Podcast Names: A Complete Guide to Picking the Right One

Not sure what to call your brand-new podcast?

We hear you. There are so many podcast name options to choose from, and lots of things to worry about, like:

• Should you go with a really off-the-wall and creative name, or stay safe with something that plainly states what your show is about? 
• How long should the title be? (And how long is too long?)
• What happens if you accidentally choose the same title as a podcast that already exists?

The struggle is real—but don’t worry, we’re here to help. In this post, we’ll break down an eight-part strategy for covering all your bases and picking the perfect name for your new show. Then, we’ll list a few top free podcast name generators to help kick off your brainstorming session.

Let’s dive in!

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1. Think About The Audience

First and foremost, make sure whatever name you choose will resonate with your listeners. You probably already have a good idea of your audience persona, so consider what that person will expect to see as the title of their new favorite podcast show.

Put yourself in the mind of your target listener. Who are they? What do they want? What’s their taste like?

Keeping your audience at the forefront of your planning will help ensure you create a show name that engages and connects with the people you do the show for in the first place—your listeners.

2. Choose A Descriptive Title for Your Podcast 

Next, remember that your podcast title should describe what your show is about. While poetic or mysterious names can seem appealing to you, remember: the more accurate your podcast title is, the more easily your prospective audience will be able to find you on Apple Podcasts or wherever else they're looking for audio content.

So before you start brainstorming podcast names, make sure you know exactly what topic your podcast will cover. You can probably already specify which type of podcast you’ll be making, with a category like:

• Politics
• Finance
• Health and Fitness

But don’t stop there. What specific angle will your podcast approach its larger topic from? 

For example, if you’re starting a health and fitness podcast, is there a narrower category you could use to describe your range of episode topics? Maybe you love outdoor adventure sports like rock climbing—like the creators of Chalk Talk.

Or perhaps your creative interests lie in mindfulness, meditation, and holistic wellness instead, like Sarah King of Holistic Health Radio.

As you can see, there’s a wide range of angles you can choose from within broad categories. It’s crucial to pinpoint your exact niche before choosing a podcast name; otherwise, you’ll miss out on the chance to title your show something accurately descriptive.

3. Structure Your Show Name Like A Brand

Whether you’re creating an official company name podcast or a personal show, it’s best to treat your podcast professionally from the get-go. 

In that vein, consider the brand characteristics you want to promote and reinforce. When it comes to the overall tone you plan to use in your podcast, what would match the character of your personal or company brand? 

Sit down and think of a few descriptors of your brand’s values and character, and what tone would best align with them. For instance, your brand’s vibe might be witty and irreverent like…

...formal and educational:

...or casual and friendly:

Ensure that whatever podcast name you choose will be aligned with your overall brand voice and tone.

4. Pick A Name That Will Be Easy To Remember

Next, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of making your podcast title memorable. 

For example, if your potential listeners’ friends ask for podcast recommendations, it’ll be tough for them to recall your show accurately if its title is “Morphology and the Hypothesis of Lexical Integrity.” Even if it accurately describes your podcast on language, it’s probably not the catchiest phrase, is it? 

You’ll definitely want to consider how your title will spread by word of mouth. Remember: use simple words, catchy phrases, and avoid words that would be difficult to spell.

Short and Sweet is Usually Best

While we said above that descriptive names are best for podcasts, that doesn’t mean those names need to be long. Many experts advise sticking to four words or less than 30 characters.

So that means whatever title you choose needs to get to the point and be as descriptive as possible in a very short space. 

One way to do this is to trim unnecessary words. “The” and “Podcast” are two words that can probably be crossed out. So instead of “The Modern Language Podcast,” try trimming the unnecessary words and coming up with more of a clever name. For example:

Words for Granted’s podcast creators keep it simple and short, telling you what the show is probably about—but with a fun twist. 

Comedy is Always Good: Funny Podcast Name Ideas

Another great way to make your podcast title memorable is to give it a comedic flair. After all, people remember puns, right?

A show like Pod Save America is easy to remember because of its play on a common phrase. But note that nothing about this punny title is hard to spell. Keep in mind that some punny choices can be difficult to spell correctly in a search bar—like “eggcellent” or “tearable”—might be more trouble than they’re worth.

