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Coming up with a blog name could be time-consuming if you don’t know the right way to name your blog.
Whether you’re starting out or making changes to an existing one, a blog name always matters. And if it’s a personal blog, things become a bit intricate. Because for a business blog, all you need is the company’s name.
Although, that, too, could become tricky if you don’t already have a business name as well. Also, what can work for a personal blog doesn’t necessarily work for your business blog. So, in that case, what should you be doing?
Well, you’ve probably Googled, “How to blog name,” or perhaps, “ideas for a blog name.” The good thing is that you’ve done the first job pretty amazingly, as this blog post is all about how you can name a blog that works in favor of both you and your readers.
Below, I’ve listed all the essential aspects you should consider before naming your blog. The knowledge I’ve put here on this post is an outcome of my 10+ years of experience as a blogger.
Questions, Tricks, and Learnings that I’ve answered, applied, and acquired after many attempts.
And I believe what helped me would definitely help you because, in the end, it’s all about blogging and what we provide to the people. If you’re excited to see what’s up next, we should get started.
9 Questions You Should Ask Before Naming Your Blog
- Why Do You Want to Start This Blog?
As Simon Sinek put it, “Start With Why,” when you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, it becomes easy to find solutions that resonate with the vision.
The same is true with finding a blog name. Asking yourself this question will not only help you find your blog name, but it’ll also give you the purpose to keep up when most people don’t.
Moreover, you’ll have a blog name that will motivate you to work for your purpose every time you bring it to your tongue.
For example, if your purpose is to help people get better with their finances, and you name your blog as BetterFinancePeople, you’ll send a strong message to yourself as well as your readers.
So, before you name your blog, the first thing you need to do is, ask why you want to start this blog.
- For Whom – Your Targeted Audience for the Blog
By answering ‘why,’ you’ve discovered the purpose. However, there’s more you can do to refine your blog name.
Once you’ve answered why you want to start the blog, the next question you should be asking yourself is, For Whom you’re starting this blog. It will narrow your blog’s purpose, which will further help you compete in the market easily.
For instance, if you look at the BetterFinancePeople, what does it reflect? It reflects that this particular blog is helping all people to get better with their finances. When something includes all people, it means it’s a broad subject.
And broad subjects are harder to compete in. There’s no doubt that you’ll do your job amazingly, but it will take more time than a narrow topic.
As marketing Guru Seth Godin mentioned in his book, This is Marketing,, before you color an ocean, you should color a pool. It means you should look to provide solutions to people who belong to small groups.
Perhaps, you want to provide financial tips to older adults, so in that case, BetterFinancePeople won’t do better than BetterFinanceforElders.
When elders look for financial solutions and see results, they’ll choose the latter rather than the first one.
- How or What
Why + For Whom + How, can produce a clever name for your blog.
How? Well, that’s what we’re about to discuss. When you know Why, you’ve your purpose. With For Whom, you know your narrow audience, and with How you know the method to serve your ideas to your audience.
And it’s quite simple; there’s no hard searching you need to go through. You want to provide financial tips that are simple and easy to understand.
You could have your blog name as SimpleFinanceTipsforElders. Though it’s a bit long, you should consider shortening it by applying some tricks, which we’ll discuss later in this post.
Or perhaps your purpose isn’t to provide simple tips; instead, focus on precise numbers and data.
Then you could have your blog name as FinanceMetricsforElders.
The “How” only reflects what you’re going to use in your blog to help people find it more informative and the only place to go through. Whether simple tips, graphs, images, videos, or quotes.
You can utilize them in your blog name to make it interesting.
- Will You Be Serious or Funny?
You know your Why, you know your For Whom, and you’d probably also know your How. Now, what’s essential is what tone you’re going to use to dish these all out to the people.
Because if your blog name sounds serious, and you’re practicing a funny tone, then it would affect the effect you’ll make with your ideas. People will not buy into your intuition and think you’re an amateur.
