[Babcock_Hall]

I would like to name some new compounds with common names.  I want to be as systematic and consistent as possible.  Are there guidelines or instructions on how to do so somewhere?  I realize that one could use IUPAC names, but I was trying not to, for the time being.

[sjb]

For what purpose are you wanting these new names? Do they need to be eg human or machine read? Is something like BH-AAAAA1-A useful?

[Babcock_Hall]

As a general rule, I find common names can bring a picture of the structure into my mind more easily than the IUPAC names.

[hollytara]

Think about the ones you know - sometimes it is what it looks like (cubane) or where it came from (toluene). 

But you can call it "Babs" if you like!

[Babcock_Hall]

There are some molecules that we are making that are glycosides on one end and phosphonates on the other.  On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I want to name them as glycosides.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I want to name them as phosphonates.  Plus there is a sulfide or sulfone in the middle.  I am trying to generate names that students can use in research reports that give some indication of the functional groups without becoming cumbersome.

[Babcock_Hall]

I have the impression that I am not making my point clearly.  Let us take an IUPAC name as an example:  [(2R,3R,4S,5R,6R)-3,4,5-tris(acetyloxy)-6-(3-bromopropoxy)oxan-2-yl]methyl acetate. If I did not know that this is a glucopyranoside, the name would not have pointed me in that direction.

[sjb]

Do all your molecules have the same core? Perhaps you could have semisystematic names like 1-methylsufonyl-3-galacto babcockhallerane (or similar)?

[Babcock_Hall]

Semi-systematic names are what I need for research reports and talks (we also use system of identifying compounds by the page number of the laboratory notebook where they appear).  In one series of compounds, all are glycosides and some are phosphonates, for example.  The ones which are both glycosides and phosphonates are tricky.  If I wanted to name them as derivatives of glycosides, what should I do about the phosphonate?