University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Penn Law might be sticking around after all, at least in some form.

Administrators at the newly dubbed University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School told students at a campus meeting Monday that they are considering modifying the new official "Carey Law" shorthand after widespread criticism of the decision to ditch "Penn Law." No decision has been made on what the new nickname might be.

The Carey Law nickname was adopted last week, after the school announced a $125 million donation from the W.P. Carey Foundation—the largest donation to a U.S. law school of record. But backlash against Carey Law came swiftly, and by Monday more than 1,000 students and alumni had signed a petition calling for the return to Penn Law. (The official shorthand name appears on law school merchandise and documents, among other things.)

Dean of students Felicia Lin told law students during Monday's information session with students that there are "ongoing discussions" about the law school's shorthand name, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian.

Law school spokesman Steve Barnes said in a statement Tuesday that "Penn" could return to the school's shorthand, but that reverting to "Penn Law" is not on the table.

"Now that the gift is public, we are considering various options to ensure Penn remains a prominent and integral part of our shorter form names, while recognizing the historic Carey gift, so that we can simultaneously embrace tradition and transformation," Barnes wrote. "So, by definition, it will not be 'Penn Law' alone, and we look forward to ongoing discussions with our community members in the days and weeks ahead."

The petition requests a return to the Penn Law shorthand on the grounds that the name has both history and name recognition, but does not take issue with the formal rebranding of the school as the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School or the donation that sparked the name change. However, some students and alumni have criticized law school and university officials for what they deem a lack of transparency over the process of securing the monetary gift.

"The undersigned would like to preserve the brand recognition, over century-long history, and clear association with the University of Pennsylvania that comes with the name Penn Law," reads the petition.

The petition also points out that the University of Maryland's law school also bears the Carey name. (It became the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 2012 after the same foundation donated $30 million.)