Or perhaps, you’re an amateur, and if you present your ideas or solution by keeping the theme of your blog name in mind, you will do a lot better.
By the blog’s name, people can know what kind of content they’re going to interact with. And if they find what they’ve guessed, then it increases their belief that this is the right place to get the information they were looking for.
Your content’s tone matches the blog name’s vibe and helps users trust your voice and get their solutions.
For instance, Zen Habits helps you get better with your life and mind by keeping its content simple and understandable to most of the audience.
Whereas, if you look at Copyblogger, you’d find their solutions are more centric to writers. Plus, their content uses a tone that’s sometimes funny and enjoyable and sometimes up to a point. Thus, providing writers with stress-less solutions to do better with their work.
- What Matters – Your Name or the Idea?
For some people, their name is enough. So, for some, their idea is what gives them the vibe of blogging. Therefore, another question you can ask yourself before coming up with a blog name is What Matters for You the Most – Your Name or the Idea?
If it’s your name, you can keep your blog name after your name or your family’s name. Or it could be religion, ethnicity, or culture you care about.
There are many popular blogs you can find that are named after the creators’ names. A few of the many are,
- MarkManson.net — A self-development blog.
- NeilPatel.com — A marketing blog.
- Tofugu — A Japanese Culture & Language Blog.
Likewise, you can find blogs named after an idea or vision.
- HelloGiggles — A positive community for Women.
- The Positivity Blog — For practical happiness advice.
- Our Next Life — A blog for exploring financial power.
- The Blog Metrics — Get better insight into blogging.
- Does Your Blog Name Sound GOOD as a URL?
If it doesn’t sound right as a URL, it will not sound good on the tongue. Or perhaps it does sound right on the tongue, but not as a URL. Therefore, make sure the URL reflects the same meaning when saying it verbally.
Otherwise, your thoughtfully decided blog name would catch the second meaning. It means the unintentional meaning a word creates when combined with a different term.
For example, look at the following domain names and guess how they look.
Not all, but some of them probably got your eyes and made you laugh. So, this is what happens when we ignore the blog name’s domain and how it looks in the web URL format.
Therefore, before registering it, ensure you check it by entering it on the search bar. Or asking someone you know to consider another person’s point of view.
- If You Change or Vary Your Niche, Does it Affect?
Everything changes, right? But does it mean what content your blog publishes now would also change? If yes, you should consider a blog name that can work according to that plan.
If we consider our first blog name example, BetterFinanceForElders, what changes it cannot accept. Let’s see,
- You cannot publish anything not related to finance. Meaning you cannot change the niche. If you look at the blogs of MoneyControl, you will find they’re becoming a news website, publishing content on different topics. But, it doesn’t fit with its domain name.
- The blog name reflects the idea of financial tips considering elders. So, you can’t publish content that covers every age group.
Hence, if you’re planning big and thought of broadening your blog’s content later, you should stick with something that can work all weather. Like,
- BetterFinanceforEveryone / BetterFinanceforAll
- NewOnFinance
- ExtraOnFinance
- EvergreenMoneyTips
And more catchy blog names for your broad blogging vision.
- Is It Easier When Spoken or Spelled Out?
Not everyone is a master of vocabulary, and even masters find it troubling to enter a domain name.
Even if you haven’t chosen a long name, a blog name that’s hard to speak can never be spelled out easily. Every time users try to reach your site by entering the URL, they’ll be in a dilemma, whether they’ve entered the correct URL or not.
And probably they’ll reach a dead page or some other website.
Look at the following domain names and guess which one troubles you the most to understand this better.
- SavingMoneyforKidsforTodayandFuture.com
- Learnenglishtodaywithenglish.blog
- Nyooliyaas.com → when spoken, Nyoo feels New or Knew.
- Conduitworktips.com → when spoken, Conduit feels Can Do It.
I believe you had difficulty with all of them. So, keep your blog name’s domain easy to speak and spell out. And not only spoken or spelled but also easy to remember, as Google suggests for one of the above.
