How to Choose a Good Username: A 9-Point Checklist

A good username is short, easy to say out loud, easy to spell after hearing it once, and reveals nothing personal like your birth year or home town. Aim for under 15 characters, avoid confusing separators, and check it isn't already taken on the sites you care about before you commit. A generator is useful for breaking a blank-page block, but run its ideas through a checklist before you pick one.

The 9-point username checklist

Run each candidate through these questions. Skip any that fail two.

1. Can you say it on a call without spelling it? "SwiftOtter" passes. "xX_sw1ft0tt3r_Xx" does not.
2. Is it under 15 characters? X (formerly Twitter) caps handles at 15, and many games and forums sit around 16 to 20.
3. Does it avoid your birth year, full name or location? Usernames are usually public, and reusing one across sites makes it easy to link your accounts together. maria1994 hands out half of a common security question.
4. Is the separator unambiguous? Underscores vanish under link underlines, and dots and hyphens are not allowed everywhere. If you use one, use it consistently.
5. Will it age well? A teenage gamer tag can look awkward on a job application, so keep a separate professional handle.
6. Is it free on the platforms you care about? No generator can check this for you. Shortlist three favorites and try them in the sign-up form.
7. Are numbers there for a reason? A trailing number helps when the plain version is taken, but a random 3-digit suffix is hard to remember. Prefer one or two digits, or none.
8. Does it read correctly in lowercase? Some sites force lowercase or ignore capitals, and run-together words can suddenly read as something you never intended. Type it out in all lowercase and read it once before you commit.
9. Is it separate from your password? Never base a password on your username. Use a Password Generator for that, and keep the two unrelated.

What styles can the generator produce?

The Username Generator offers five options under "Style". Each combines two parts from a built-in word list:

Style label	How it is built	Example output
Adjective + animal	adjective + animal	ShinyLynx381
Two words	two common English words	SonicBuild190
Gamer	two parts such as Shadow, Pixel, Volt	TitanOnyxPro
Cute	sweet word + animal	MochiBee640
Professional (from your name)	first and last name rearranged	MLopez45

Gamer names are always capitalized, and with "Add numbers" ticked they get a suffix such as X, Pro, 99, 007 or 1337, or a random number. Professional names add a number from 0 to 99, placed after the separator if you chose one, while the other styles add up to three digits.

Step by step: from blank page to shortlist

1. Pick a style. Choose from the "Style" menu. For a work account, choose "Professional (from your name)" and fill in "First name" and "Last name".
2. Set a separator. "Separator" offers None, Underscore _, Dot . or Hyphen -. None gives the cleanest result; checklist point 4 applies if you add one.
3. Cap the length. "Max length" defaults to 20. Set it to 15 if you want names that fit X. Anything longer is cut at that length, which can chop off the number or even the end of a word, so check each result reads properly.
4. Include a word if you have a theme. "Include a word (optional)" inserts your word, for example chef or pixel, somewhere in the name. Accents and symbols are stripped, so café becomes cafe.
5. Toggle the extras. "Add numbers" and "Capitalize words" are on by default. Turn numbers off for checklist point 7.
6. Click "Generate more". You get up to 20 unique ideas per click, each with its own copy button. Keep clicking until three or four pass the checklist.

Names are generated in your browser, so your real first and last name are never sent anywhere.

A worked example

Suppose you want a handle for a cooking channel. Choose "Adjective + animal", Underscore as the separator, turn off "Capitalize words", type chef in "Include a word (optional)", and keep numbers on. A result like chef_tiny_walrus798 comes back. It is memorable, but it is 19 characters and the number adds nothing. Turning off "Add numbers" and dropping the separator gives something closer to cheftinywalrus, 14 characters, which passes the length test and is easy to say.

Why do I sometimes get fewer than 20 ideas?

The generator removes duplicates. Most styles have hundreds or thousands of combinations, but "Professional" with numbers turned off only has four ways to arrange one name: marialopez, mlopez, marial and lopezmaria. That is all you'll see. Turn "Add numbers" back on for more variety.

For a brand, use generated names for brainstorming only; the final handle should match your business name. If you want your new handle to stand out in a bio, a Fancy Text Generator can style it, though some platforms don't accept those characters in the username field itself.

FAQ

Should I use the same username everywhere?

It helps people find you, but it also makes it easy for anyone to connect all your accounts. Many people use one public handle for social media and a different one for gaming, forums or anything more private.

Why does my professional name ignore the word I typed earlier?

It does, on purpose. The "Include a word (optional)" field is hidden for "Professional" and ignored there, because a professional handle should be built from your first and last name only. Switch back to another style and the word is used again.

Start your shortlist with the Username Generator.