The Apprentice: Worst team names revealed
Over 2,800 people were quizzed to see if they knew the meaning of previous team names on The Apprentice
· Connexus and Eclipse were the most confusing with only 26% getting it right
· More than one in 20 thought Typhoon was named after a brand of tea
· Can you decipher the corporate jargon of team names on The Apprentice?
Every year the team name selection on the Apprentice is a hot topic on social media, with many quick to judge or jeer the choices. With this year’s team names now finally revealed – Empower and Unison – people seem less than impressed on Twitter, but are they the worst names the show has seen?
Now, research has revealed which of the 28 former team names on The Apprentice are the most confusing, after 2,811 people were quizzed by Unhooked Communications to see if they could correctly define the words used in the team identities.
‘Connexus’ was one of the most confusing team names, with only 26 per cent knowing it was Latin for ‘a connecting structure’. ‘Eclipse’ also proved difficult to understand, with 26 per cent of people correctly guessing the definition of ‘when something becomes less important’.
Less than half (46 per cent) knew ‘venture’ was something that involved risk and just over half (57 per cent) knew Apollo was a God of music, poetry, light, prophecy and various other titles.
When it came to Team Graphene, 60 per cent knew it as the word for of carbon in a single atom, but 9 per cent thought it was a computer programme made to use graphs and 3 per cent thought it was magazine dedicated to graphic design.
The majority (83 per cent) knew Team Typhoon was named after a violent storm with strong circular winds, but 6 per cent thought it was a tea brand and 11 per cent didn’t think it was a real word at all.
With some of the words offering surprising definitions, it begs the question if the candidates themselves even truly understand the words they’re using for their brand.
Claire Gamble, MD of Unhooked Communications, which carried out the research, said: “The Apprentice is brilliant entertainment, but it doesn’t always portray the realities of running a business. It’s always funny watching the teams try to come up with their names and so often get criticised for being too literal, overly complicated or just plain cringeworthy. But that’s the joy of the show, you don’t need to be a business or marketing expert to have an opinion and it highlights just how some seemingly ‘easy’ jobs – like coming up with a brand name – are actually more difficult than you first think. We can’t wait to hear the associated gags Lord Sugar comes up with too.”
| The most confusing team names ranked | ||
| Team name | Definition | Who got it right? |
| Connexus | A connecting structure | 26% |
| Eclipse | When something becomes less important | 26% |
| Venture | An activity involving risk | 46% |
| Apollo | A god connected to things like music | 57% |
| Graphene | A form of carbon in a single atom | 60% |
| Synergy | The power of a group working together | 65% |
| Titans | Someone who is clever, important or strong | 67% |
| Summit | The highest point of a mountain | 68% |
| Sterling | A precious metal of particular purity | 68% |
| Forte | The ability to do something well | 68% |
| Tenacity | A determination to keep doing something | 71% |
| Renaissance | A growth of interest in art or music | 72% |
| Nebular | A cloud of dust or gas in outer space | 75% |
| Invicta | Undeafeted | 75% |
| Endeavor | To try to do something | 80% |
| Collaborative | To work together with someone else | 81% |
| Typhoon | A violent storm with strong circular wins | 83% |
| Logic | A way of thinking based on good judgement | 85% |
| Impact | The force of an object hitting another | 85% |
| Stealth | A quiet, careful action to avoid attention | 86% |
| Evolve | To develop gradually | 88% |
| Empire | A large organisation | 89% |
| Versatile | To easily be used for different purposes | 90% |
| Alpha | A Greek letter | 90% |
| Phoenix | A mythical bird able to regenerate through flame | 91% |
| Veolicty | The speed at which an object travels | 91% |
| Vitality | Energy and strength | 93% |
| Ignite | To cause something to start burning | 96% |
| Team name | Definition | Answers |
| Typhoon | A violent storm with strong circular wins | 83% |
| Not a word | 11% | |
