Washington’s NFL franchise took to national television Wednesday to announce its new nickname — the Washington Commanders, a name that hearkens to D.C.’s military and political ties — a public unveiling of a decision that team officials settled on last fall.

The process began 18 months ago, when the team announced that after 87 years it would no longer be known as the Redskins, and involved input ranging from fans’ suggestions to co-CEO Tanya Snyder’s opinions on uniform design….As the franchise played two full seasons as the Washington Football Team, officials whittled a list of 1,200 potential names to three finalists, each of which was put through an extensive vetting process before the final decision was made.