Developers are bad at naming, especially C++ developers like me. Naming well is a learned skill: you can learn it, and start to name better right away. In this talk, I'll tell you why names matter, what benefits a good name can bring, and how to be better at naming. I'll discuss some categories of names and some common decisions within those categories. I'm not going to give you a set of rules to follow: this is about thinking and considering the meaning of the things you are naming. I will give you some questions to ask yourself and some structure that I use to help me to help those who read what I write. I'll also address renaming things in existing (legacy) code, why and when to do it, and why getting it right the first time may not even be a realistic goal. You should be a lot more confident naming things after we spend this time together. ------- Kate Gregory has been using C++ for over thirty years. She writes, teaches, mentors, codes, and leads projects, primarily in C++. Kate is a Visual C++ MVP, has written over a dozen books, and speaks at conferences and user groups around the world. Kate develops courses on C++, Visual Studio, and Windows programming for Pluralsight, is active on over a dozen StackExchange sites, blogs infrequently, and is happy to be part of C++ Twitter and the #include Discord server. ------- C++ on Sea is an annual c++ and coding conference, usually held in Folkestone, Kent in the UK. The 2020 conference was moved to a virtual event due to social distancing requirements. Produced and Edited by Digital Medium Ltd: https://events.digital-medium.co.uk/ Enquiries: events@digital-medium.co.uk