diff --git a/packages/blaze/builtins.js b/packages/blaze/builtins.js
index 9ec9b26952..61d984aa38 100644
--- a/packages/blaze/builtins.js
+++ b/packages/blaze/builtins.js
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ Blaze._TemplateWith = function (arg, contentBlock) {
   // Longer term, evaluate expressions in the proper lexical scope.
   var wrappedArgFunc = function () {
     var viewToEvaluateArg = null;
-    if (w.parentView && w.parentView.kind === 'InOuterTemplateScope') {
+    if (w.parentView && w.parentView.name === 'InOuterTemplateScope') {
       viewToEvaluateArg = w.parentView.originalParentView;
     }
     if (viewToEvaluateArg) {
diff --git a/packages/blaze/template.js b/packages/blaze/template.js
index bb6af83011..567ce545ff 100644
--- a/packages/blaze/template.js
+++ b/packages/blaze/template.js
@@ -1,20 +1,27 @@
-// # TODO
+// [new] Blaze.Template([viewName], renderFunction)
 //
-// Should be an actual helpers dict, so you can in theory name a
-// helper anything.  Test that you can.
-//
-// Finish adding things to UI.  Take it out of the "templating" package.
-// Merge Blaze and UI symbols?
-
-
 // `Blaze.Template` is the class of templates, like `Template.foo` in
 // Meteor, which is `instanceof Template`.
 //
 // `viewKind` is a string that looks like "Template.foo" for templates
 // defined by the compiler.
-Blaze.Template = function (viewKind, viewRenderFunc) {
-  this.__kind = viewKind;
-  this.__render = viewRenderFunc;
+Blaze.Template = function (viewName, renderFunction) {
+  if (! (this instanceof Blaze.Template))
+    // called without `new`
+    return new Blaze.Template(viewName, renderFunction);
+
+  if (typeof viewName === 'function') {
+    // omitted "viewName" argument
+    renderFunction = viewName;
+    viewName = '';
+  }
+  if (typeof viewName !== 'string')
+    throw new Error("viewName must be a String (or omitted)");
+  if (typeof renderFunction !== 'function')
+    throw new Error("renderFunction must be a function");
+
+  this.viewName = viewName;
+  this.renderFunction = renderFunction;
 
   this.__eventMaps = [];
 };
@@ -26,7 +33,7 @@ Blaze.isTemplate = function (t) {
 
 Template.prototype.constructView = function (contentFunc, elseFunc) {
   var self = this;
-  var view = Blaze.View(self.__kind, self.__render);
+  var view = Blaze.View(self.viewName, self.renderFunction);
   view.template = self;
 
   view.templateContentBlock = (
@@ -77,7 +84,7 @@ Template.prototype.constructView = function (contentFunc, elseFunc) {
 };
 
 Template.updateTemplateInstance = function (view) {
-  // Populate `view.templateInstance.{firstNode,lastNode,data}`
+  // Populate `view._templateInstance.{firstNode,lastNode,data}`
   // on demand.
   var tmpl = view._templateInstance;
   if (! tmpl) {
diff --git a/packages/blaze/view.js b/packages/blaze/view.js
index 9a247ddf23..ac042b21d6 100644
--- a/packages/blaze/view.js
+++ b/packages/blaze/view.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/// [new] Blaze.View([kind], renderMethod)
+/// [new] Blaze.View([name], renderMethod)
 ///
 /// Blaze.View is the building block of reactive DOM.  Views have
 /// the following features:
@@ -26,23 +26,23 @@
 ///
 /// ...more lifecycle stuff
 ///
-/// `kind` is an optional string tag identifying the View.  The only
+/// `name` is an optional string tag identifying the View.  The only
 /// time it's used is when looking in the View tree for a View of a
-/// particular kind; for example, data contexts are stored on Views
-/// of kind "with".  Kinds are also useful when debugging, so in
-/// general it's good for functions that create Views to set the kind.
-/// Templates have kinds of the form "Template.foo".
-Blaze.View = function (kind, render) {
+/// particular name; for example, data contexts are stored on Views
+/// of name "with".  Names are also useful when debugging, so in
+/// general it's good for functions that create Views to set the name.
+/// Views associated with templates have names of the form "Template.foo".
+Blaze.View = function (name, render) {
   if (! (this instanceof Blaze.View))
     // called without `new`
-    return new Blaze.View(kind, render);
+    return new Blaze.View(name, render);
 
