OC Blues owner files trademarks on four new names

When it was announced James Keston was the Orange County Blues’ new majority owner, it was also announced the USL club would be going through a rebrand of some sort.

Those rebrand plans are starting to take shape, as Jordan Gardner, president of NorCal PDL side Burlingame Dragons, noted on Twitter on Monday and Tuesday that trademarks have been filed on new team names for the Blues.

Gardner’s report is easily verified, as a search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark database shows all four names registered, with James Keston as the individual listed on all four applications, dated Nov. 1, 2016. It should be noted none of the applications for the four names includes any visual elements at this point.

So it looks like these are the four options for a new name — out with the Blues and in with the FCOC (FCoOC?) or OCFC, either in English or Spanish.

It has been previously promised the club’s rebrand will come “with significant fan input,” so it’s quite possible that could come in the next several weeks. Whether that input will be solicited privately, with the small number of 2016 season ticket holders, or encompass a larger campaign with the public, remains to be seen. Obviously fan input has been used quite a bit for pro soccer team branding in recent years, but the method of obtaining it (and the weight with which it is used) has varied.

Regardless, we’ll continue to follow the story as it develops. What do you think? Leave a comment below!