A NAME WORTHY OF A TRANSFORMATIONAL VISION
From the outset, the Crown Prince and Chairman of the NEOM Board, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, led discussions with the Founding Board, experts and specialists to define a name worthy of a project with global ambition. From the Board’s earliest meetings, the name was treated as a core expression of NEOM’s identity, one that reflects its universal outlook, human dimension and cultural significance. The ambition was clear: the name had to embody the future the project was designed to create. This is how NEOM came into being. Conceived from the future, shaped by its founder’s vision, and defined by progress, change and possibility.
NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED
The name designation journey began by defining criteria, qualities and conditions, all of which bear a clear and firm vision for selection; then, sorting and testing the lists of names proposed by the consulting team. The list included 2,000 names, which was further reduced to 150 names, and then reduced again to five names. However, none of them was chosen or agreed upon.
During the Founding Board discussions, some members considered giving the project the name of HRH, the President of the Founding Board, either directly or by incorporating his name within the project name. As such, two names were suggested: "NEOVIA MBS" and "NMBS," but the opinions of the members were split. They did, however, support HRH's principal idea that the name should be neither Eastern nor Western, and also not belonging to a specific language or culture, in addition to being neutral and rather open to the entire world.
A SUM OF ALL ITS PARTS
The Board members then brainstormed for words representing the project sectors and its basic pillars. What followed was choosing the initials of those sectors and merging them to obtain a distinctive name that preserves the identity of the project, and this resulted in the name "NEO MSTACBEL," whose initials MSTACBEL symbolize the main project sectors, such as Media, Sport, Technology and Energy. And then the word was abbreviated and symbolized by the letter M, meaning "Mim" in Arabic as a symbol for two words: It is the first letter of the Arabic word for future (mustaqbal) and also the first letter of the name of HRH Prince "Mohammed" bin Salman. Then the letter "M" was merged with the word "NEO" from the Greek language, which means new, to form the name that constitutes the beacon of change in the world. The name "NEOM" was henceforth formed and agreed upon unanimously by the Board.
THE TRUE REFLECTION OF A VISION
Thus, the name NEOM was formed with the approval and endorsement of the Founding Board as the official name of the project; a true reflection of NEOM’s vision and the reality that will be achieved - Allah willing - to contribute to building a promising future for future generations. From that moment on, the lights of NEOM have pierced the sky, heralding a luminous dawn, a promising future, and a rich life in a land built by man for the sake of all humanity.