If they cannot remember it well, how will they enter it anyway?
- If You Were the Reader, Would You Visit This Blog?
It’s more important than all. Once you’ve finalized your blog name, you should ask yourself, “will you visit a site with this name?”
If the answer is Yes → you should go with it.
If you’re struggling → you shouldn’t dismantle it; rather, look for other words.
And if it’s No → you shouldn’t go with it. As simple as that.
Now, why should you ask this question?
Well, this question is specifically not about people; it’s about you. Because a good blog name motivates you to work for it. It helps you understand that if you like it, they’re people like you who’d also love this name and enjoy visiting the site.
Thus, in the end, you’ll have a blog that’s working, and you don’t regret or feel ashamed when talking about it with people.
When you don’t hesitate, it means you’re doing excellent mouth publicity. And that’s what a platform needs to be successful.
Tricks You Should Practice to Generate Catchy Blog Names
We’ve looked at the questions we should answer before naming our blog. Now, let’s see what tricks we can use to generate fabulous blog names.
- Use Synonyms to Shorten Your Purposeful Blog Name
It’s no doubt when we seek to name our blog; we often encounter names that include more letters. Thus, making it hard for our users to remember it. So, in that case, what can you do?
Well, synonyms can help a lot.
You can visit websites like Thesaurus.com or Synonyms.com.
I suggest you go with the latter as it shows you through a diagram what semantics a particular word belongs to. Thus, allowing you to choose a more accurate synonym word.
Then, don’t just settle for the synonyms of the original. Instead, look out for synonyms of the synonym. It will help you find even shorter words.
- Use Hyphens to Avoid Unintentionally Inappropriate Names
Carefully thought names could turn out as inappropriate, which is natural. It can happen to anyone. However, what’s unnatural is that after finding out about the inappropriacy, we don’t do anything about it.
So, if a name sticks to your mind, but it feels a bit inappropriate while in the URL format, you can use a Hyphen to avoid that. For instance, if the above-mentioned unintentionally inappropriate names had used hyphens, they would look much better.
- Experts-exchange.com
- Winters-express.com
- Mp3s-hits.com
Now, one thing you should consider while using hyphens is that your blog name shouldn’t reflect any registered domain name. Nor do you try to copy a famous brand name with hyphens like the following,
- Positivity-blog.com
- Life-hack.com
- Teach-junkie.com
These are already registered domain names as positivityblog.com, lifehack.com, and teacjunkie.com. So, naming your blog with hyphens to avoid popular names’ similarities won’t help.
Do it only to avoid unintentionally inappropriate names for non-registered domains.
- Stick to Local Language to Avoid Confusion and Second Meanings
Unless you’re not thinking of being global, stick to the local language to avoid confusion.
Plus, most of the time, names in a different language are hard to pronounce and spell to your local user base. Thus, sticking with something known allows you to reach a broader audience easily.
Also, sometimes uncommon or foreign languages can have double meanings in a different language, like the Couche Tard companies name in French meaning Stay up late.
Another fine example you could reflect on is Asana.com.
Even though the website’s name Asana means “a posture adopted in performing hatha yoga.” But, it closely matches the word, Asanare in the Romanian language, which means Drain or Sanitation.
Nevertheless, if you still want something uncommon, then what you can do is carefully check whether the name you’ve used is easy to pronounce and spell and has a second meaning or not.
You can use the same synonyms.com.
Simply enter the word, then scroll down to the Translations section. Here, you can easily find out how your name is pronounced in different languages.
Select a particular pronunciation you like, and then using Google Translator, check whether it has a second meaning or not in a different language. If you find green lights everywhere, you can go with them.
Though it will take a significant amount of your time; however, it will save you from later troubles.
