Are you thinking of starting your own Etsy store online?
You’re probably feeling the nerves and excitement as you go through those initial set-up stages for your very first Etsy venture.
It may not have occurred to you that the name you choose for your store might just be the make-or-break for your success on this platform– regardless of the quality of your stock!
So, what are the rules and requirements you need to adhere to, and which names are going to capture the highest amount of interest from potential customers?
Keep on reading as we teach you how to name your Etsy shop!
Why Choosing The Right Etsy Shop Name Is So Important
In a platform such as Etsy, presentation is one of the most important assets you can have for your shop.
Customers will search for their desired products either on a search engine like Google or within Etsy itself, and a large range of products will show up for them.
What a good name does is give you trustworthiness, desirability, and an edge over your competitors when your customers are making decisions about who to order their products from.
The name you choose for your store will subconsciously tell customers plenty about your products, services, and credibility without them even realizing it!
How To Name Your Etsy Shop
In 2020, Etsy published an article in their Seller Handbook that gave some tips on naming your Etsy store. Here are some of those suggestions that you can use to line yourself up for success during your time as an Etsy seller!
1. Requirements On Etsy For Choosing Names
While you have absolute freedom in naming your Etsy shop, keep in mind that you must stay below 20 characters overall. Aside from that, you also won’t be able to use any punctuation or spaces.
As long as you follow these requirements, the sky’s the limit when choosing what to name your store!
2. Choose A Name That Reflects Your Business
There are many routes you can take with a name that reflects your Etsy business, so here are a few to give you some ideas:
Descriptive
A descriptive name can set the vibe or expectation of what to find in your store right from the get-go.
Along with product descriptive words, having the name of what you will primarily be selling is a good way to prime your customers on what to expect from your store.
Great examples include the crochet pattern store VintagePatternFaves and the jewelry store FemmeGoldJewels. At a glance, both store names do an excellent job of conveying what exactly their shop is all about.
What you should remember about using descriptive names is that certain words carry certain feelings, emotions, and connotations. Choose your descriptive names carefully!
Take VintagePatternFaves for an example. If they’d replaced “vintage” with “old”, “dated”, “classic”, or “antique”, it would have resulted in a different vibe even though these words are synonymous!
Abstract
If you want a name that is completely unique to your Etsy shop, an abstract name is the way to go.
Choosing an abstract name could mean inventing a completely new word that is only associated with your business and your products.
To get an abstract name, try combining two different words together. You may find inspiration for strange new words from animals or instruments from around the world, or by simply speaking gibberish out loud until you say something that stands out!
A couple examples of good abstract shop names on Etsy include Otantis–which sells hand-blown glass birds–and Avrocomy–which sells jewelry.
Your Name
Using your name in your Etsy shop name is a good way to keep flexibility within your product range.
If you use your name, you’ll always have plenty of opportunities to add or take away certain products in the future because your Etsy shop name doesn’t describe exactly what you’re selling.
You may already have the idea that your shop will grow and change in the future, so using your own name is a viable option.
Etsy suggests that if a shop already uses your name, you could add “Studio”, “Inc”, “Co”, or other similar words at the end to make your shop name unique.
3. Make It Original
Choosing a name that is original will be important for the success of your business. You definitely wouldn’t want customers to think that your products belong to somebody else or vice versa!
Here are some ways to ensure your chosen name is unique and original:
Check On Etsy
Aside from simply searching for the name on Etsy, the only 100% accurate way to know whether your name is available is to type it into the website during your shop creation process.
There will be a “Check Availability” button that you can click, and Etsy will tell you if your potential name is available to use.
However, you should remember that once a shop name or username has been used, Etsy won’t let you use it again to protect your privacy and avoid confusion.
Check On Google
Google is a powerful search engine that’s used almost universally. As such, a quick Google search can tell you if there are other shops already using your desired name.
Additionally, running the name through a search engine will help give you an idea of whether the name is available, overused, or cliché, among other things.
Abide By Law
To prevent yourself from getting into legal trouble, be aware of which names are trademarked. The last thing you want while setting up your Etsy store is to get into conflict with the authorities over your shop name.
If you are in the US, there is a database of trademarked names you can use to check whether your name idea is trademarked or not.
You can also check with local authorities or a lawyer if you are unsure, as it is always better to be safe than sorry.
4. Make Sure It Has A Good Recall
Customers should be able to remember your Etsy shop name easily. Otherwise, they might be unable to return and keep making purchases from you.
Return customers are an important part of having an Etsy shop, so make sure your name is easy enough to remember.
Another aspect of having good recall in a name is making sure the spelling is accurate!
If you misspell words in your shop name, it becomes harder for your customers to remember what to search for the next time they wish to make a purchase or visit your page.
5. Straightforward
Try keeping your name simple enough that customers are able to make sense of your shop name, even if it’s a word that you created yourself.
An overcomplicated shop name may put potential buyers off your products!
6. SEO-Friendly
SEO stands for “search engine optimization” and refers to how easily your shop will appear in Google search results when customers look up the products that you sell.
GoDaddy mentions that a way to ensure that your name is SEO-friendly is by mentioning your main product within the shop name itself. However, this will only be effective if you have a primary product.
Having a descriptive shop name without any spelling errors will also make you SEO-friendly.
7. Study Search Results
While researching for a good Etsy name, you might want to study search results. There are tools you can use to view search analytics and figure out what’s trending and what’s not being searched for online.
8. Consider Being Location-Specific
Having a specific location stated in your Etsy shop name will help set you apart from the crowd!
This method may be particularly successful if you know that a large percentage of sales will be coming from the specified location itself.
Having a location as a part of your Etsy name can help your store seem more official and trustworthy!
What To Do If The Store Name You Want On Etsy Is Already Taken
It’s frustrating if the name you wanted to use is already unavailable, but there are some ways to work with it.
Try playing around with the name and adding numbers or filler words such as “Inc.” or “Studio”. You could even change the arrangement of the words entirely!
If nothing feels satisfying or unique enough, you can always try another brainstorming session and come up with something completely different. Who knows, you might even like your second option even better than the first!
Can You Change Your Etsy Shop Name Later?
Before you publish your shop, you can change your shop name as many times as you like.
Once your shop is up and running, you will have the opportunity to instantly change your shop name up to five times. If you need to change your shop name again, you will need to reach out to Etsy’s support team.
Examples Of Etsy Shop Names
Influencer Marketing Hub has a list of great Etsy shop names from all sorts of categories.
Some of their examples include “DeliriumDecor” or “Oakywood” for home décor shops. Accessory stores can use something like “RusticRings” or “ZodiacLifestyle”.
Do you notice how straightforward, catchy, and descriptive these names are?
While these names are taken and unavailable for you to use, you can use them as inspiration for your own Etsy shop name!
Final Thoughts On Naming Your Etsy Shop
Choosing a name for your Etsy shop is an important step not only during the shop creation process but also in your entire Etsy journey!
There are many different paths that you could take in naming your shop! You can choose something that’s descriptive, more open-ended, abstract, eponymous, or something entirely different.
If you can’t think of the perfect store name, then Etsy’s saying that “done is better than perfect” sums it up perfectly. A published store using any name is much better than having no name and an unpublished store!
Remember that you can always change your name later. Start with a less-than-perfect name because the sooner you get your business up and running, the sooner you will be reaping the benefits of being an Etsy seller.
Good luck and happy selling!