Naming feels like a creative problem, so developers treat it like one: wait for the perfect name to arrive. It doesn't. The apps you admire have names that were chosen by process, checked in an evening, and then made good by the product attached to them.
This guide is that process: the five patterns that produce most good app names, the store rules that constrain them, and the availability checks that stop a rename six months in, which is the expensive way to learn this.
What an app name actually has to do
Four jobs, in priority order:
- Be memorable enough to survive word of mouth. Someone hears it at lunch and finds it that evening. That's the whole funnel for an indie app.
- Be spellable from hearing it. If they type it wrong, someone else gets the install.
- Work beside a keyword in 30 characters. Both stores cap the title at 30 characters, and your title is your strongest ranking lever, so the name has to leave room.
- Be available. On both stores, as a domain you can accept, and clear of trademarks in your main markets.
Notice "describes every feature" isn't a job. Names that try to describe everything ("TaskNotePlannerPro") do none of the four jobs above.
Five patterns that produce good names
Almost every strong app name falls into one of these:
- The borrowed real word. A common word carried into a new context: Bear (notes), Arc (browser), Notion, Opal. Feels premium, easy to say, brutal to rank for on its own, so the title keyword matters double. Availability is the hard part.
- The plain-benefit name. The name states the outcome: Calm, Streaks, Flighty, 1Password. Instantly clear in a search result, ages well, and pairs naturally with a subtitle that elaborates.
- The compound. Two plain words fused: PhotoRoom, Lightroom, YouTube, Airbnb once upon a time. Easy to invent, usually available, and self-explaining if you pick honest halves.
- The invented word. Duolingo, Trello, Zillow, Spotify. Ownable everywhere, trademark-friendly, zero built-in meaning, so the product carries all of it. Best when you plan to be around long enough for the name to accumulate meaning.
- The keyword-forward name. The name is close to the search term: Habit Tracker, Video Compressor. Maximum discovery, minimum brand: users find you easily and forget you just as easily, and you'll share your name with a page of lookalikes. A reasonable trade for utility apps, a bad one for anything you want loved.
If you're stuck generating candidates, work the three-list method: ten words for what it does, ten for how it should feel, ten words you just like. Combine across lists. Twenty minutes of this beats two weeks of waiting for lightning, and beats most app name generator output too, because the candidates start from your app instead of from noise.
The 30-character reality
Both stores give you 30 characters of title, and on both, the title is the strongest ranking signal you control. The pattern that uses it well:
- Brand, colon or dash, keyword phrase. "Bear: Markdown Notes". "Streaks: Habit Tracker". The name does memory; the keyword does discovery.
- Short names win space. A 10-character name leaves 18 for a keyword phrase. A 24-character name leaves nothing, which is a real ASO cost you pay every day.
- No promotional words. Google Play policy bans "free", "best", "#1", ALL CAPS theatrics, and decorative emoji in titles; Apple rejects keyword-stuffed names outright. One clean keyword after your brand is the compliant version, and it also happens to be the version users trust.
Which keyword goes in the title is a research question, not a guess: the app store keyword research guide covers finding a term with volume you can actually win. When you're drafting, ReachFront's free App Store listing generator and Google Play listing generator write the title, subtitle, and description as one keyword-consistent set inside the exact limits, which is faster than negotiating with a character counter.
The availability checklist
One evening, in this order, before you get attached:
- Search both stores for the exact name. Apple enforces unique app names, so a taken name is a hard stop on iOS. Google Play technically allows duplicates, but sharing a name with an established app buries you and invites disputes.
- Search the name as a user would. Not just exact match: does your candidate drown among near-identical utilities? A name that can't be found isn't a name, it's a password.
- Check the domain and handles. You don't need the .com, but you need something you're not embarrassed to put on a screenshot, and matching handles wherever you'll actually post.
- Run a basic trademark search. USPTO in the US, EUIPO in Europe, in your app's category. You're not filing anything tonight: you're avoiding the cease-and-desist that forces the six-months-in rename.
- Say it to three people. If any of them spells it wrong after hearing it, or asks "wait, what was it called?", believe them now rather than your analytics later.
Renaming: possible, just expensive
Store mechanics make renaming easy: on iOS the new name ships with your next version submission, and on Google Play you can edit the title anytime, pending review. What renaming actually costs is recognition: every mention, review, and half-remembered recommendation now points at a name that no longer exists. If the checks above surface a problem, rename before launch while the audience is small. After launch, rename only for legal reasons or a genuinely broken name, and redirect everything you can.
Frequently asked questions
Can two apps have the same name?
On the Apple App Store, no: exact app names are unique, and if a name is taken you must vary it. Google Play allows duplicate titles, but launching into someone else's name is a discovery and trademark problem even where the store permits it. Distinct beats permitted.
How long can an app name be?
30 characters on both stores. Apple also gives you a separate 30-character subtitle, and Google Play an 80-character short description, which is where your tagline belongs. Names that fit in 12–15 characters leave room to add a keyword to the title.
Should I put keywords in my app name?
One, after your brand name, in the "Brand: keyword phrase" pattern. The title is the strongest ranking signal you control on both stores, so a relevant keyword there helps. Stuffing several keywords, or using terms like "best" or "free", violates store policies and reads as spam to users.
Can I change my app's name after launch?
Yes. On iOS the new name takes effect with your next version submission; on Google Play you can edit the title anytime, subject to review. The store mechanics are easy: what you lose is user recognition and word-of-mouth memory, so rename early if you must rename at all.
Next steps
Name chosen and checked, the title is only a third of your metadata: the full ASO guide covers the subtitle, keywords, and description it has to work with, and the free ASO score checker will grade the finished listing before the stores do. If the app behind the name is still a maybe, validate the idea first: names are cheap to change compared to products.