Username Generator
Username ideas built from real words, so they can be said aloud and typed from memory. Pick a shape, set a length, and take the ones you like.
How to use it
- Pick a shape. Two words read better than one and are far less likely to be taken.
- Add digits only if you need them — see below for which digits to avoid.
- Set the longest length you can use. Plenty of sites cap usernames at fifteen characters.
What this page cannot do
It cannot tell you whether a name is free. Checking would mean asking every site you might join, one at a time, from your browser — which they block, and which would tell each of them what you are about to sign up for. So the honest answer is to generate a handful of names you like and try them where you actually want the account.
The possible names figure is the size of the pool
these settings can draw from, not a promise of availability. A big
pool is still the right thing to want: a two-word name out of
thousands of combinations is far likelier to be free than
anil123.
Which digits not to use
Your birth year is the worst choice, and it is the most common one. It hands your age to everyone who reads your name, and it is among the first things guessed when somebody tries to answer a security question or reset a password. The same goes for a birthday written as four digits.
If you want digits, let them be meaningless. Two random ones are enough to get past “already taken” without saying anything about you.
A username is not a password
It is public, permanent and hard to change. Most sites let you change a password in seconds and a username never, or once.
Which leads to the thing worth thinking about for a minute: using the same distinctive username everywhere makes every one of your accounts findable from any one of them. There are sites that do nothing but check a name against hundreds of services at once. Sometimes that is exactly what you want — one recognisable handle. Sometimes it is the last thing you want, and then the answer is a different name per account, which is a decision to make on purpose rather than by habit.
Why words rather than random letters
Because you will have to read it out over a phone, type it on a
television remote, and recognise it in a list a year from now.
swiftotter survives all three;
xk7f2qd survives none of them. Random letters are the
right answer for a password, where nobody should ever have to say it
aloud.
Frequently asked questions
Can you check whether the username is available?
No, and no page that runs entirely in your browser can. Sites block that kind of automated checking, and doing it would mean telling every one of them what you are about to sign up for. Generate a few you like and try them where you want the account.
Should I put my birth year in it?
No. It tells everyone your age and it is one of the first guesses anyone makes when trying to reset your password or answer a security question. If you want digits, use meaningless ones.
Is it safe to use the same username on every site?
It is safe in the sense that a username is not a secret, but it links all those accounts together - anyone who finds one can look for the rest, and there are tools built to do exactly that. If you want accounts kept separate, use a different name on each.
Why are the names made of real words?
Because you have to say it aloud, type it on awkward keyboards, and recognise it later. Words survive that; random letters do not. Random letters are the right answer for a password, which nobody should ever have to read out.
What does 'possible names' actually count?
How many different names your current settings could produce - the word lists multiplied together, times the range of the digits. It is the size of the pool, not a count of free names. Adding a second word or one more digit multiplies it.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Everything happens in JavaScript inside your own browser. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved - close the tab and it is gone.