-  if (typeof kind === 'function') {
-    // omitted "kind" argument
-    render = kind;
-    kind = '';
+  if (typeof name === 'function') {
+    // omitted "name" argument
+    render = name;
+    name = '';
   }
-  this.kind = kind;
+  this.name = name;
   this.render = render;
 
   this._callbacks = {
@@ -534,9 +534,9 @@ Blaze.getCurrentData = function () {
   return theWith ? theWith.dataVar.get() : null;
 };
 
-// Gets the current view or its nearest ancestor of kind
-// `kind`.
-Blaze.getCurrentView = function (kind) {
+// Gets the current view or its nearest ancestor of name
+// `name`.
+Blaze.getCurrentView = function (name) {
   var view = Blaze.currentView;
   // Better to fail in cases where it doesn't make sense
   // to use Blaze.getCurrentView().  There will be a current
@@ -545,8 +545,8 @@ Blaze.getCurrentView = function (kind) {
   if (! view)
     throw new Error("There is no current view");
 
-  if (kind) {
-    while (view && view.kind !== kind)
+  if (name) {
+    while (view && view.name !== name)
       view = view.parentView;
     return view || null;
   } else {
@@ -566,18 +566,18 @@ Blaze.getCurrentTemplateView = function () {
   return view || null;
 };
 
-Blaze.getParentView = function (view, kind) {
+Blaze.getParentView = function (view, name) {
   var v = view.parentView;
 
-  if (kind) {
-    while (v && v.kind !== kind)
+  if (name) {
+    while (v && v.name !== name)
       v = v.parentView;
   }
 
   return v || null;
 };
 
-Blaze.getElementView = function (elem, kind) {
+Blaze.getElementView = function (elem, name) {
   var range = Blaze._DOMRange.forElement(elem);
   var view = null;
   while (range && ! view) {
@@ -590,8 +590,8 @@ Blaze.getElementView = function (elem, kind) {
     }
   }
 
-  if (kind) {
-    while (view && view.kind !== kind)
+  if (name) {
+    while (view && view.name !== name)
       view = view.parentView;
     return view || null;
   } else {
diff --git a/packages/spacebars-tests/template_tests.js b/packages/spacebars-tests/template_tests.js
index 4f72c64cfe..7daca5ba08 100644
--- a/packages/spacebars-tests/template_tests.js
+++ b/packages/spacebars-tests/template_tests.js
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ Tinytest.add("spacebars-tests - template_tests - inclusion args 2", function (te
 
 // maybe use created callback on the template instead of this?
 var extendTemplateWithInit = function (template, initFunc) {
-  var tmpl = new Template(template.__kind+'-extended', template.__render);
+  var tmpl = new Template(template.viewName+'-extended', template.renderFunction);
   tmpl.constructView = function (/*args*/) {
     var view = Template.prototype.constructView.apply(this, arguments);
     initFunc(view);
@@ -1173,7 +1173,7 @@ Tinytest.add('spacebars-tests - template_tests - inclusion helpers are isolated'
   var dep = new Deps.Dependency;
   var subtmpl = Template.spacebars_template_test_inclusion_helpers_are_isolated_subtemplate;
   // make a copy so we can set "rendered" without mutating the original
-  var subtmplCopy = new Template(subtmpl.__kind, subtmpl.__render);
+  var subtmplCopy = new Template(subtmpl.viewName, subtmpl.renderFunction);
 
   var R = new ReactiveVar(subtmplCopy);
   tmpl.foo = function () {