This article argues that list names reflect specific electoral dynamics and different concep-tions of local politics. Based on an original dataset collected during the 2012 local elections in Wallonia, it classifies all local lists in 14 categories based on their official names. We show that opting for a label is not a product of chance but emphasizes specific conceptions of local politics. More specifically, three stakes can be distinguished: the nature of local politics – different vs. similar to other levels of government –, the nature of local lists – partisan and ideological vs. non-partisan –, the nature of local candidates – professionalized politicians vs. amateur citizens. The results presented in this article demonstrate that the choice of the name reflects different positions related to these three trade-offs. This choice is explained by a combination of macro variables (municipality characteristics), meso variables (party com-petition) and micro variables (list and candidates characteristics).