Looking for a unique name for your blog? Believe it or not, a name can make or break the success of your blog (and business). In this post, we'll share 9 clever ways to come up with a creative blog name.
Fun fact: Jennifer Aniston’s birth name is actually Jennifer Anastassakis.
Say, whaaat? Well, it turns out that her parents (aspiring actors) changed the family name to “Aniston” to attract more work. In fact, Hollywood is full of stars who changed their names.
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but the harsh reality is this: people do judge a person by their name. And the same goes for blogs.
Your blog name has a profound effect on how your blog is perceived, and public perception can make or break your business.
Choose the wrong name, and your blog could tank before it even gets off the ground.
(And we all know how that turned out for Romeo and Juliet, don’t we?)
That’s why actors change their birth names, and companies pay naming strategists top dollar ($2,500+) to create catchy and memorable names and slogans.
via Eat My Words
But don’t worry– you don’t need to hire anyone to come up with a blog name for you. You can actually come up with a completely one-of-a-kind, memorable blog name that your audience will love, just by following these 9 simple and clever blog-naming strategies.
Plus, we’ve included plenty of examples, so you’ll have lots of inspiration to draw from.
But before we dive in, let's quickly cover some basic principles to keep in mind when brainstorming your blog name...
How to Name Your Blog– The Right Way
According to Squadhelp, the world's #1 naming platform, you should start the naming process by distilling your brand down to the absolute essentials. Then, you can build your blog name from those key components.
In other words, you want to narrow your focus, so you are allowing your brand's uniqueness to inform the naming process.
Ask yourself:
Why are you launching a blog in the first place?
What is the story behind your blog?
What makes your blog different from all the others in your niche?
Who exactly is your target audience?
What are their values?
What feelings do you want to evoke from your audience?
Answering all of these questions before you start thinking of different names for your blog will really help to narrow your focus.
You should also decide what tone you want your brand/blog to be.
Here are some examples:
- Fun/playful
- Modern/innovating
- Intriguing
- Prestigious
- Amiable/inviting
- Emotionally impactful
Which tone matches your vision for your blog?
OK, hopefully you've been writing all of this down because you are going to need all of that as a foundation before we begin coming up with blog names.
So– are you ready to find your perfect blog name?
Good! Let’s get started…
1. The Mash-Up Blog Name
Did you know the name, “Nabisco,” is actually a mash-up of three words?
“Nabisco” comes from National Biscuit Company. They make Oreos, Nilla wafers, and all the other cookies that probably remind you of your childhood.
Name mash-ups do so well because they’re unique.
Chances are, people wouldn’t have combined the same two or three words in the same way you did.
Cassey Ho of Blogilates, for example, combined the words “blog” and “pop” with “pilates” for her online pilates empire:
This makes it clear to her target audience she’s running her pilates largely online, doesn’t it?
Remember: uniqueness is the advantage here.
Action Step:
Think of some words related to your blog niche topic. You can use an online tool like Name Combiner to play around with name mash-ups for your blog. Just take a look at some of the names that came up with the words “blogging” and “pro.”
Pretty cool, right?
2. The Practical-SEO Blog Name
Did you know Google accounted for 79 percent of all desktop traffic in 2017 compared to other search engines? That means most of your organic search traffic is coming from Google. Which means it’s probably a good idea to optimize your site as best you can for searchable keywords.
And what better way to do that than to incorporate a keyword into your creative blog name?
This site, Persuasion Nation, is a perfect example of this.
Just take a look at what came up when I Googled, “persuasion tips for entrepreneurs.”
Persuasion Nation comes up on the 8th spot of the first page of Google search results, alongside large online publications like Forbes, Fortune, and Inc.
That’s a pretty big feat to accomplish.
Of course, it’ll take some time to get your page ranking higher in the page results, but this is just a small glimpse into the power of using keywords in your blog name.
Action Step:
I recommend using a keyword research tool like KWFinder. Find a word or combination of words for your niche that you can rank for with little difficulty.
BONUS TIP: Did you notice the other device used in the “Persuasion Nation” name? That’s right, it’s a rhyme! What rhymes can you think of using your keywords?
3. The One-Powerful-Verb Blog Name
Is there some kind of verb that would explain exactly what you do in one word?
Brevity is the main advantage of these creative blog names.
If you choose the right verb, you’ll immediately elicit emotion, too (notice name mash-ups or other “made-up” names won’t do this as well, since it’s an imaginary word people are unfamiliar with).
Take Sarah Paulson of Unsettle, whose blog name has high-impact because of the negative association behind the word, “settling.”
Her blog’s name even aligns with her blog’s mission, creating a cohesive brand personality throughout.
Action Step:
Write out your blog’s mission statement. Don’t worry if it sounds grandiose or “too big” (like “helping women conquer their weight loss struggles once and for all”). Your mission statement should leave room for you to grow.
After brainstorming your mission statement, think of 10-20 verbs that closely align with your blog’s values and mission. Choose the verb that’s uncommon, but evokes a powerful (positive) emotion.
4. The Juxtaposition Blog Name
These creative blog names usually take two or three words you’re familiar with, but don’t really go together, and combines them.
The effect?
An unexpected, yet memorable, brand name.
A blogger who did this well is Adam Connell of Blogging Wizard:
“Blogging” and “wizard” aren’t two words you’ll normally see together.
But unlike some other blog naming strategies I include in this list, using a juxtaposition name has two main perks:
- Taking familiar words people already know…
- …and combining them in a unique way
That unique way = your blogging brand.
“Blogging Wizard,” for example, immediately makes you think of expertise, but a creative and innovative one, at that (“blogging expert” doesn’t have the same ring to it, right?).
