What should I name my blog?
Narrowing down your blog name ideas is often the most challenging part of starting a blog.
I’ll be the first one to admit it – this is what held me back from creating my first blog too. A domain name just feels so permanent, doesn’t it?
But choosing a blog name shouldn’t be stressful – in fact, I wish I would have started my blog sooner since I ended up rebranding a few months later anyway!
This guide for how to choose a blog name offers tips and ideas including:
- tips for choosing a blog name
- 10 ways to come up with blog name ideas
- blog name examples
- tips for travel, fashion, beauty, and family niches
Let’s get started with a few basic rules for choosing a memorable blog name.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase using one. All opinions are based on my experience.
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How to Come Up with a Blog Name
How do you pick a catchy blog name?
To name your new blog, you should have at least two ideas in mind:
- your niche
- your target audience
Niche
A blog niche is a category your blog focuses on.
A few popular blogging niches include:
- Parenting / Family
- Motherhood
- Fashion
- Beauty
- Food
- Crafts / DIY
- Home Decor
- Travel
- Fitness / Wellness
- Money
- Business
There’s also the broader Lifestyle blog category.
Lifestyle blogs are inspired by the writer’s life and could combine any of the niche categories above – ideally. no more than two or three.
So, for example, your lifestyle blog could combine:
Example #1
- Fashion
- Fitness
- Food
or
Example #2
- Crafts
- Parenting
- Home Decor
Think about your interests and what’s motivated you to want to start a blog.
If you have more than one topic you want to write about, considering starting a lifestyle blog.
Here’s a Venn diagram for how I see my lifestyle blog.
Money is my core topic.
I started a blog because I wanted to be a stay at home mom full-time – blogging, Instagram, and Pinterest got me there.
My slogan, Capture a Life You Love, is a pun on how I started my career as an online content creator taking photos for paid gigs on Instagram.
Money is my goal, motherhood is my reason, and social media is what got me there.
Lifestyle blogs are most successful when they have a focus – your audience needs to know what to expect from you.
It won’t make sense to them if you jump from cooking to travel to crafts to renovations to tips for saving money, etc.
The core topic of Example 1 above is beauty while Example 2 focuses on child-rearing/safety.
Try creating a Venn diagram for yourself and see how your interest fit together!
Here’s a printable Venn diagram template to get you started 🙂
Target Audience
Who are you writing for?
Knowing who your target audience is when you start your blog will give you a huge advantage.
When I realized I was writing for stay at home moms seeking work from home jobs, that was my light bulb moment.
Defining your target audience helps you come up with blog post ideas, newsletters, and products for your blog.
You understand who’s reading your content and they understand what you’re all about.
To find your target audience, consider the following:
- age
- gender
- stage of life
- location
- interests
- challenges
For example, my audience is primarily women in their mid-20’s and 30’s with children.
These moms want help getting more accomplished in their days while generating income from home.
Pro Tip: It’s easiest to start writing to an audience you can relate to – think about yourself and branch off from there.
How to Choose a Blog Name
The name of your blog should tell readers at least one of the following:
- who you are
- what you do
- what you write about
So, how do you make a catchy name?
When choosing a domain name, be sure to:
- make it memorable by using two to three words
- choosing a .com
- using a keyword related to your topic
- avoiding numbers and hyphens
The blog name ideas list below features a few clever formulas for naming your blog plus examples of real bloggers who’ve used them on their websites.
What is a blog domain name?
To put it simply – your blog domain name is the web address (or URL) where your blog lives on the internet.
Similar to your home address, it’s an address where people can find you online.
For instance, my blog domain name for Nikki Blogs is nikkiblogs.com
It’s best practice to make sure your blog and domain’s names match – readers will have a much easier time finding you if they do.
Like one of the ideas in this post?
Simply click the Register Domain Name button and enter your new domain name as one word to claim it – at the time of writing this post, all of the ideas I’ve brainstormed here were available.
10 Ways to Choose a Blog Name: Ideas + Examples
1. Use Your Name
Should my blog be my name?
If it’s easy to spell, go for it!
Using your own name as your domain name allows you the freedom to write about a variety of topics while giving you the opportunity to rebrand as you see fit.
Do you offer a service? Are you an Instagram influencer or want to become a lifestyle blogger? Naming your domain after yourself is especially popular in these areas.
Cara Loren is an incredibly successful Instagram influencer who has surpassed the 1 million followers mark – her blog and Instagram page focus on fashion, beauty, and her family.
2. Your Name + Verb
My first blog was West Coast Mama. Yikes.
This narrowed down my target audience way too much.
As it turns out, most of my readers weren’t as interested in west coast living as much as they are in how I take photos for Instagram – doh!
So, I thought about naming my blog with my name…
Better not.
I’m the lucky owner of a Croatian name most people here misspell!
So I went with my nickname and what I do instead.
Nikki Blogs
Who are you? And what do you do?
Choose a badass domain name to let everyone know!