- Try the Purpose or Goal-Oriented Blog Name Generator Formula
A purposeful blog name gives your readers a direct message of what they’ll find on the website. And it’s based on the questions we’ve looked at already,
- Why → goal or purpose
- For Whom → Audience
- And How/What → Medium or tool
By keeping these in mind, the formula goes like this,
Your Blog Name = [How/What + For Whom (Medium + Audience)] + [Why (End Goal or Purpose)]
Using this formula, you can have blog names as,
Nerd Fitness = Nerd [For Whom = Nerds, you already know what that means] + Fitness [Why = helping them get better with their physic]
Similarly, you can try the formula by changing its equation as,
Your Blog Name = [Why] + [How/What + For Whom]
And with this, you can generate something like the following,
Trusted Reviews = Trusted [ Why = to share information about electronics, IT and more] + Reviews [How = by unbiased reviews for all]
Minimalist Baker = Minimalist [Why = help people bake with minimal ingredients] + Baker [ For Whom = Bakers who believe in minimalism ]
- A3
A3, or you could say,
- Alliteration
- Abbreviations
- Lastly, Alienated words.
Alliteration
With Alliteration, you can have a blog name that generates an initial rhyme – repetition of a sound at the start of multiple words.
Image Source: Grammar Monster
It’s the type of rhyming where the first word has to be consonant, and its sound should be found in the next or other words following the second. For instance, you can have an idea of alliteration through the following brand names,
- Bread Basket
- Cuddle Cups
- Deep Design Den
You can find a similar consonant sound of the first word in others for the above names. Likewise, you can name your blog to your liking.
Abbreviations
There’s no rocket science behind Abbreviations. You can bring uniqueness to your blog by abbreviating a name idea. Though, keep in mind it does sound rhythmic like,
- FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association
- WHO – World Health Organization
- And, of course, NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Alienated Blog Names
Combine two different names to make something unique. It gives the name a solid highlight as a Novel. And when people encounter names like that, they feel a sense of curiosity to learn more about them.
If you look at the following names, you will find that how clever these domain names are,
- Circuit City
- Blackberry
- Apple
- Best Buy
- SalePush
You can also use something completely different that doesn’t even reflect your blog’s niche.
However, it’s only recommended when you’re out of all the options, which is rare. Or you just don’t want to spend too much time, as Steve Jobs did with Apple Inc’s name.
- Portmanteau
Accenture got its name by combining the letters of two different words.
- Accent
- Future
It was more of an “Accent on the future.” Likewise, you can also name your blog by combining letters of two or more different words. For instance, through Portmanteau, you could have,
- Finog → from Finance Blog (although it’s already listed on sale at Uniregistry.)
- Alepa → Alennushalli Pajumen.
- Banesto → Banco Español de Crēdito
- Use Name Generators
Even though you know the Why, For Whom, and How, sometimes it becomes harder to come up with a good blog name. So, in that case, you can try Name Generators.
Name Generators are a great resource to find lots of different and fantastic names for your blog. Generators like Thesaurus, NameSack, and Namify can help you discover a perfect name for your blog effortlessly.
As at Namify, all you have to do is think of your idea, then provide some familiar words, choose the category, and click Generate Names.
And within a few moments, it will generate a lot of different names from which you can select whatever you like.
- Never Forget Your Competitors
Perhaps, it all started with inspiration, but now, as you’re searching for a blog name, it’s all about competition. Then, how could we forget about the competitor? Thus, review blogs inside or even outside your niche to have an ample idea of how different platforms are doing.
Once you do that, you can plan a blog name that can work according to the latest blogging strategies.
- Keyword Can Help but Think of It As Last Resort
Whatever users search on a search engine, it’s a keyword. Therefore, having a keyword-oriented blog name can help.
However, you shouldn’t prioritize it over purpose or goal.
Although you can come up with amazing names using keywords such as SearchEngineJournal, ProBlogger, and DigitalMarketingInstitute (not a blog as a whole, it gives us a clear understanding of how to use a keyword.)
In addition, when you use a keyword, make sure you keep things to a minimum; for instance,
- Use a single keyword or two.
- Short keyword.
- Don’t use hyphens.
