The phrase "an effort to name" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing attempts to identify or label something, often in a context of analysis or description.
Example: "The researchers made an effort to name the various species they encountered during their expedition."
Alternatives: "a attempt to identify" or "an endeavor to label".
As part of her anti-pedophile campaign, she printed photographs of convicted sex offenders in an effort to "name and shame" them.
In an effort to "name and shame" the accused politicians, the report includes their names and political parties and details the charges against them.
So if the courts make an effort to name misbehaving prosecutors, it creates a way for the public, judges and defense attorneys to know which ones are acting unethically.
We made an effort to name similar products similarly.
This comes at a time when a grassroots effort to name the Williamsburg Bridge in his honor has been gaining steam.
Mr. Pitt was forced to resign last month after a disastrous effort to name the head of a new accounting oversight board, a decision at the heart of efforts to improve corporate governance following scandals from Enron to WorldCom.
His suit against Mr. Saxena claims that his former business partner is trying to remove his board designee and thwart his effort to name a director.
They have an impressive team that includes the former head of AdSense analytics at Google, the former head of search at Yahoo and the former lead for Oracle's BI in the cloud effort, to name just a few.
To be completely honest, I didn't make an effort to note the name of the artist.
President Francesco Cossiga, acknowledging that efforts to name a new government were deadlocked, appointed a mediator today to untangle deepening political disputes over who should succeed Bettino Craxi as Prime Minister.
In making the so-called recess appointment, which bypasses the Senate confirmation process temporarily, Mr. Clinton complained that Republicans had blocked his efforts to name an African-American to the court.
