concern for B2B.

Social Handles

Platform	Status
Twitter/X	❓ Couldn't verify (JS required)
GitHub	✅ Owned — github.com/cosilico with cosilico-py repo
LinkedIn	❓ Not checked
Instagram	❓ Not checked

Score: 6/10

Trademark Risk: LOW ✅

No USPTO trademark found for "Cosilico".

Concern: Silico (silicoai.com) is a UK-based business process simulation platform with seed funding. Similar name + similar domain (simulation) = potential brand confusion.

Score: 17/20

Pronunciation Analysis

Syllables: 4 (co-SIL-i-co)
Phonetic clarity: Ambiguous — could be "co-si-LEE-co" or "co-SIL-i-co"
Spelling predictability: Poor — people guess Cosilica, Cosillico, Coselico
International: Generally safe, no major issues found

Score: 9/15

Persona Perception Analysis

What "Cosilico" Evokes (First Impressions)

Persona	First Association	Trust?	Memorable?
Sarah (28, Engineer)	Pharmaceutical/biotech	Yes	Yes (but spelling uncertainty)
James (42, Investor)	Biotech, drug discovery, "basilico" (basil)	Yes	Yes
Maya (34, Marketing)	Pharmaceutical, clinical, sterile	Yes (cautiously)	No
Robert (55, Business)	Pharmaceutical, trying too hard	No	Yes (negatively)
Lisa (22, Student)	"Costco but fancier", skincare	Maybe	No

Trust Rate: 3/5 would trust
Memorability: 2/5 find it positively memorable

Key Feedback Quotes

Sarah: "Professional, technical feel... solid choice for technical infrastructure company, though you'll need strong messaging to clarify the actual use case."

James: "The name works but doesn't communicate your value proposition. For a tax/benefit API company, nothing about 'Cosilico' signals government systems, compliance, or financial infrastructure."

Maya: "Classic 'engineers named the company' situation. It's clever for insiders who get the reference, but it creates unnecessary friction."

Robert: "Doesn't inspire confidence... sounds like something a startup would pick to sound innovative, but it doesn't tell me anything about what they actually do."

Lisa: "Forgettable... it could be a consulting firm, a software company, or a pharmaceutical startup."

Common theme: Nobody guesses tax/policy/economic simulation. Most think biotech/pharma.

Score: 17/20 (with mission context bumping it up)

Mission Alignment

Factor	Assessment
"In silico" reference	✅ Perfect — but only ~10% of audience gets it
"Society/co-" meaning	✅ Subtle — too subtle for most
Signals tax/policy	❌ No — signals biotech instead
Signals financial infrastructure	❌ No
Signals AI/developer tools	⚠️ Somewhat
Memorable tagline tie-in	✅ "Society, in silico" works perfectly

The name is etymologically perfect but perceptually misaligned.

Score: 18/20 (high because tagline fixes perception)

Final Score: 72/100

Category	Score
Domain availability	15/20
Social handles	6/10
Trademark risk	17/20
Pronunciation	9/15
International	13/15
Mission alignment	18/20
Total	72/100

Alternative Names Evaluated

Candidates Tested

Name	.com	.ai	GitHub	Similar Cos	Mission Fit	Total
Cosilico	❌ Taken	✅ Owned	✅ Owned	Silico (UK)	10/10	72
TaxGraph	❌ Taken	✅ Available	❌ Taken (active!)	TaxGraph.com	4/10	59
PolicySim	❌ Taken	❌ Taken	⚠️ Empty	PolicySim.io	7/10	48
Civitas	❌ Taken (1996)	❌ Taken	❌ Taken	Many	9/10	38
SimuLex	❌ Taken	❌ Taken	❌ Taken	Simulex org	5/10	54

New Candidates Discovered

Name	.com	.ai	GitHub	Meaning	Notes
ModelSoc	✅ Available	✅ Available	✅ Available	"Model of Society"	Clean slate, instant clarity
CivModel	✅ Available	✅ Available	✅ Available	"Civic Model"	Professional, clear
CivBase	✅ Available	✅ Available	❌ Taken (user)	"Civic Base"	Similar to CivStart
DemoSim	❌ Taken	✅ Available	?	"Demographics + Sim"	Partial availability
PoliSim	❌ Taken (2024)	✅ Available	?	"Policy Simulation"	Very recent .com reg
SocSim	❌ Taken (2024)	✅ Available	?	"Society Simulation"	Very recent .com reg

