A contest to name Washington State University’s new apple variety drew more than 15,000 entries, and a winner could be announced this summer.

“I thought we might get a few thousand responses. To get 15,000, it’s really tremendous,” said Jeremy Tamsen, director of innovation and commercialization for WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences.

The university didn’t set a goal for how many name proposals it wanted for the new apple, known as WA 64 for the time being. “We only need one good one,” Tamsen said.

The contest, which lasted about a month, ended May 5. Many responses came from people within the apple industry, and have rich background and context.

“We have some that are silly, some that are very heartfelt and quite delightful. I know we’re going to be able to find something really good we can use as the name from this contest,” Tamsen said.

Next steps in process

Short lists of five names each will be created by Kate Evans, a WSU horticulture professor in charge of the university’s apple breeding program; Bruce Barrett, WSU’s former apple breeder; the WSU Office of Commercialization; and the ag college’s Office of Research.

“I anticipate we’ll have some likely overlap out of 20,” Tamsen said.

The short lists, due June 28, will be vetted to ensure names are not already trademarked, used in another way commercially, or don’t translate into something negative in other languages.

A group will whittle those selections down to five names for multiple focus group studies, which are tentatively scheduled for mid-July.

“It’s a lot to work through. It’s a lot of information. Going from 15,000 to five is going to be a tough process,” Tamsen said.

The university plans to

announce a new name and

the contest winner in mid-August.

New apple’s backstory

WA 64 was created more than 25 years ago in Wenatchee by WSU researchers who took pollen from Cripps Pink — better known as the trademarked Pink Lady apple — and added it to a single Honeycrisp flower. The pink-hued apple has outstanding eating and storage qualities and was selected for the fresh market. WA 64 is firm, crisp and juicy, with a balance of tart and sweet flavors.

Trees will be widely available to growers in 2026, with the apple itself reaching grocery stores in 2029. The new apple’s release follows the successful launch in 2019 of Cosmic Crisp, a cross of Enterprise and Honeycrisp.

Cosmic Crisp ranked eighth in the U.S. for apple production in 2023.

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