Are you struggling to come up with a great blog name? Most new bloggers who want to start a blog, spend countless weeks or months trying to decide what to name a blog or even if they need a domain.
Coming up with a creative blog name that is catchy and makes people want to click takes time and research.
I don’t consider myself a very creative person. That’s actually one of the reasons that I decided to just blog under my name.
For my second blog, I actually took the time to brainstorm a little bit. It took a while to come up with a creative name, but it came to me when I really wasn’t thinking about it.
We were painting our storage building, and out of the blue, the name came to me.
I got off the ladder and went inside to register the name right then and there.
I was afraid if I didn’t buy the domain right then and there, I’d completely forget about it. Even if you’re not ready to start your blog you should still buy it, as long as you know that you’re going to use it. Otherwise, you just become a domain hoarder, and that isn’t good.
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All the Good Names Are Taken
It’s easy to think like this, especially since there are over 70 million WordPress blogs and 170 million Tumblr blogs.
But the truth is that your unique blog name is waiting for you.
It’s just going to take some time and research to find one that you love.
15 Ways to Come Up with A Great Blog Name
Stop struggling with what to name a blog. These tips will help you get your blog started in the next 30 minutes instead of waiting weeks.
You can then focus on writing content and promoting your blog. After all, you can’t expect to make money blogging if you’re spending too much time trying to find the right domain to buy.
1. Start with A List of Blog Names
Open up a text document on your Mac or PC. You’re going to want to brainstorm some ideas for possible domain names.
Here’s a list of questions you should ask yourself during your brainstorming session:
- What niche are you after?
- What kind of problems does your audience struggle with?
- Who is your audience?
- Think about the kinds of adjectives and nouns that describe your niche?
- Should I use my personal name in my domain?
These questions will help make it easier to start the brainstorming process.
2. Avoid Exact Match Domains
Back in the day, before the Google Panda update, exact match domains were extremely popular. People would buy domains based on the keywords they wanted to rank for.
Heck, I think I had over ten exact match domains of my own.
Instead of thinking of your domain from an SEO point of view, try thinking about it from a bloggers point of view.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Does my domain let people know what I am about?
- Is it easy to remember?
- Will it hinder me if I need to pivot my business?
When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to think about what you want your blog to look like. However, as you start to grow and become more popular, your blog may take you in a different direction.
Most people don’t think about this. Yes, you can change your domain name later, but why would you want to go through the headache?
3. Make It Easy to Remember
One of the most challenging things about buying a new domain is that it seems all the good ones are gone.
This is actually what makes new bloggers think that it’s too late to start a blog.
The truth is that it’s never too late to start. Yes, there are already bloggers who are making thousands with their blogs.
As a new blogger, you’re going to have to put your head down and focus on growing your blog. Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers who have been doing this for years.
So, take the time to research the right name for your blog and then grab it. Then set up WordPress and get busy.
After all, nothing is going to change if you just buy a domain and let it sit there.
4. Use a .Com
There are several domain extensions nowadays that were not available ten years ago. When I was registering my new domain, it was funny to see .today and .fun extensions.
It takes a little bit more work to find a .com extension.
But I personally think that a .com looks a lot better to build a business around. Of course, I’ve noticed a trend of .co extensions.
5. Using Random Words Related to Your Niche
Go broad with your niche to come up with some words that you can stick in your name. For instance, if you’re in the parenting niche, you would add these words to your text document.
Parents, Kids, Children, Toddlers, Parenting Tips, Parenting
Choosing a niche can be challenging for new bloggers. When you’re just starting out, I don’t think that you should go too narrow.
It’s going to take time to figure out what type of content your audience actually loves.
6. The Thesaurus Is Your Best Friend
When I was looking for my second domain, I opened up the Thesaurus online and used it to help me take my brainstorming even further.
If we take some of the random words from the parenting niche above, you’ll see some of the related words I come up with.
Infant, Preschooler, Rug Rat, Parenting Advice, Parenting Guidance
These synonyms will help you come up with a great blog name.
7. Clever Blog Names Generator
Don’t forget to check out the blog name generators. All you have to do is a quick query in Google, and it won’t take you long to find one that you can use.
