80 Podcast Name Ideas That Get Clicks and Downloads

There are over 4 million podcasts on Apple Podcasts alone. Your podcast name is the single biggest factor in whether someone taps "play" or keeps scrolling. A great podcast name communicates your topic, creates intrigue, and sticks in the listener's mind when they're recommending shows to friends. We've compiled 80 podcast name ideas organized by genre, along with the strategies that top podcasters use to name their shows for maximum discoverability and downloads.

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What Makes a Podcast Name Discoverable

Podcast naming is fundamentally different from business naming because discovery happens primarily through two channels: search (on podcast apps) and word-of-mouth (in conversations and social media). Your name needs to work for both.

The Search Discovery Problem

When someone searches "business podcast" on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, the algorithm looks at your show title, author name, and (on Apple) the show description. A podcast called "The Hustle Hour" will rank better for "hustle" searches than a creatively named show called "Morning Momentum" — even if the content is identical. This creates a tension between creative naming and search optimization.

The solution? Use a two-part name structure: a creative primary name plus a descriptive subtitle. "The Hustle Hour: Weekly Business Strategy for Entrepreneurs" gives you both creativity and keyword coverage.

The Word-of-Mouth Problem

If someone loves your podcast but can't remember the exact name when their friend asks "what are you listening to?", you've lost a potential listener. The most shareable podcast names are:

• 3 words or fewer — "Serial," "Radiolab," "Freakonomics" — the biggest podcasts have the shortest names
• Emotionally evocative — "My Favorite Murder" creates an immediate reaction. You want that reaction.
• Easy to spell after hearing once — If your friend says "listen to Akimbo" you can spell it. If they say "listen to Xeriscape Thinking," you're going to Google the wrong thing.

True Crime & Mystery Podcast Names

True crime is the most competitive podcast genre, so your name needs to stand out from thousands of shows. The best true crime names create atmosphere and tension without being gratuitous.

1. Cold Evidence — Cold cases, forensic focus
2. The Last Witness — Dramatic, final testimony
3. Buried Truths — Uncovering hidden stories
4. Red Thread — Following the connection between clues
5. After Midnight — When dark things happen
6. The Hollow File — Empty case files, unsolved mysteries
7. Circumstantial — Legal term, ambiguous evidence
8. Pale Light — Eerie illumination of dark stories
9. The Vanishing Point — Missing persons, disappearances
10. Wrongful — Wrongful convictions, justice-focused
11. Thin Ice — Danger, precariousness, suspense
12. The Alibi — Defense stories, who was where

Business & Entrepreneurship Podcast Names

Business podcast names should signal whether you're targeting startup founders, corporate leaders, side-hustlers, or aspiring entrepreneurs. The audience should self-select from the name alone.

1. Revenue Engine — Growth-focused, mechanical precision
2. The Bootstrap Brief — Self-funded startup wisdom, concise
3. Margin Call — Financial risk and business decisions
4. Scale or Fail — High-stakes growth narrative
5. The Exit Interview — Double meaning: leaving a job or selling a company
6. Pitch Deck — Startup fundraising and presentation
7. First Dollar — Early-stage revenue stories
8. The Compound Effect — Long-term business building
9. Runway — Startup financial runway, fashion, aviation — triple meaning
10. Profit Margin — Bottom-line focused business advice
11. The Operator — Hands-on business management
12. Dealflow — Investment and M&A focused

Comedy & Entertainment Podcast Names

Comedy podcast names should make people smile before they even press play. Wordplay, irreverence, and self-aware humor all work well here.

1. Unfiltered — Raw, uncensored conversation
2. The Hot Take — Bold opinions, spicy commentary
3. Laugh Track — Comedy podcast about comedy
4. Off Script — Improvised, unpredictable
5. Bad Advice — Hilariously terrible life guidance
6. The Punchline — Getting to the funny part
7. Side Splitter — Classic comedy descriptor
8. Overreacting — Dramatic responses to mundane events
9. The Bit — Comedy term, doing a bit
10. No Filter Friday — Weekly unfiltered commentary

Tech & Science Podcast Names

Tech podcast names should feel intelligent without being alienating. The best ones make complex topics feel accessible and exciting.

1. The Debug — Problem-solving, development
2. Signal Boost — Amplifying important tech stories
3. Kernel Panic — Computer term, dramatic urgency
4. The Algorithm — Decisions, patterns, AI
5. Zero Day — Security vulnerabilities, urgency
6. Latency — The gap between action and response
7. Proof of Concept — Testing ideas, validation
8. The Changelog — What's new, what's changed
9. Recursive — Self-referential, programming concept
10. Dark Matter — Unknown forces shaping technology

Health & Wellness Podcast Names

Health podcast names should feel trustworthy and calming. People seeking health information are often anxious — your name should reassure, not alarm.

1. The Healing Hour — Dedicated time for wellness
2. Balanced — Simple, aspirational, holistic
3. Body of Evidence — Science-based health, clever wordplay
4. The Wellness Wire — Connected, informed, current
5. Breathwork — Focused on breath, meditation
6. Nourished — Nutrition and holistic health
7. The Rest Protocol — Sleep science and recovery
8. Gutcheck — Digestive health, also courage/honesty
9. Wholesome — Complete wellness approach
10. The Clarity Sessions — Mental health, mindfulness

Interview & Storytelling Podcast Names

Interview podcasts live and die by the host's ability to draw out great stories. The name should promise depth, intimacy, and revelation.