Consider the following ideas:
- Catarina Styles
- Masha Bakes
- Jemma Does Makeup
Pro Tip: Using a keyword in your domain name helps you rank in search engines like Google.
That means more opportunities for people to click your links, read your posts, buy your products, and make you money!
Nikki Blogs is about empowering women to achieve the life they want through online business.
Whether it’s starting a mom blog and working from home or travelling the world as a social media influencer, I believe that anything is possible with the right education and willpower!
Alternatively, you could use an adverb like Jule Sariñara of Sincerely Jules.
This phenomenal fashion blogger has built a loyal following of over 5 million Instagram followers after blogging for over a decade.
3. Keyword + Keyword
Writing about two topics?
Related or not, using two keywords in your domain name can make for adorable branding – and help you rank in Google later on!
Your keywords can be as specific or as general as you like.
Love and Lemons is a vegetarian food blog managed by spouses Jeanine and Jack – she’s the chef and he helps with taste testing and photography.
Consider the following ideas for using two keywords together:
- Toddlers and Tacos
- Desserts and Dresses
- Spin and Strawberries
4. Adjective + Noun
Stuck on a certain word? Or know exactly which topic you want to write about?
Then grab a thesaurus and start checking out creative adjectives that pair well with your word of choice.
This combination of an adjective and a noun is incredibly popular and makes for some lovely and humorous domain names.
I have a food and home decor blog that uses this format in the works.
Inspired Plum focuses on making life at home beautiful and was “inspired” by the English translation of our family surname (Sliva which means plum).
Pregnant Chicken is a satirical website for pregnant women and new moms – the writers create both content to give you a laugh and keep you informed with details on new product releases and helpful advice.
Some ideas for adjective and noun combinations include:
- Perfect Paprika
- Spicy Sprinkle
- Ambitious Mama
5. Your Name + Subject
If you know the topic you want to write about, this can be a fun and easy way to name your new blog!
Simply use your first name or a nickname and pair it with a word that represents your subject of choice.
For example, you could call your new domain something like:
- Nancy’s Nest
- Hillary’s Home
- Charlene’s Closet
Nikki’s Plate is a lifestyle blog that focuses on food and a variety of other topics including home decor and DIY – Nikki also offers some adorable printables and self-care advice.
6. Intentionally Misspelling a Word
Love puns or creating your own vocabulary? Then this could be a fun one!
Spelling a word wrong can also lead to a memorable one word domain name.
An incredibly successful example of this is Acovadu, a healthy living blog that focuses on weight loss, exercise, food, and nutrition – the blog offers helpful articles in addition to their Pinterest famous 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge.
Like Avocadu, your domain name also doesn’t have to be an exact match to your blogging niche.
Brainstorm relevant words you like and see what letters you can substitute to create your own brand.
7. Name + Name
Will you have more than one writer working on your blog? Creating a new website you and your spouse will manage? A product line after your kids?
This is another extremely popular format for blog name ideas.
Using two names in your domain name can add a sophisticated touch to your brand.
Coco Kelley is a lifestyle blog that covers home decor, travel, DIY, and other lifestyle topics. Coco Kelley also offers services including interior styling, event management, and merchandising.
8. Goal + Subject
Tell your readers exactly what you’ll do for them in your domain name!
To use this format for your new blog, think of a goal you’ll help others accomplish and make a promise.
Some examples include:
- Fluent in Croatian
- Learn to Scuba Dive
- 30 Day Baker
Teach Me Style offers readers exactly what they want to know! Holly is a teacher turned lifestyle blogger who shares her tips on fashion, home decor, and healthy eating.
9. Use a Pun
I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of puns and dad jokes – but in our house it’s mom jokes, since I’m the one who normally makes them!
Using a pun in your domain name can be an adorable way to create a memorable brand – it’s a phrase people have already heard but with your special twist.
Repeat Crafter Me hit a home run with their domain name.
Busy mom Sarah’s blog focuses on crafting, crocheting, and crockpotting and features original ideas to fulfill your creative needs.
10. Use a Blog Name Generator
Have at least one or two keywords in mind and want more ideas?
Then try using a blog name generator to narrow down your ideas – you’ll see what is and isn’t available while being exposed to a few names you probably would have never come up with.
Domain Wheel and Panabee are two great blog name generators to get you started.
Keep in mind, a computer is coming up with suggestions for you.
Some results are not completely optimized for human readers and include things like numbers and hyphens – definite no-no’s for creating a memorable blog name!
Blog names ideas can be challenging to come up with when you’re just starting out but take it from me – the success of your business doesn’t depend on choosing the perfect name from the start.
Instead, focus on choosing a name that illustrates who you are and what it is you do.
For best results:
- choose two to three words to keep it memorable
- choose a .com
- use a keyword related to your niche
- avoid using numbers and hyphens
I changed my blog name about a year after creating my first blog because the more I wrote, the more I realized I enjoy writing about technology more than West Coast living.
You might surprise yourself after you start a blog too!
Be sure to use this link for 60% off Siteground hosting and create your blog in less than 15 minutes.
Happy blogging, friends!