It’s been a long time since I’ve used one. But if you’re struggling with ideas, this can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing.
8. Use Your Name
I know that a lot of new bloggers don’t even want to add a gravatar to their blog. They would rather blog anonymously than to put themselves out there. However, if you don’t know what direction you will be taking your blog. Using your real name is perfect.
You won’t have to worry about whether or not you can change directions. After all, you’re blogging under your own name.
When I registered my domain my goals were to offer WordPress services. However, as I started blogging, I realized that my goals changed.
I don’t want to be a WordPress freelancer anymore. That’s why I don’t offer my services, and my content has changed a little bit.
The cool part is that I didn’t have to worry about whether my domain would hinder my decision.
9. Add Your Name to The Mix and Other Descriptive Words
If you don’t feel comfortable blogging under your real name, why not add your first name to some other descriptive words?
Let’s say that your name is Arnold.
You could register a domain like:
Arnolds Fitness, Fitness With Arnold, Arnolds Kitchen
You get the idea, you just add your name and then a descriptive word behind it or in front of it.
10. Create New Words
A creative way to come up with blog name ideas is by combining words and snippets together. The cool thing is that there are some fantastic free tools that will help you brainstorm some ideas.
namemesh.com – I played around with this one using the parenting keywords above. In just a short amount of time, I came up with over 100 possible blog names. Namemesh will also check to make sure the domain is available.
dotomator.com – Dotomator is quick and easy to use. It will even tell you if the domain is available without having to leave the site.
11. Avoid Misspelled Words
There are bloggers who have been able to capitalize on misspelled words. My grammar sucks and don’t even get me started on my spelling.
That’s actually one of the reasons that I love Grammarly. It catches a lot of my errors before I hit publish.
It’s okay if you want to write a blog post on a misspelled word if you want. When it comes to your domain, you want to make sure that you avoid misspellings or pronunciation errors.
Check out the 100 most misspelled words and the 100 most often mispronounced words so you can avoid them.
12. Run a Trademark Search
If you’ve found a name that you love, don’t pull out your wallet just yet. Even if you don’t plan on trademarking your blog, you should do a trademark search.
The last thing you want to is to register your domain only to realize a year down the road you are in trademark infringement.
Before registering your domain, run a quick search on the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
This step will save you a lot of time and money on dealing with trademark litigations down the road.
13. Ask in Facebook Groups
If you’re not a part of a blogging community, jump on Facebook and ask people what they think about it. If you still haven’t joined any, here’s 73 Facebook Groups you can join.
I’ve seen several people asking questions about possible domain names.
It’s a great way to get some input on your blog name before paying for it.
Of course, you always have the final say on whether you want to register it or not. If you’re happy with it, that’s really all that matters.
After all, it’s your blog, and you get the final say on everything.
14. Research Popular Blogs in Your Niche
Take a look at some of the popular blogs in your niche. If you don’t know of any popular bloggers in your niche, jump on Pinterest and start browsing the platform to find blog topics in your niche.
Remember, Pinterest is a search engine, so make sure that you know how to search using keywords on Pinterest.
Jot down some of the names of the blogs that you find. Then ask yourself what is it that you like about the name?
The goal isn’t to copy someone else. Instead, you want to use this opportunity to help you come up with some good blog name ideas.
15. Make a Decision
While it’s important to do some research and find the right name. It’s even more important to make a decision and actually register your domain and take action.
Nothing in your life will ever change if you’re just researching and researching.
Once you’ve decided that you want to start a blog, set a deadline on registering your domain. If it takes you longer than 30 days come up with a name, you’re just procrastinating.
I know that you don’t want to waste money on a domain. But the great thing is that it’s not that expensive to buy one, so even if you buy one that you’re not 100% happy with you didn’t waste a bunch of money.
Final Take Away
Hopefully these tips help you choose a great blog name that you love. Naming your blog is the first step among many others that will help you create a successful online venture.
Becoming a professional blogger takes a lot of hard work. If you take it one step at a time, one day you’ll look back and see the online empire you created.
While you don’t want to spend months coming up with some blog name ideas, you definitely don’t want to rush into either.
How did you choose your blog name? Let me know; I’d love to hear the process you went through.
