App name generator

How to name an app

A good app name does three jobs. It is easy to say out loud, so people can recommend it. It is easy to spell, so people who heard it can find it. And it fits in the small spaces the stores give it: a home screen label, a search result row, a notification. Apple puts it plainly on its product page guidance: choose a simple, memorable name that is easy to spell and hints at what the app does, and avoid generic terms or names too similar to existing apps.

The generator above gives you raw material for that. The rest of this page is about choosing well from it.

The length limits that matter

On the App Store, the app name can be up to 30 characters, and so can the subtitle that sits under it. Both limits are in Apple's product page documentation and in the App Store Connect reference, which also sets a minimum of 2 characters. Google Play also caps the app title at 30 characters in its metadata policy.

Thirty characters is the ceiling, not the target. Under your icon on an iPhone home screen, only about a dozen characters show before the label is cut off, so the short form of your name is the one people will see every day. That is why most strong app names are one or two short words, and why each card in the generator shows how many of the 30 characters a name uses.

Keywords: name, subtitle or keyword field?

Apple's App Store search documentation says search results draw on text relevance (your app's name, subtitle, keywords and primary category) and on user behavior such as downloads and ratings. You also get a hidden keyword field of 100 characters. Apple advises not repeating words across these fields, because a word in your name already counts for search.

That leads to a common pattern: a short, brandable name, followed by a descriptive phrase. Some apps put the phrase in the name itself ("Name: Budget Planner"), others keep the name clean and let the subtitle carry the search words. Both work. What Apple does not allow is stuffing: guideline 2.3.7 of the App Review Guidelines asks for a unique name and says not to pack metadata with trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing or other irrelevant phrases.

Practical rule: put your one most important search word in the name or the subtitle, not both, and use the keyword field for the rest.

Patterns that make good names

Each name in the generator is tagged with the technique that made it. These are the patterns behind a lot of names you already know:

• Two real words joined. Clear and easy to remember: Headspace, Duolingo (half invented), YouTube. Good when the pair describes a feeling or a promise rather than a feature list.
• Blends. Two words that share letters and overlap, like Pinterest (pin and interest) or Instagram (instant camera and telegram). Short, ownable, and they still carry meaning.
• A real word with a suffix. Shopify, Calendly, Spotify. The suffix (-ify, -ly, -io, -o) signals "this is a product" while the root says what it does.
• Dropped vowels and swapped letters. Flickr and Tumblr made this famous. Use it sparingly: every unusual spelling is one more thing people have to be told.
• Invented words. Names like Hulu or Etsy are built from easy syllables. They are the easiest to own and the hardest to explain, so they lean on a good subtitle.
• Descriptive names. "Meal Planner" style names tell people exactly what they get, which helps early on, but they are hard to trademark and easy to confuse with competitors.

Check before you commit

Once you have three to five favourites, run each one through the same checks:

1. Say it to someone. Ask them to spell it back. If they cannot, people will not find it in search.
2. Search both stores. Use the "Search the App Store" link on each card, and search Google Play too. A different app with the same or a close name will split your downloads and your reviews.
3. Check trademarks. Search the USPTO trademark search for the US, EUIPO eSearch for EU trademarks, and the WIPO Global Brand Database for other countries. Look for the same or similar names in software and app classes. This page is not legal advice; for a name you plan to build a business on, a trademark attorney can do a proper clearance search.
4. Stay clear of other brands. Guideline 5.2.1 of the App Review Guidelines says not to use protected third-party material such as trademarks without permission, and not to use misleading or copycat names. That includes names that lean on a famous brand ("InstaBudget", "GPT Planner"), and 5.2.5 adds anything confusingly similar to Apple's own products.
5. Write the subtitle. If you cannot write a clear 30-character subtitle that fits with the name, the pair is not working yet. The generator suggests a stub for each name as a starting point.

When you are stuck

Generate a few batches, star anything you would not hate seeing on your home screen, and leave it for a day. Names that still feel right the next morning are worth checking. If you want more in the same direction, copy the prompt above into your own AI assistant; it carries your description and your shortlist with it.