5. Avoid Annoying Grammar Pitfalls

This is a big one. You don’t want to distract or turn off potential audience members by using irritating grammar mistakes, such as:

• ‘Its’ vs. ‘It’s’
• ‘Their’ vs. ‘there’ vs. ‘they’re’
• ‘Too’ vs. ‘to’
• ‘Then’ vs. ‘Than’

Obvious errors and typos can make your podcast appear amateurish and unprofessional, which doesn’t bode well for its long-term success. Be very careful not to make any obvious grammar mistakes when creating your official podcast name—especially before ordering your podcast cover art design!

6. Come Up With A Show Title You Love

Don’t forget that whatever title you choose, you’ll be stuck with it for a good long while. Of course, podcast rebranding is possible—and even common—but if you can help it, it’s a good idea to start out with a name you plan to keep.

So in that case, make sure your chosen title is something you love. Repeat it out loud several times to yourself. Does it roll off the tongue nicely? (After all, you’ll be introducing yourself and saying the name of your podcast at the beginning of every episode, so you don’t want to get tired of it.)

If you don’t absolutely love it, maybe that’s a sign that you haven’t found the perfect show title yet!

7. Do Your Research

Next, pull up your favorite search engine and research other podcasts in your chosen niche. Before you settle on your brilliant podcast name idea, it’s important to make sure no one’s already taken it.

Avoid Confusion: Is There Another Podcast With the Same Name?

Did you know that technically, multiple podcasts can exist with the same name?

It’s true. In the United States, unless a podcast has a trademark on its name, there’s no reason another podcast can’t be named the same thing. So don’t assume your podcast host of choice will reject your new show if you try uploading a podcast with the same name as one that already exists.

Of course, if you do choose the name of another podcast, odds are good that there won’t be any legal consequences. Unless the prior podcast has a registered trademark on the name, or it’s obvious that you’re starting your podcast to spoof the original show or confuse its audience, it’s doubtful that any court will enforce a name change.

Still, though, it’s best to choose a name that isn’t already out there. After all, you want your new audience to find your show—and only your show—when they search for your podcast title in their podcast directory of choice, right?

Are the Social Handles and a Domain Name Available?

Of course, you may not be in legal trouble if you accidentally choose a podcast title someone else is already using—but if the domain name isn't available for your podcast website, that isn't good. 

Similarly, double-check that all the major social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Is your title idea available as a username, handle, or channel name?

If not, it might be worth considering if it’s worthwhile to stick with that name idea. It’s easiest to be as consistent as possible across all your channels, so if there’s no availability on social media or as a domain name, it may cause quite a few logistical headaches for you later.

8. Keep SEO in Mind for your Show Name

Search engine optimization is an important factor in building your podcast audience. So while you want your podcast title (and episode titles, for that matter) to be creative and catchy, try to balance that out with a title that includes your main keyword and points to what your show is about.

Of course, since you’re trying to keep your title brief (see tip #4), you can use a subtitle to pack in a keyword or two. For example, if your show about Star Trek is called “Beam Me Up, Scotty,” you can add “A Star Trek Superfan Podcast” to help your show get discovered in Google searches and on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or Spotify.

8 Free Podcast Name Generators for Podcast Name Inspiration

Now that you know what to look for in your own perfect show title, here are a few free podcast name generators you can use to do the initial brainstorming work for you:

1. Riverside.fm's Podcast Name Generator
2. BizNameWiz
3. BNG Podcast Name Generator 
4. Crowdspring
5. Kopywrite Kourse 
6. NameBoy 
7. Portent Podcast Name Generator
8. SquadHelp

Use any one of these to help get the creative juices flowing! 

How to choose a good podcast name with a podcast name generator

Most podcast name generators are really simple to use and just require filling in a bit of information about your podcast. Although, just in case, we’ll show you how to use one, by looking at Riverside’s generator as an example.

Follow the steps below and in minutes you’ll get a podcast name ideas list to help you choose the best option for your podcast.

Step 1: Finalize what kind of podcast you are creating and then go to Riverside’s podcast name generator.

Step 2: Click on the text box and follow the prompt, which asks you to ‘Describe your podcast in a few words’.

Step 3: Click ‘Generate’ when you are done describing your podcast and names will start generating.

Step 4: Choose a name from the unique podcast names generated for you. 

Click ‘Show More’ to see more names. 

You can also select ‘Generate Again’ if you’d like other podcast names, or if you’d like to change your podcast description and start a completely new podcast name search.

Just like that you have a whole bunch of names to choose from! Remember to check the podcast name availability to make sure no one else is already using the title you’re going to go for. 

