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Questions & Answers about Wie ist der Name?
Why do we use Wie (how) instead of Was (what) here?
In English, we ask "What is the name?", but German literally asks "How is the name?". When asking for someone's identity details like a name, an address, or a phone number, German always uses Wie instead of Was.
Why does the sentence use der (the) instead of a word for "your"?
Using the definite article der makes this a common phrase in customer service. A receptionist or someone on the phone will often ask Wie ist der Name? to mean "What is the name for this reservation or account?" rather than asking "What is your name?" directly.
Why does the verb ist come right after Wie?
In German W-questions (questions starting with a question word), the verb always takes the second position. The structure here is very regular: Question word (Wie) + Verb (ist) + Subject (der Name).
Wait, I thought most nouns ending in "-e" were feminine. Why is it der Name?
You are right that most German nouns ending in -e are feminine, but der Name is a common exception. It is masculine, which is why it uses der here. It is best to just memorize this noun as a special case!