1. The Long Conversation — Unhurried, deep dialogue
2. Unscripted — Raw, authentic interviews
3. The Origin Story — How people became who they are
4. Behind the Curtain — Revealing hidden truths
5. Candid — Honest, open, unguarded
6. The Deep Dive — Thorough exploration of topics
7. Offstage — The real person behind the public figure
8. First Person — Personal narratives, direct storytelling
9. The Turning Point — Moments that changed everything
10. Crossroads — Decision points, life-changing moments
11. The Inner Circle — Intimate access, exclusive conversations
12. Unvarnished — Honest, no polish, raw truth
13. Footnotes — The stories behind the stories
14. The Inquiry — Intellectual investigation through dialogue

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Apple Podcasts SEO: How Your Name Affects Rankings

Apple Podcasts is still the largest podcast directory, and its search algorithm has specific quirks that affect how you should name your show.

What Apple's Algorithm Considers

• Show title — The most heavily weighted factor. Keywords in your title matter enormously.
• Author/artist name — Also searchable. If your personal name is well-known, put it in the author field.
• Episode titles — Individual episodes are indexed separately. Descriptive episode titles help discoverability.
• Ratings and reviews — More reviews and higher ratings boost search rankings.
• Subscriber growth velocity — Fast-growing shows get algorithmic promotion.

Apple's Keyword-Stuffing Penalty

In 2019, Apple cracked down on keyword-stuffed podcast names like "Business Podcast | Entrepreneur | Startup | Marketing | Growth Hacking." Shows that stuff their titles with keywords can be penalized or removed. The safe approach: one creative name plus one clean subtitle with your primary keyword.

Good: "Revenue Engine: A Business Growth Podcast"
Bad: "Revenue Engine | Business | Startup | Growth | Entrepreneur Podcast"

Spotify's Algorithm Differences

Spotify weights podcast descriptions more heavily than Apple does. On Spotify, your show description (up to 600 characters) is a critical SEO asset. This means Spotify gives you more freedom to choose a creative name while loading keywords into your description. Also, Spotify's recommendation algorithm favors shows that listeners complete (high completion rate), so the content quality behind the name matters even more.

Using Subtitles Effectively

The subtitle (or the text after a colon in your show title) is where most of your SEO work happens. Here's how the most successful podcasts use subtitles:

• Define the topic — "The Daily: Your News in 20 Minutes" immediately sets expectations
• Target the audience — "Startup Stories: Lessons for First-Time Founders" tells exactly who should listen
• Set the format — "Criminal: True Stories of Crime" tells you it's narrative true crime
• Add a keyword — "How I Built This: Stories Behind the World's Best Known Companies" captures multiple search terms naturally

Checking Social Media Handle Availability

A podcast lives on social media as much as it lives on podcast apps. Before committing to a name, verify availability across all platforms your audience uses. For more on how name psychology influences click-through rates on social media, see our article on the psychology of brand names.

Platform Priority for Podcasters

1. Instagram — The #1 platform for podcast promotion. Audiograms, quote cards, and behind-the-scenes content perform extremely well. You need an @handle that matches your show name.
2. TikTok — Podcast clips under 60 seconds are one of the fastest-growing content types on TikTok. A short, punchy name is essential for TikTok handles.
3. YouTube — Video podcasts are booming. YouTube is the second-largest search engine, so your podcast name needs to work as a channel name too. For more on YouTube naming strategy, see our YouTube channel name ideas guide.
4. X (Twitter) — Still important for real-time conversation and episode promotion, especially in news, politics, and tech.
5. LinkedIn — Essential for B2B and professional development podcasts.

Handle Consistency Tips

• Check all platforms simultaneously — Use tools like Namechk or KnowEm to search multiple platforms at once
• Avoid underscores and numbers — @the_revenue_engine_pod is harder to share than @revenueengine
• Shorter is better — Instagram truncates long handles in the feed. Keep it under 15 characters if possible.
• Reserve handles early — Even before you launch, claim your handles on every platform. Squatting is free.
• Use consistent formatting — If you're @revenueengine on Instagram, be @revenueengine everywhere else

Podcast Naming Mistakes to Avoid

After analyzing hundreds of podcast launches, these are the naming errors that consistently lead to poor discoverability and slow growth:

• Inside jokes as names — If the name only makes sense after listening to episode 1, you've lost everyone who sees the name in search results. "The Benchwarmers" only works if people already know your group of friends.
• Too generic — "The Business Podcast" or "Health Talk" are impossible to rank for and impossible to recommend. "Which business podcast?" your friend will ask.
• Profanity in the title — Apple Podcasts flags explicit titles and hides them from some search results. Keep the profanity for the content, not the title.
• Names that lock you in — "The 2024 Election Pod" has an expiration date. "Two Dads Discuss Diapers" limits your content once your kids grow up. Choose a name with room to evolve.
• Copying a famous show's format — "My Favorite ____" and "How I ____ This" are taken patterns. You'll always live in the shadow of the original.
• Ignoring the visual — Your podcast name appears on a tiny thumbnail on phone screens. Long names get truncated. Check how your name looks at actual display size before committing.

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