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Bonus: 15 Best Podcast Name Ideas for 2024

We’ve shown you how to choose a podcast name, we’ve given you some great generating tools to help you, but for extra inspiration, we’ll show you what we think are the best podcast names for 2024. 

1. How I Built This

Why we like it: Sometimes simple is best. In this podcast Guy Raz interviews entrepreneurs to understand how they built successful businesses. Listeners can get the idea of this straight from the name which is descriptive and to the point.

2. Crime Junkie

Why we like it: This cool podcast name is great because it thinks about its audience. This podcast, which covers different crime mysteries, is for those who enjoy watching or solving these complex crimes. In other words, the listeners of this podcast are literally Crime Junkies. 

3. This American Life

Why we like it: This American Life is a podcast radio show, that as the title suggests, covers everything related to everyday life in America. It’s short, simple, and easy to search if you’re looking for anything related to American Life, making it a good name for the podcast. 

4. The Daily

Why we like it: Easy to remember, The Daily is a catchy podcast name that works well for this journalistic talk show. ‘Daily’ tells the audience that a new podcast comes out each day and it reminds you of the phrase of the ‘Daily news’. 

5. On Purpose 

Why we like it: There are two ways to look at this clever podcast name. First, the podcast, itself, discusses living a life with purpose. Secondly and as the podcast description explains, Jay Shetty is living his purpose by sharing his wisdom. Basically, this podcast was created on purpose, for others to live their purpose.

6. Unlocking us 

Why we like it: Metaphors and symbolism are a great way to make a creative podcast name. Here, Brene Brown discusses her research that uncovers the depth of the human psyche. The phrase ‘unlocking us’ implies that by listening to this podcast you’ll access and discover new information or understandings about yourself and others. 

7. Pod Save America

Why we like it: This is a brilliant pun, or play on words of the phrase ‘God Bless America’. The podcast covers American politics and encourages people to help in whatever way they can. In other words, the Podcast, or ‘Pod’ will educate people to make better political choices to ‘save America’.

8. Dungeons and Daddys

Why we like it: Not only is this a catchy podcast name because of the alliteration, but this is another brilliant play on words. This podcast is about dads who play Dungeons and Dragons, so making the small switch from Dragons to Daddies is just genius for a podcast name. We get the podcast is about dads and immediately associate it to Dungeons and Dragons. ( Also the tagline beneath the title, ‘*Not a BDSM podcast’, is just hilarious!)

9. The Happiness Lab

Why we like it: This title is fun but gets across exactly what it needs to. This podcast is hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos, a professor who has conducted research on living a happy life, which is exactly what she covers in this podcast. Listeners get to enter her research lab of happiness when they listen to this show.

10. Business Casual

Why we like it: Another great use of words! Just like the dress code which is half smart, half casual, this podcast covers serious business stories in a fun way. Journalist Nora Ali and comedian Scott Rogowsky are the hosts of the showing, bringing the business-casual element that the title suggests.

11. Serial 

Why we like it: Sometimes all you need is one clever word for a great podcast name! Here, Serial has two meanings. Firstly, the podcast, itself, is a serial because it comes out in a series of episodes. Although, the podcast also covers stories about serial killers. 

12. Planet Money

Why we like it: We live in a world that is run by the economy. So Planet Money is a fun podcast title for a show that explains everything related to the economy.

13. Deeply Human

Why we like it: This is another deep dive into the human psyche, and the title suggests that well. Not only are humans deep in terms of their emotions, consciousness, and psychology, but the podcast, itself, goes into the depths of discovering this topic.

14. Freakonomics

Why we like it: We love the blend of the two words freak and economics. This podcast is based on a book of the same name written by a journalist and economist uncovering all sorts of stories and how things work. 

15. Potterless

Why we like it: The host of this podcast, Mike Schubert, had never read the well-acclaimed Harry Potter series. As the name cleverly suggests, Schuber was literally ‘Poterless’. This podcast follows his journey from being a Potterless adult into reading the series for the first time and engaging with fans about the novels. 

Podcast Names: Final Thoughts

When it comes to starting a new podcast, choosing the right title for your show is an important decision. You want something that resonates with your audience, describes what your show is about, and is easy to remember. You’ll also want to ensure the name you choose is unique and aligns with your brand.

And keep SEO in mind when naming your podcast, because you want it to show up in your target audience’s search results.

Of course, growing your audience is about more than naming your show well. You want to create a consistently high-quality product too, which is where Riverside’s studio-quality podcast software comes in. Sign up for Riverside for free today!