| A brand of tea drank in the UK | 6% | |
| A disease causing high temperatures and pains | 0% | |
| Collaborative | To work together with someone else | 81% |
| Not a word | 19% | |
| A shape resembling a collarbone | 0% | |
| Something that goes around the neck | 0% | |
| Vitality | Energy and strength | 93% |
| Not a word | 5% | |
| Necessary and important | 1% | |
| Sad and lonely | 1% | |
| Graphene | A form of carbon in a single atom | 60% |
| Not a word | 28% | |
| A computer programme made to use graphs | 9% | |
| A magazine focused on graphic design | 3% | |
| Titans | Someone who is clever, important or strong | 67% |
| A light, strong metal chemical element | 18% | |
| Not a word | 12% | |
| A boat that sinks | 3% | |
| Nebular | A cloud of dust or gas in outer space | 75% |
| The outer bone of the lower leg | 10% | |
| Not a word | 10% | |
| An unclear or vague idea | 5% | |
| Versatile | To easily be used for different purposes | 90% |
| To know a lot about a certain topic | 8% | |
| To write something in the form of poetry | 2% | |
| Not a word | 0% | |
| Connexus | Not a word | 50% |
| A connecting structure | 26% | |
| A computer programme or software | 21% | |
| Having a close relationship with people | 3% | |
| Summit | The highest point of a mountain | 68% |
| Slang term used meaning ‘something’ | 18% | |
| To order someone to come to a place | 9% | |
| Not a word | 5% | |
| Tenacity | A determination to keep doing something | 71% |
| To rent and live in a building | 16% | |
| Not a word | 13% | |
| A fear or phobia of the number 10 | 0% | |
| Evolve | To develop gradually | 88% |
| Not a word | 6% | |
| To move around a central point or ilne | 4% | |
| To solve a problem or difficulty | 2% | |
| Endeavor | To try to do something | 80% |
| Not a word | 15% | |
| To love or care for someone | 5% | |
| Not a word | 0% | |
| Sterling | A precious metal of particular purity | 68% |
| Not a word | 15% | |
| Something free from bacteria | 9% | |
| A common bird with dark feathers | 8% | |
| Phoenix | An imaginary bird that sets itself on fire | 91% |
| Not a word | 5% | |
| An arched structure in the body | 4% | |
| Someone who really dislikes something | 0% | |
| Venture | An activity that involves risk | 46% |
| An exciting trip | 46% | |
| Not a word | 8% | |
| The invention of something new | 0% | |
| Logic | A way of thinking based on good judgement | 85% |
| A name you enter to use a computer | 8% | |
| Not a word | 5% | |
| An act of cutting down trees for wood | 2% | |
| Apollo | A god connected to things like music | 57% |
| Not a word | 19% | |
| A person who supports and defends something | 17% | |
| The greek word for sorry | 7% | |
| Ignite | To cause something to start burning | 96% |
| To run lava into rock | 3% | |
| Not a word | 1% | |
| To make a disappearing worry grow stronger | 0% | |
| Alpha | A greek letter | 90% |
| Not a word | 6% | |
| A Greek animal | 4% | |
| A Greek dish | 0% | |
| Stealth | A quiet, careful action to avoid attention | 86% |
| A strong worry about health | 6% | |
| Not a word | 5% | |
| The act of stealing someone’s limelight | 3% | |
| Veolicty | The speed an object travels at | 91% |
| A track for bicylce racing with curved sides | 4% | |
| Used to describe the texture of velvet | 4% | |
| Not a word | 1% | |
| Forte | The ability to do something well | 68% |
| Not a word | 13% | |
| A military building designed to defend | 11% | |
| The ability to judge the future | 9% | |
| Synergy | The power of a group working together | 65% |
| Not a word | 21% | |
| Words that are similar | 13% | |
| When people meet to discuss religion | 1% | |
| Empire | A large organisation | 89% |
| A large building | 6% | |
| Not a word | 3% | |
| To buy or get something | 2% | |
| Renaissance | A growth of interest in art or music | 72% |
| Not a word | 18% | |
| A type of fashion with lots of frills | 10% | |
| A rich and successful person | 0% | |
| Eclipse | A circular shape | 43% |
| When something becomes less important | 26% | |
| Not a word | 22% | |
| A meteor shower | 9% | |
| Invicta | Undeafeted | 75% |
| Undecided | 15% | |
| Not a word | 10% | |
| Uninvited | 0% | |
| Impact | The force of an object hitting another | 85% |
| Not a word | 10% | |
| To make an agreement between two people | 5% | |
| An object that comes wrapped in packaging | 0% | |