How To Name A Blog: The Ultimate Guide

So, you have identified your niche, and you are ready to share your knowledge with the world. But you have a problem: what should you name your blog?

Many people say to just name it after yourself. After all, you are the blogger, and you want people to remember you. Well, this is not always good advice. This is why I have written How to Name a Blog: The Ultimate Guide; I want to provide you with reasonable advice as to how to name your blog to improve your chances of getting viral.

By the end of this guide, you should be able to get a paper and list down all the best possible names you can have for your blog—and do it the right way!  

Why even bother with the right name? 

The benefits or reasons for a good blog name are the first things I want to discuss. If you do not know it yet, about 77% of consumers make their business decisions based on the brand name. So in your case, your blog’s name is your brand name.

Names have power

The first reason why you need a good blog name is that names command power. If you use the right name, it can command an emotion — an emotion that you want the reader to feel. It is up to you if you want to induce a positive or negative feeling.

For example, you can name your blog RV Paradise. This pretty much creates a feeling of positivity. Anybody who reads this blog name knows immediately that your blog is about recreational vehicles. However, the reader also feels positive because of the word paradise.

In such a case, the reader may think you are offering all the good stuff about RVs. Although this is not necessarily true, the word “paradise” is what will draw a reader to your brand.  

Names leave impressions

A name sticks to a person’s mind. If it is creative, the reader will remember it. The benefit for you is that the reader does not even have to bookmark your blog on his browser. Instead, the name will stick to the reader’s head and type your blog on the browser if he wants to come back.

A good impression lasts, while a bad one leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Obviously, you want the former. In our example earlier, RV Paradise makes a lot of sense for an RV blog—it makes a positive impression to the reader—one that is easy to remember.

Names speak for who you are

Your blog name tells the reader who you are and what you care about. This is why you want a name that is closely related to your niche or subject matter.

For example, it does not make sense to use a Motor Head blog if your blog is about freelance graphic arts. They simply are not related, and it will confuse the reader. On the other hand, a name like Motor Head is better used for a blog about motorcycles.

These three things are the most important reasons why you need to name your blog properly. You want to induce an emotion while also making it easy for people to remember you and know what you are about.

How to name your blog

Now, let us talk about naming your blog. In this section, I will give you many ideas on how to brainstorm. But first, let us get the elephant out of the room.

Should you use your own name?

It depends.

It is a good idea to use your name if you are offering services that rely on you alone. Do this if you have no plan to pass the torch to someone else. This is a good idea if you are a professional.

Here are some examples:

• Lawyer
• Doctor
• Writer
• Graphic designer
• Dentist

As you can see, you can use your own name for these things because you are the product—you are the heart and soul of the blog. You can also do this if you want to be an influencer of some sort.

Otherwise, you have to choose a name other than yours. This is really quite confusing if you think about it. But if there is one thing that you have to consider, just think if you want to sell your blog someday. If you use your own name, no one will be interested in taking over.

1. It must say something about your niche

The first thing you have to think about is your niche. There are so many niches in the world, and you want to be able to tell your reader what your specialty is from your name.  

Here are some examples that I can think of (not necessarily real websites):

• Total AB Workout – this is in the physical fitness niche, and it is clear that the blog is about working out the abs.
• SlotsnMore or Blackjack King – clearly, this blog is about the casino industry, with a heavy focus on slots or blackjacks.
• Focal Point – while this is vague, it is still a creative name for someone who has a blog about photography.

As you can see, the blog name you choose must reflect what your niche is. It provides credence to your website. For example, it does not make sense to name your blog the “Morning Brew” if you will not talk about coffee.

2. It must convey a mood

When we say mood, it can be serious, just casual, or funny. This immediately tells readers what kind of writer you are or what kind of entertainment they will receive.

Here are some examples:

• Sports Fanatic – this one conveys a mood of passion
• Daily Sports – this name conveys a “professional” mood
• Arqade Master – this one is a little playful; it tells the audience that the blogger is a gamer who is into current “trends”

The name of your blog is crucial in telling the audience the general “feel” of your writing style. The mood you convey is one of the many things that will attract a specific audience.

