Oak City wouldn't appeal to me, and I'm just over in Chapel Hill. Any potential team needs to take advantage of the growing sprawl outside of the cit limits and not confine itself to one city. Carolina United would require that the team make some effort in SC which they may not, and DC kinda has that one. Airborne ain't my favorite, but I'd get used to it. I like Railhawks because I currently like the Railhawks, but if they ever moved it wouldn't work as well. I'll still go Hawks though.
how about Never Gunna Happen FC. be happy you have a strong healthy NASL side. Raliegh/Durham, Charlotte, nor anywhere else in NC or SC is going to get an MLS team in a 24 team league. Atlanta is the only viable SE city (not including FL) and once an MLS team is there the league has the market covered. Add at least one or maybe 2 FL teams and the league will be fine.
What about Crescent Carolina, Carolina Crescent, or Carolina Crescents... you can even add the FC if you like to make it more Euroish... Crescent Carolina FC has a nice ring to it, and it's applicable for a lot of reasons. First off, South Carolina... I'd almost swear that 99.9% of the population has at least one picture of their flag with the crescent moon and palmetto somewhere. South Carolinians love that symbol. Secondly, it is even more applicable to North Carolina given the Piedmont Crescent that connects the three major metro areas: Metrolina, Triad, and Triangle.
One of the top Academy clubs near me is NC Fusion and I've always liked that name. NC Fusion FC Fusion FC Carolina Fusion FC Our Hockey team gets a lot of a support, and I think we are a pretty good soccer loving state as well. I see no reason why we couldn't support a MLS team preferably in Raleigh.
I don't mind it, but it's also the name of a contracted MLS team (however, it's also the name of what appears a well-run PDL side, Ventura County Fusion). I don't care for Railhawks, but Hawks is OK. It really depends where this team is. Triangle? Charlotte? Triad? Upstate SC? An SC suburb of Charlotte (isn't CLT on the SC border)? They all have different cultures/histories/etc.
If there ever is one it'd probably be in NC. So what about Airborne FC? Lotta history behind that and kind of has the uniqueness of Arsenal FC's name.
Possibly. What I also like is Pilots, even though most famously it is the University of Portland's nickname. And in their case, it has some sea-related use.
I was thinking "Charlotte Town Association Football Club" or "Charlotte Town w/wo the AFC/FC". Of course going with the hometown due to central location and the name allows them to basically keep their current branding, nicknames, and colors if the owners wanted to while also playing off of the cities original name (Charlottetown).