I actually kind of agree that the antifa name doesn’t seem like the best strategic choice, (it’s a minor point but I’ve thought about it a bit in terms of strategic messaging). Particularly in the US linguistic environment the construction can sound awkward. In discussions I will generally fall back to using “anti-fascist(s)” (particularly with people unfamiliar with the term and historical background that @anon73430903 provided). It is clearly understandable and has less distracting baggage.
On the other hand, in the battle for hearts and minds, immediacy and simplicity of message might tip the balance in a few cases. These identifiers are mainly used by the press - and I’d wager in our gnat-like attention-span/blipvert media era the ““anti-fascist” protesters” label is less ambiguous and more resilient to the kind of terminological shenanigans that the right likes to play with names. (e.g. the “Democratic Party” vs. Democrat Party" thing that has become common parlance for the republicans lately.
