How to Choose a Great Podcast Name

Truthfully, naming your podcast can be one of the toughest parts of planning your podcast. Developing a show idea and format usually comes naturally. These aspects seem to “feel right” from the start—but finding just the right name, that takes a little more work.  

Your podcast name is the first step to your show’s discoverability. It should align with the show’s core content and stand out to listeners in a list of podcasts in your category.

Why do you need a great podcast name? 

Does your podcast name really matter all that much? Yes.

A good show name is important to give your potential listeners a peek at what they can expect from your show. It can also give you a major step up in discoverability if you take advantage of keywords. You need a name that’s searchable, aligned with your content, and easy to remember. Together with your cover art, it’s going to be what makes people click play, and it is going to be the way people remember you - so better put some work into your podcast name ideas.

Brainstorming A Podcast Name

To start getting ideas, it can help to have a brainstorm session with your podcast team. We like to call this a Namestorm at Lower Street. 

Start with a small description of the podcast concept along with a description of who this show will be for. Essentially, lay out what you want to achieve with this show. 

Ask everyone on your podcasting team to pitch in and throw some ideas around. At this stage, don’t cut anything out, write down anything serious, fun, punny, you name it!

Once you’ve got a few ideas, check if they are available, and if they follow best practices:

• Short and clearly readable

• Aligned with the main topic of the podcast

• Searchable and Easy to Remember

This gives you a more clear list to choose from.

Now let’s get into a few more things to consider when picking a name for your podcast.

How do you choose a great podcast name? 

Here are some of our tips for finding a catchy podcast name that fits your show. ‍

As Always: Know Your Audience.

If you’ve poked around a few blogs here on Lower Street, you’ve heard us say it time and time again, before creating anything regarding your podcast, you need to know your audience.

Who’s really going to be listening? Fine tune this until you know exactly what that audience searches for. Then use that to your advantage, creating a podcast name that speaks directly to them.

Do Your Research for Podcast Name Ideas

Chances are, you’re not the first podcast covering your selected topic, but don’t get discouraged. Even with millions of podcasts out there, there’s still plenty of gaps on the market and space for all these new shows. But it does mean you’ll need to do a competitive analysis to see how you can make your show stand out. 

When it comes to picking a podcast name, you’ll want to specifically make sure your title doesn’t already exist. Before committing, search your potential title and see if someone has taken it. Since best practices would have you create a website and social media accounts for your podcast, make sure that a domain and handles for your title are available as well.

Have a look at what similar podcasts have chosen for their names - are they puns or plays on words or descriptive and branded? You don’t need to follow their rules, but it can help you align yourself with the most popular shows. 

Pick a Podcast Name Aligned with your Content

This may seem obvious, but trust us, we’ve seen plenty of creators who maybe didn’t get the memo. You need to have your show concept done before you pick catchy podcast names.
Then you want to take a minute to imagine future episodes, even make a long list if it helps. What are you actually going to talk about? What will be the common theme?

At this stage here’s what to think of for a great podcast name: Don’t include a name in the title, unless you are sure that person will be the host continuously. Don’t include keywords that might limit or mislead your audience.

For example: If you name your brand will be speaking about sparkling wines from around the world, maybe don’t name it “Champagne Stories”. That tells the audience you’ll be focusing exclusively on Champagne. Open it up a bit. A title like “Sparkling Odyssey” or “Sip & Sparkle” allows more flexibility to discuss more wines and the industry. 

How long should a podcast name be?

Ideally, you’ll want to keep it short. When choosing catchy podcast names, it helps to keep it short and memorable. If you’re wondering what the standard is, Spotify for Podcasters' shows are between 3-4 words and 15-20 characters long. 

The best podcast growth is word of mouth, so make your show title easy to share.
Not to mention - you’ll be saying this title a lot. In your intro, when you tell people about what you are working on, make sure it’s a name that’s easy to say. 

Make Your Podcast Name Discoverable

Following up with our last tip that you want to make your title easy to share, you also want to make it easy to remember, easy to search, and easy to discover through related searches.

Long before you write your show notes, you want to consider podcast SEO even in your podcast name. You’ll want to make sure it appears easily on search engine results.

Something that may help you at this point is coming up with a list of 10 primary keywords you want your show to rank for. You’ll want to include at least one of these main keywords in the title so as to come up as number one in the search results.

Of course, fitting a keyword into a fun and catchy podcast title can be tough. If it just isn’t working you can always fit the keyword into a subtitle. For example, going back to our sparkling wine podcast you could have “Sip & Sparkle: Sparkling Wines Around the World”

Ask for Feedback

Before you create the final art and publish your show, don’t be afraid to ask for some feedback. Get a list of 3-5 podcast name ideas, and pitch them to friends and colleagues in your industry. Your mom doesn’t have to love your podcast name, but it should stand out to your potential audience, so keep that in mind when pitching the title.

How to Name a Podcast - What to Avoid

Above we’ve listed some of the best practices for how to name a podcast, but what should you avoid? Here’s a few mistakes creators make when naming their show. 

1. Saying it all in the title

You don’t want a long and complex name with all the information.  “Exploring Sparkling Wines of the World through Interviews” doesn’t really roll off the tongue, and is a tad boring. You need people to remember your name, don’t make it hard for them. 

2. Copying a popular name

It should go without saying but don’t plagiarize your podcast title. For one you shouldn’t copy another podcast’s name just for the reach. Your name may also happen to be Joe Rogan, but try promoting your podcast as The Joe Rogan Experience and pretty soon you’ll run into some trouble.

This doesn’t only mean podcast names, make sure you aren’t copying any trademarks, copyrights or domains. Things can get a bit messy when intellectual property is compromised.

3. Putting “podcast” in the title

It’s a bit redundant, there’s no need to let people know they are listening to a podcast. You can use that space in your title for a more relevant keyword. Of course, if your podcast is about podcasts, it can find a space in the title (like our very own Podcast Book Club). 

4. Overdoing the keywords

SEO keywords can do wonders for your podcast discoverability, but don’t overdo it. Stick to one main keyword in the title, and leave the rest for the description.

5. Using potentially offensive language

Even though it might be your personality and the tone of the podcast, try to leave the swear out of your title. Apple Podcast may even reject your show if the title seems offensive. Look for an alternative way to express your content. 

Final Thoughts on How to Come Up With A Podcast Name

To sum it all up, here’s the main rules to follow when coming up with a great podcast name:

• Limit it to 4 words maximum.

• Align your podcast title with your content.

• Keep it short, but intriguing.

• No need to add the word “podcast”.

• Make it easy to spell, say, search, and most importantly, remember.

• Double-check your podcast name doesn’t exist already.

If you need some extra inspiration, you can always look to an AI tool to give you a boost. Podcast Name Generators are often free and can give you a series of potential titles with just your primary keywords.