Podcast Name Generator

Two names each for eight topics

The first in each row says what the show is about; the second is brandable, with the listing title that makes it findable too. Generated by this tool when the page was built.

• True crime The Crime Sofa · Small Exhibit Listing title for the second: Small Exhibit: A True Crime Podcast
• Business and startups Help, It’s Business · The Long Runway Listing title for the second: The Long Runway: A Business Podcast
• Comedy Help, It’s Comedy · The Chaos Situation Listing title for the second: The Chaos Situation: A Comedy Podcast
• Football (soccer) Football Decoded · Absolute Back Post Listing title for the second: Absolute Back Post: A Football Podcast
• Books and reading Inside Books · The Paperback Files Listing title for the second: The Paperback Files: A Books Podcast
• Video games Gaming?! Seriously? · Pull Up a Chair Listing title for the second: Pull Up a Chair: A Gaming Podcast
• Parenting The Parenting Desk · After the Juice Box Listing title for the second: After the Juice Box: A Parenting Podcast
• History Inside History · Unqualified Opinions Listing title for the second: Unqualified Opinions: A History Podcast

The two jobs a podcast name has to do

A podcast name is pulled in two directions at once. It has to be found: a large share of new listeners arrive by searching a podcast app for a subject, and a show called "The Hollow Hour" does not come up when someone types "true crime". And it has to be remembered: a listener who enjoyed an episode needs to recall the name a week later to tell a friend, and "The True Crime Podcast" is the name of a thousand shows.

Most naming advice picks a side. The generator gives you both kinds and labels them. Names marked Says what it is about contain the word people search for. Names marked Brandable do not, and come with a suggested listing title underneath.

The listing title: having it both ways

Plenty of successful shows solve the problem the same way: a distinctive name, a colon, and a plain description. The Alibi Files: A True Crime Podcast. In conversation it is "The Alibi Files", which is memorable. In a search it contains "true crime", which is findable.

Every brandable result has one of these ready to copy. Keep the description honest and short — one phrase, naming the genre. A colon followed by six keywords stops reading as a description and starts reading as spam, and podcast directories discourage titles stuffed with irrelevant terms.

Topic words from inside the subject

The difference between a generic name and a good one is usually a single noun that only someone who knows the subject would choose. A football podcast called "The Back Post" or "Stoppage Time" signals a fan, not a content farm. A book podcast called "Dog-Ear" or "The Margins" signals a reader.

So each of the 18 preset topics has its own vocabulary of insider nouns — evidence and alibis for true crime, runway and margin for business, save points and side quests for video games. Choose Something else and type any topic in a word or two, and the generator leans on templates built around your topic word instead.

Choosing a tone

• Chatty is for shows built on conversation between hosts: Talk, Chat, The Sofa, Two Nerds.
• Expert promises information: Briefing, Decoded, The Desk, Weekly. It suits a show where listeners come to learn something.
• Funny leads with self-deprecation — Bad at Football, Accidentally Parenting — which sets expectations and filters for the right audience at once.
• Storytelling uses short, atmospheric names — The Last Verdict, Behind the Ledger — for narrative and documentary shows.

Pick several and the results are mixed, each card labelled so you can see which tone produced it.

Length: what fits on a phone

Podcast apps show shows in lists, often next to the cover art, and long titles are cut off with an ellipsis. The generator shows the character count of every name and flags anything over 30 characters. That is not a hard rule, just the point beyond which you should check how the name looks in the apps your audience uses.

Length matters out loud too. A name is said far more often than it is read — by you at the start of every episode, by listeners recommending it — and every extra word is another chance to get it slightly wrong.

Say it aloud before you choose it

More listening happens through speakers and headphones than through screens, and many people start a show by asking a phone or a smart speaker for it by name. A name that is hard to spell after hearing it, uses a number that could be a word, or relies on a pun that only works in print will lose some of those listeners at the first step.

Try each shortlisted name three ways: say it to someone and ask them to spell it, read it at thumbnail size on your phone, and search for it. The one that survives all three is usually the one.

Built around the host

Add a first name and some results are built around it: Ask Priya, Priya Talks Crime, Priya's Casefile. Personality-led shows often do best under the host's name, because listeners come for the person as much as the subject.