3. It must address a target audience 

Another tip you can use when coming up with a name is to consider who our target audience is. This pretty much captures the interest of your target market right t the get-go.

Here are some examples:

• The Writing Mom – the target market or audience here are mothers who want to become writers.
• The Dad Bod – the target market is comprised of fathers who want to get physically fit.

This method works only if you are serving a specific niche. The catch is that there are many people that you may miss out on. For example, a blog about writing does not have to be for mothers only. As you know, you can teach writing to anyone, not just moms.  

4. It must be readable in domain format

Now, your blog name will certainly be your domain name. This is what people will type on the URL of a browser. So, naturally, I want you to check if the blog name you want is available.

Also, the blog name must be readable in a domain. This is why you should not add special symbols in your business name. If possible, avoid using apostrophes.

5. It must be easy to remember 

The last tip if have is to think of a name that is easy to remember. So far, all the examples that I provided here are easy to remember.

Do not use complex words. People will not be able to memorize it. Although it may sound “smart,” it is really not that smart if you use complicated words that we do not use on a day-to-day basis.

Stick with words that we commonly use every day.

Mistakes to avoid when naming a blog

After you brainstorm, you need to remove some of the names that will not work. However, this is a difficult decision to make.

To help you out, people make some common mistakes that I want to share with you. This section should help you eliminate some of them.

Truncating two words together

People love putting two words together to come up with a unique business name. The problem with this is that this is already cliché. It is like what parents do when they cannot think of a good name for their child.

Let us say that your blog is about woodworking. You teach people to use power tools, give them safety tips, provide reviews for brands, and many more.

You likely want to use the word “wood” and the word “expert.” One mistake you can make is to call your brand Woodert—a truncated version of “woodworking” plus “expert.” As you can see, it makes no sense.   

Instead of cutting words and putting them together, think of a name that will still sound creative but not difficult to understand. A good example of a name for a woodworking blog is “Wooddunnit.”

Why?

Because it is unique and makes a person think of “Who done it?” The phrase “who done it” usually applies to situations where something is so awesome that people want to know who was behind it.

Using the name of a place

One thing that many bloggers do is to use the name of their town to name their blog. This commonly happens if the blogger is focused on a particular industry.

This is good if your blog is trying to promote only one place. For example, let us say that you have a fishing and angling business in Colorado. If this is the case, then there is nothing wrong with using the name of a place.

For example, you can use Rio Grande Fishing Tours, and this is because your fishing business is located in the Rio Grande River. A name like this will also help your SEO. If your URL contains the name of a place and the activity you are promoting, people interested in your service will easily find you.

If we think about it, a person looking for a fishing service in Rio Grande River will type “Rio Grande River fishing tours and services.”

As you can see, your URL contains all these names, and Google is very likely to show your blog to the user. That is, of course, if you have quality content on your blog.

Making names that are hard to remember 

Another mistake people make when naming a blog is that they create difficult-to-remember names. This is probably the worst thing you can do—while this draws attention, it is merely a novelty, but your brand will not stick with your readers.

Here are some examples:

• Tadgh
• Ailbhe
• Aoife
• Róisín

These names are real. Some businesses use these names, but they are legit because these are words in their respective languages. If your target market is the world in general, do not use names like this.

Not being creative 

Okay, this may sound contradictory with the previous tip, but hear me out. When I say creative, you are still using words that people understand.

Here are some examples:

• Making Sense of Cents – a blog about finance
• Pilates of the People – a blog about health concerning pilates
• Life in the Bike Lane – a blog about health concerning biking

As you can see, the names are really creative, but they are not overbearing. You can also use names where you make it sound fun. An example of this blog is All Groan Up—a blog about careers.

Now, what I want you to do is to go back to your list and ask yourself if any of these blog names violated these rules. If they did, crap them and move on to the next one.

Summary: How to Name a Blog | The Ultimate Guide

Naming a blog is like naming a business. If you do not do it right, the name will not have panache. As such, it is not going to ring a bell.

Apart from the name having “zing” to it, it must convey what your website is about. There is an exception to this rule, of course—if you use your own name.

As a final piece of advice, choose a name that you can turn into a brand—the name is the beginning of your success. Choose a bad one, and you will suffer its consequences.