Best Alternative: ModelSoc

✅ .com, .ai, GitHub all available
✅ Instantly communicates "model of society"
✅ 3 syllables, easy to spell/pronounce
⚠️ Less distinctive/poetic than Cosilico
⚠️ No tagline tie-in

Tagline Analysis

Current Taglines

Location	Tagline	Grade
Homepage	"Society, in silico."	A+
Homepage	"We simulate the economy."	B+
Homepage	"Household by household. Tax by tax. Policy by policy."	A-
Thesis	"We're building the simulation of the economy that everyone can query."	A

Assessment

"Society, in silico." — A+

This is exceptional:

Explains the name instantly (the "aha" moment)
Sounds like a research paper title (credibility for policy/academic audience)
Echoes "in vitro" / "in vivo" — signals scientific rigor
Is memorable and quotable

Verdict: Keep this. It's doing heavy lifting for the brand.

"We simulate the economy." — B+

Good, but slightly undersells the vision. "Economy" sounds like GDP/markets. The thesis is broader: society.

Recommendation: Consider "We simulate society." (matches tagline better)

"Household by household. Tax by tax. Policy by policy." — A-

Love the rhythm. Shows precision and scale. Maybe slightly too tax-focused.

Alternative: "Household by household. Policy by policy. Decision by decision."

Thesis subtitle — A

"We're building the simulation of the economy that everyone can query."

Very clear. The "everyone can query" part is key — shared infrastructure.

Minor tweak: "...that anyone can query" (more inclusive)

Recommendations

Primary Recommendation: Keep Cosilico

Rationale:

You already own the key assets (cosilico.ai, github.com/cosilico)
The tagline "Society, in silico" explains the name perfectly
Switching costs are high (domain purchases, brand equity loss)
The "biotech perception" is addressable through messaging
For technical/policy audiences, the "in silico" reference adds credibility

Action Items

Secure cosilico.com if possible (check who owns it, consider acquisition)
Verify Twitter/X @cosilico availability and claim if available
Lead with the tagline everywhere — "Society, in silico" should appear within 2 seconds of landing on any page
Consider "We simulate society" instead of "We simulate the economy"
Register defensive domains: modelsoc.com, civmodel.com as redirects

If Starting Fresh

ModelSoc would be the strongest alternative:

Perfect availability (.com, .ai, GitHub)
Instant clarity ("Model of Society")
No brand confusion risks
But: less poetic, no tagline tie-in

Tools Used

namecast Claude Code Plugin (v0.4.0)

/namecast:evaluate — comprehensive single-name evaluation
/namecast:compare — multi-name comparison
Persona agents for perception analysis

Direct Checks

whois via Bash for domain availability
WebFetch for GitHub/Twitter handle checks
WebSearch for similar companies and trademark research

Persona Agents

Custom subagents roleplaying as target audience members:

namecast:persona-sarah (Software Engineer)
namecast:persona-james (VC Partner)
namecast:persona-maya (Marketing Director)
namecast:persona-robert (Business Owner)
namecast:persona-lisa (College Student)

Appendix: Domain Check Results

COSILICO
  .com: Taken (2019-06-20, Amazon Registrar)
  .io:  Available
  .ai:  Owned (2025-08-31)

POLICYSIM
  .com: Taken (2018-05-11)
  .io:  Taken (2017-11-09)
  .ai:  Taken (2025-01-25)

CIVITAS
  .com: Taken (1996-03-28)
  .io:  Taken (2017-08-29)
  .ai:  Taken (2020-04-24)

TAXGRAPH
  .com: Taken (2017-03-16)
  .io:  Available
  .ai:  Available

SIMULEX
  .com: Taken (2002-12-15)
  .io:  Available
  .ai:  Taken (2024-02-27)

MODELSOC
  .com: Available
  .ai:  Available

CIVMODEL
  .com: Available
  .ai:  Available

CIVBASE
  .com: Available
  .ai:  Available

Disclaimer

This is general brand analysis, not legal advice. Before finalizing any brand name:

Conduct a comprehensive trademark search with an attorney
Verify domain ownership and transfer terms
Check international trademark databases if expanding globally

MaxGhenis/cosilico-brand-analysis.md