Action Step:
Take a common word from your industry. It can be as general as “blogging,” for example.
Now, think of another word that would convey a sense of expertise, but one you wouldn’t normally see in your field. Here are a few to get you started:
- Ninja
- Stylist
- Chef
- Whiz
- Maven
- Scientist
- Magician
5. The Made-Up Blog Name
If you’re looking for a really creative blog name, then look no further than an entirely made-up name.
You’ll see made-up names less often compared to the other ones on this list for a few reasons:
- Most people feel a bit foolish using them
- They’re intimidating to create and think through
- They don’t have the initial “word recognition” feeling that comes along with real words
Know who didn’t feel foolish when he named his soon-to-be multibillion-dollar ice cream empire?
The founder of Häagen-Dazs.
I hate to burst your bubble, but Häagen-Dazs is a completely made-up word (not Scandinavian as people think).
That’s why you won’t find any romantic name origin story if you visit Häagen-Dazs’s about page.
But guess what? Häagen-Dazs is now synonymous with “fine ingredients” and “super-premium” ice cream. Because they planned it that way.
The beauty of made-up names is that you can infuse them with whichever brand qualities your blog embodies, while having the name grow on your audience over time.
Action Step:
Your toddler isn’t the only one who can make up words! Check out this tool called Wordoid that’ll pull out made-up words for you. Plus, it’ll tell you whether the domain name is available, too.
(P.S. I totally won’t judge if you look to your kids for made-up-word inspiration.)
6. The Play-on-Prefixes Blog Name
Prefixes are fun. Like suffixes, they have their own meanings and you can use those meanings to your advantage when you’re naming your blog.
Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, for example, did a good job with the name.
The “pro” becomes a prefix because it comes before “blogger.”
Cleverly, it also has two meanings:
- Being a “pro” at blogging
- Being “ahead of” other bloggers (“pro,” a Latin prefix meaning “forward,”or “in front of”)
Action Step:
Below is a list of some common prefixes with their meanings. Can you add them to a common word in your blog niche? Does this new meaning fit with the purpose of your blog?
- Ad (“to” or “towards”)
- E (“from”)
- Extra (“beyond”)
- Inter (“between”)
- Pro (“before”)
- Super (“above”)
Click here for a larger list of prefixes for even more inspiration.
7. The Super-Suffix Blog Name
The poor suffix. Since the rise of Silicon Valley and startups, suffixes got a bad rap.
In fact, there’s a running joke lately that adding “-ly” to the end of a word means you’ve got yourself an idea for a startup. TIME magazine even ran a piece on silly Silicon Valley naming trends, and “Cute Suffixes” was #4 on their list.
Yes, these names are a bit cringey.
They’re also kind of funny.
But still, if you add the right suffixes, you can come up with a unique name in your blogging niche. (Just avoid all -y and -ly endings, please!)
Action Step:
Check out this list of Latin suffixes from Wiktionary.org. Think of a few names common to your blogging niche. Can you add any of those suffixes to come up with a unique and creative blog name?
8. The “Name” Blog Name
You can also simply take your name (or nickname) and use it to name your blog.
This blog naming strategy works especially well if you want to grow your personal brand. Maybe you’re a coach or consultant, or maybe you’re looking to become a “household name” in your industry.
This also gives you an SEO boost, too, in case someone finds you online and Googles your name — your blog will automatically come up.
Gemma Bonham-Carter, for example, chose to use her name for her new online business after she learned how to monetize her first DIY decorating blog:
Action Step:
The one disclaimer I have to naming your blog after yourself is that the connection will stick. That means if you, say, want to move away from the weight loss industry at any point, but you’re known as a women’s fitness coach, then it could be harder to disassociate yourself from your prior brand image if you used your name from the start.
That being said, using your own name can give you more flexibility to pivot in the future because you haven’t pigeonholed yourself into one specific niche. And, it can never hurt to stake a claim to your own domain name and build your personal brand. So whether or not you decide to go with your own name as your blog name, be sure to snatch up your dot com if it’s still available!
9. The Foreign-Language Blog Name
Did you know that brand names in foreign languages evoke different brand perceptions, according to one study from the Journal of Marketing Management?
For example, just think of how different these two names sound even though they mean the same thing:
The Small Cafe vs. Le Petit Café
What imagery comes to mind when you think of the first English-language name? What about the second one?
I don’t know about you, but the second one makes me think of jam-slathered, freshly-baked croissants, strong coffee, and the movie Midnight in Paris.
Those two names translate to the same thing, but they evoke entirely different reactions.
The feelings you’ll evoke in your readers are in large part because of the perceptions your readers will have of the language’s culture (when people think of France, for example, they’ll think of good food, luxury, and romance).
You may be going exactly for this effect, especially if you’re a lifestyle or food blogger.
Action Step:
Think back to the list of verbs you created in #3 of this list. Then, translate some of those verbs into a foreign language of your choice. Do any of these translated words resonate with you and your blog — and your target audience?
What Are Your Ideas for a Creative Blog Name?
Naming your new blog isn’t rocket science, but it does require some thought. Hopefully this list of blog-naming strategies and tips has given you some inspiration to come up with a creative blog name of your own.
And remember, if it doesn’t feel right, keep brainstorming. After all, you want to choose a name you can grow into, not one you’ll grow out of.
What name are you thinking of for your blog? Why do you think that name fits your brand? Let us know in the comments!
Alex runs the blog Unicorn Copy where she teaches bloggers and solopreneurs how to brand, market, and monetize their blogs. Want to launch a blog in a profitable niche, but don’t know where to start?Join the Persuasion Nation waiting list here and when we take on more students, you'll learn how to brainstorm, brand, and launch your profitable blog in 5 days.