The trade-off is discovery. Nobody searches for a host they have not heard of yet, so a host-named show leans harder on its listing title — "Ask Priya: Personal Finance Without the Jargon" — to be found at all.

Checking a name is free

Every card has two buttons that search for the exact name: Spotify's podcast search and a web search with the name in quotes. Before you commit, also check:

• Apple Podcasts, still one of the largest directories.
• Social handles for the platforms where you will promote episodes.
• A website address, even if you only ever use it to redirect to your feed.
• Trademarks, if the name is close to a company, product or existing media brand.

An existing show with the same name is not always fatal — podcast names are not unique — but sharing a name with an active show in the same category guarantees confusion in search results and reviews.

Mistakes that are easy to avoid

• Putting "podcast" in the name. Everything in a podcast app is a podcast. The word only belongs in a listing title, after the colon.
• A year or a season. "The 2026 Marketing Show" is out of date on New Year's Day.
• An in-joke. It means everything to the hosts and nothing to a stranger scrolling past.
• A name one letter away from a big show. Listeners looking for the famous one find you and leave; listeners looking for you find the famous one.
• Unusual spelling. Fine on a cover, fatal when someone tries to find the show after hearing it recommended.

The name on the cover art

Your show's name will most often be seen as part of its cover art, at thumbnail size, next to dozens of others. Podcast directories ask for large square artwork — Apple's minimum is 1,400 pixels a side — but listeners mostly see it a fraction of that size. Short names can be set large and stay legible; long ones shrink to a smudge.

That is another reason to keep the description in the listing title rather than on the cover. The cover only has to carry the memorable part.

Show name and episode titles

The show name stays the same for years, so it can afford to be memorable rather than descriptive. Episode titles are the opposite: each one is a fresh chance to be found, and the clearer it is about the guest or the subject, the more often it turns up in search. A brandable show name with plainly descriptive episode titles is a combination that works well.

Testing a shortlist on real people

You are the worst judge of your own podcast's name, because you already know what the show is. A stranger does not, and a stranger is who the name has to work on. Three quick tests are worth more than an evening of deliberating:

• The recommendation test. Say "you should listen to…" and the name, out loud, to someone who has not seen it written. Ask them to search for it. Did they find it?
• The scroll test. Show five or six people your shortlist as thumbnails among real shows in your category, and ask which they would tap first.
• The guess test. Show the name alone and ask what the show is about. If nobody guesses close, it needs the listing title — or a different name.

Save the names you are considering with the Save button and they collect in a shortlist at the top of the results, ready to copy into a message to the people you are asking.

Related tools

The Business Name Combiner blends words into a coined brand name, useful if none of the descriptive options feel distinctive enough. The Username Generator finds handles to match, and the Team Name Generator works well for a co-hosted show that wants to sound like a crew.

Common questions

How do I choose a podcast name?

Decide first whether the name needs to be found or remembered. A name that contains your topic is easier to find in a podcast app’s search; a distinctive name is easier to remember and to build a brand on. You can have both by giving a memorable name a short description after it in your listing title, which the generator suggests for every brandable name.

Should my podcast name include keywords?

One relevant word helps, because people search podcast apps by topic. Stuffing in several does not: directories discourage titles padded with keywords, and a name that reads like a list of search terms looks like spam to the people you want to listen.

How long should a podcast name be?

Short enough to fit in a podcast app’s list without being cut off. Around 30 characters is a sensible ceiling for the name itself; the generator shows the length of every result and flags anything longer.

Can I use my own name as the podcast name?

Yes, and if the show is built around you it is often the right choice. It does make the podcast harder to find for anyone who does not know you yet, so consider adding the topic in the listing title. Add your first name in the tool and some results are built around it.

How do I check whether a podcast name is taken?

Each card has Spotify and Google buttons that search for the exact name. Check Apple Podcasts as well, the social handles you will need, and whether a matching website address is free.

Can I change my podcast name later?

Yes. Your feed address stays the same, so existing subscribers keep receiving episodes. What you lose is recognition: listeners, reviews and links that know the old name. It is far cheaper to spend an extra hour choosing now.