ELKHART – After months of speculation and social media polls, the votes were in Tuesday night and Elkhart’s school merger will have a new name.

Elkhart High School, home of the Lions.

The final decision was revealed Tuesday night, also citing the school colors will be blue and gold, pulling blue from Elkhart Central and gold from Elkhart Memorial, the two schools involved in the merger that will begin with the fall of 2020.

More than 800 naming suggestions were given, which were narrowed down to a final five from which the school board chose Elkhart High School. The mascot was a play off the Mangy Lion, the trophy given to the winner of the annual Central-Memorial football game, but the negative connotation of ‘Mangy’ was pulled from the final product.

A logo and branding for the new school was not released Tuesday, but will be issued in the near future.

The new Elkhart High School will join the Northern Indiana Conference, to which both Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial were members through 2002. An estimated 3,300 students for the new school is too big, per officials with the Northern Lakes Conference where Memorial is currently a resident. The NLC has not named a replacement school for Memorial as of this spring.