- Use a keyword that has low difficulty and volume. (You’ll have better chances to make your blog stand out. )
- Keep it as your last resort, as using a keyword can liberate or bind at the same time to go after broad or narrow topics.
Learnings You Should Consider Before Naming and Starting Your Blog
While naming your blog, it could strike you to adopt tricks that easily and quickly allow you to come up with an attractive name.
However, in the conquest of finding a solid name, shortcuts never help. Moreover, as much as the internet is open to everyone, there are some strict rules created by Search Engines which, if not followed or violated, your blog could get penalized.
You’ll no longer be able to drive traffic, no matter how good content you provide.
Therefore, before you come up with blog names, you should think about the following learnings. Some you should avoid, and some adopt to keep your blog always refreshing, away from penalties, and worthwhile.
Avoid Clickbait Blog Names
Whether it’s a person’s name or blog, a name shows authenticity. What impression would it make if I named you Thief or something more downgraded? Not good, correct?
Hence, suppose how a blog’s name would make an impression if you name it ‘Getfreemoney,’ ‘Moremoneyforyou,’ ‘EarnMillionsInDays,’ etc.?
It looks like someone’s trying to pull people into a money trap from these.
And if people can think of that, then search engines in today’s time are also intelligent. They can also evaluate that the site isn’t trusted.
However, due to quality content, search engines might spare your blog, but people won’t, as they would be able to see your website’s name, which doesn’t sound good.
Therefore, as much as possible, try to avoid names that reflect layman’s thoughts like getting rich, buying luxury cars, staying in a seaside penthouse, and more in a day or two.
Because these are the clickbait signs that bad marketers practice to lure innocent people.
No to Blog Name on Viral Topics
Around us, many things happen regularly. And some get our attention in a way that we think of sharing our views about them.
And, what’s better than starting a blog?
Thus, we end up naming the blog after the event. And this is what you should avoid because, in the light of doing this, we forget many essential aspects of starting a blog.
For instance, our purpose, motivation, audience, and more.
All we think is that it’s a viral topic and people will search for it, and as our blog is named after it, it will be successful. But that’s not how things work.
Your blog might receive traffic as long as the event is new. People will slowly stop talking about it because that’s what happens to viral content.
They take a straight peak and fall the same as fast as they reach the summit.
Yes to Provide Valuable Content, Always
A good blog name only does wonders when its base is backed with valuable content. Before profit, you think about people’s problems and how your content can provide solutions.
Over 30 million bloggers are active currently in the United States, and only a few succeed.
Why?
Because they value content over profit.
Whether it’s Neil Patel, Mark Manson, CoSchedule, WPBeginner, or any other blog with a good name is successful because it offers useful and helpful content.
If you can pledge towards that, then nobody can stop you.
And with an outstanding blog name generated through these tips, your blog will take a new height.
Some Blog Name Examples for Inspiration – Not Stealing
Inspiration is always a great thing. Therefore, the following blog name examples will help you come up with the best name you’re searching for your blog as well.
- Happy Simple Joys
- Cheeky-Chic
- All About Beauty
- Breathing Your Life
- Integrity Life
- Blissful Blogger
- Silly Stitches
- The Weekly
- Former Fashion Pro
- Beyond the Blog
- The Monastic
- Aristocratic Lifestyle
- Divine Blossom
- Timeline Treasures
- Doughy Delights
Combine All to Get the Best Blog Name Ever (The Wrap-Up)
So, that’s our questions, tricks, and learnings that can help you find a clever and catchy blog name and put an end to your conquest of “how to blog name.”
Perhaps these ideas would become the only resource you’d ever need whenever there’s a need to name a blog. Through this guide, you’ll learn where to start and what to avoid, to always come up with a name that helps both you and your user base.
Once you go through each section of this article carefully, you’ll have enough knowledge to suggest a name for any kind of blog.
However, what you need to know essentially is that you answer the questions with honesty and keep users’ good in mind. As soon as you do that, you’ll have your blog name flying before your eyes.
That’s it; have an amazing blog name-hunting ✌🏻