Choosing a name for your YouTube channel is the first step in building a successful YouTube presence.

In this post, you’ll learn how to choose a channel name to stand out from the crowd, how to change your channel name (if you already have one), and the difference between a channel name and a channel URL.

What is a YouTube Channel Name?

A YouTube channel name is the name you choose to represent your brand on YouTube. It is shown on your YouTube channel page, on YouTube search, on Google Search results, and below your videos. A channel name can be translated into different languages and it’s different from your channel’s URL.

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Best Practices for Picking a Great YouTube Name

1. Pick a name that represents your brand
2. Use the same name across all your social media profiles
3. Your name should be unique, short, and memorable
4. Choose a name that adheres to YouTube community guidelines
5. Select a name that is easy to pronounce and avoid using numbers

1. Pick a name that represents your brand

Your channel name should be representative of your brand. This is the most important factor to consider. Your brand can be a company name, your own personal name, your ‘stage name’, or something specific to your niche.

Let’s see some examples of each.

For known brands having their brand name as their YouTube channel name is enough.

Take for example Adidas, their YouTube channel name is the same as their brand name.

If you want to build your personal brand on Youtube, you can use your first name and surname as your channel name.

Here is an example from a famous tech Youtuber, Marques Brownlee.

If you want to use a stage name instead (i.e not your real name), you can easily do so. Here is an example from The Everyday Dad.

If your Youtube channel is about a specific topic, you can choose a name that represents what your videos will be about.

For example,  Relax My Dog – Relaxing Music for Dogs YouTube channel is all about videos for relaxing your dog and this is represented accurately in the channel name.

Notice how the channel name includes additional information to specify exactly what kind of content you are expected to find in this channel.

2.  Use the same name across all your social media profiles

The second tip for you is social media consistency. It’s always a good practice to use the same name across all your social media handles and websites.

So, before choosing a name for your Youtube channel, make sure that this is available on the major social media networks – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

If your chosen name is available on Youtube but already taken on other networks, then it’s better to come up with something available on all channels to avoid confusing your brand with other brands or people.

Even if you don’t plan on expanding your presence on the web, it is highly recommended to secure a domain name that it’s the same as your to be Youtube channel name. This way you’ll protect your brand from fakers and spammers.

You can use a domain name checker to check the availability and register a domain name first and then create a YouTube channel and other social media profiles.

3. Your name should be unique, short, and memorable

As mentioned above, choosing a unique name is very important. Uniqueness will make it easier for users to find your channel when searching on Google or YouTube and it’s an essential element for building brand awareness for your channel.

The best way to check if your chosen name is unique is to do a thorough search on YouTube and Google before making a decision.

Besides having a unique name, it’s equally important to choose something that is short (3 words max) and easy to remember.

If you decide not to use your own name and go with a brand name, then combining your channel’s topic with catchy words helps make your channel name memorable.

Here are some great examples of catchy Youtube channel names to get some inspiration:

• 5-Minute Crafts
• The Everyday Dad
• Unbox Therapy
• Be Inspired
• Body Hub
• Silicon Valley Girl
• Motivation Core

4. Choose a name that adheres to YouTube community guidelines

YouTube has a set of community guidelines that cover everything that is happening on YouTube (content, users, comments, etc) including channel names.

To avoid any issues, do not use someone’s else brand name in your channel name, and make sure that you do not use any offensive words.

5. Select a name that is easy to pronounce and avoid using numbers

Last but not least, choose a name that is easy to pronounce and spell. As your channel starts to grow, other YouTubers may reference it on their videos and you want something that it’s easy to say or mention in writing.

Also, avoid using numbers. In the majority of cases numbers as part of a YouTube, channel name make it look spam, autogenerated, and hard to remember.

How to Find Great YouTube Channel Name Ideas?

One of the best ways to find ideas for naming your Youtube channel is to use Youtube search.

Go to Youtube and start searching for anything that comes to mind and take note of how other people name their channels. What channel names attract your attention and why? Try to use the same patterns when deciding on the name to use.

You can also view this list of the most popular YouTube channels to get more ideas.

If you are looking for inspiration, you can use one of the free YouTube name generators to get hundreds of suggestions for names you can use. Just make sure to double-check that the recommended names meet the criteria above before naming your channel.

One option is weshare and another option is business name generator.

Visit one of the tools, enter at least two words in the search box and get some great ideas for naming your channel.

How to Change Your YouTube Channel Name?

Changing or renaming your Youtube channel name is easy and straightforward. Follow these steps:

• Sign in to YouTube Studio or visit your channel page and click the Customize Channel
• From the left menu, select the Customization option and then click on Basic info.
• Click the Edit button to change your channel name.
• Enter your new channel description.
• Once you are done, click PUBLISH to save your changes.

Note that if you already have a YouTube verification badge (awarded to channels with more than 100K subscribers), you’ll have to re-apply for channel verification after a name change.

Also, if you have used channel translations to make your channel name available in different languages, you need to change it there as well.

YouTube Channel Name Vs YouTube URL

A YouTube channel name is different from the YouTube channel URL. The URL is shown on the browser address bar only and does not show on your channel’s home page or videos.

When you create a new YouTube channel, Youtube will create a channel URL that includes your unique channel ID. It looks something like this:

This is hard to remember or share so it’s better to use the custom URL feature to make your channel URL friendlier to users. For consistency reasons, try to create a custom URL that matches your channel name.

For example, adidas have changed its channel URL to match its channel name.

You can access the Custom URL feature by going to YouTube Studio, Customization, and Basic Info.

Conclusion

Choosing a great name for your YouTube channel it’s easy. Pick a name that is representative of your brand, easy to remember, unique and catchy.

Although changing a channel name is possible, it’s best to stick with a name from the beginning and build your YouTube brand.

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