Why was the ming dynasty called ming?

Answer 1

Ming means brilliant in Chinese. Hongwu named this dynasty "brilliant" because he wanted to show case Chinese society after the Mongol expulsion and erase all memory that the occupation had ever occured. So the Ming Dynasty = the Brilliant Dynasty.

(Add on:　it's not just because Ming means bright, but because it comes from the Ming religion. In the last years of Yuan Dynasty, there were floods from Yellow River and earthquake and the government was corrupted. The natural disasters were thought as a 'message from sky'. The religion of Ming was basically about the world made up of good and evil (bright and dark), when dark time comes, a 'ming' king will appear. Hongwu Emperor believed he was the ming king, so the dynasty was called 'Ming'. )

P.S. Most of the other dynasties were named after a place, or a title the emperor was given when they were a warlord.

Answer 2

The founder of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuan Zhang, was a part of a rebel army that is under the authority of Manichaeists. His given title was "Left Marshall of the King of Ming". Ming means bright is Chinese and here is a religious title. After he overthrew the Yuan he named the dynasty Ming, after the Manichaeism religion.