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Choosing a memorable, meaningful blog name (that isn’t taken!) can be frustrating. Ask yourself the questions below to choose an amazing blog name.

1. What do I want to blog about?

Having a theme for your blog can help you pick your blog name. Do you want to focus on budgeting, traveling, or parenting? Maybe fitness and health?

If you want to focus on a single topic, your blog name can use words that relate

to that topic. If you want to focus on several different topics, a more general blog name might work better for you. For example, if you want to blog about cooking, a blog name that uses words to describe cooking is perfect. But what if you want to blog about cooking, gardening, and finances in the same blog? A blog name that only relates to cooking may feel limiting.

If you haven’t picked a theme for your blog yet, write down a list of blog posts you’d like to write. Then categorize these items by topic – budgeting, decorating, traveling, etc. If the majority of your blog ideas fall under one topic, you can consider making that your blog theme.

2. What words describe my topic?

If your blog is going to discuss a specific topic, write down a list of words that describe your topic. A money-focused blog might start with a list of words that include budget, frugal, saving, dimes, pennies, etc. Enter these words into the thesaurus and then add words from the thesaurus to your list.

It’s okay to include slang in your list, too! Slang like moolah, bucks, etc. would be great for a money-focused blog.

Make unique combinations of the words you’ve written down. You can create phrases (like Turning Pennies into Dollars). Or add nouns to the words (like The Superhero Money Saver). You can add your own name into the mix (like Pam’s Pennies & Dimes).

When creating a topic-specific blog name, think about whether the name will let your blog evolve over time. A name that’s too specific may feel restrictive if you want to write about different areas. The blog name “Investing with Pam” might work if you only want to focus on investing. But if there’s a chance you might expand into other areas, you might want to pick a broader blog name, like “Money Matters with Pam.”

3. What words describe me?

If you don’t want to commit to a topic-specific blog name, you can pick a more general blog name. To do this, start by brainstorming words that describe you. The words can describe your personality, your appearance, your favorite sports team, etc. You could use words that describe areas or regions that are meaningful to you.

You can reach out to your friends and family to ask them for words or phrases that describe you, too. Friends and family have a way of finding words that perfectly describe you and can help you choose an amazing blog name.

Another option is to use your name or a variation of your name for the blog name. Then the blog will be connected to you as part of your personnel brand.

4. Will this blog name represent me 10 years from now?

We can’t always predict the future, but we know certain names have an expiration date. The blog name “Bloggin’ 30-Somethin’” might be perfect when you start a blog in your 30s – but will that name still appeal to you when you’re in your 40s? The blog name “Singles on the Town” is great for a singles blog. But if you want to continue using the same blog name after you’re in a relationship, you may want a blog name that covers both single life and relationships. It’s perfectly okay to choose a blog name that might not represent your life down the road. Now is just the time to ask yourself whether you’re okay with that.

You’ll want to consider whether your blog name is something you’ll be proud of 10 years from now, too. Remember when you created your first email address? Some people created great email addresses that could be used for years down the road. Others of us used questionable judgment and hope no one remembers that 2kewlchik email address. Apply that same logic to your blog name – will you be proud of the name 10 years down the road?

5. What do my friends and family think of my blog name?

Run your blog name by your friends and family before finalizing it. Friends and family can tell you whether the name is potentially offensive, confusing, or sends a different message than you intended. Maybe you loved the name “Rachel’s Unique Dining Experiences.” But then your mom pointed out that it creates the acronym “RUDE” (not exactly the theme you were going for on your blog).

Friends and family are not as emotionally-tied to the name as you are, so they might see something about the name that you don’t see.

6. Is the domain name for my blog name already taken?

The next step in how to choose an amazing blog name is using a web hosting service to see if your domain name is already taken or if it’s up for grabs.

I use SiteGround for my web hosting services and highly recommend them. To check the availability of the domain name using SiteGround, follow these instructions:

• Go to SiteGround (you don’t have to enroll now, this link just lets you check the availability of the domain name).
• Select the circle next to “Register a New Domain.”
• Enter your blog name in the field between “www.” and “.com.”
• Cross your fingers and click “Proceed!”

Hopefully you get a message that says “Congratulations!”  But don’t panic if you get an error message that the domain name is taken.

If you get this error message, all is not lost! You can add variations to the name like “The” to the beginning or “Blog” to the end (like “The East by Midwest Blog”). But if the domain name for your blog name is taken, that might mean that someone else already has a similar blog. With all the effort you put into your blog, you don’t want your blog to be confused with someone else’s blog.

If your proposed blog name is taken, do an Internet search on the name to find websites or social media accounts that already use the name. Based on the content of the websites and social media accounts, you can decide whether to continue with a variation of your blog name or if you need to come up with an entirely new name.

What’s Next?

Now it’s time to start blogging!  See Start a Blog in 5 Easy Steps for easy step-by-step instructions to start a blog of your own.

Comments or Questions?

Have a comment or a question? I’d love to hear from you! Visit me on Instagram @eastbymidwest and leave a comment or DM, or send me an email at pam@eastbymidwest.com.