Naming a Pet Account: Getting It Right the First Time

Say it out loud

The test for any handle is whether someone can hear it once and find it. Deliberate misspellings, doubled letters and numbers substituted for words all fail that test. If you have to spell it out every time you mention it, it is the wrong name.

Do not paint yourself into a corner

Names tied to one pet, one age or one city age badly. An account called after a puppy becomes odd when the dog is eleven, and an account named for the city you have just left is worse. Something tied to the character rather than the circumstance survives longer.

Check it everywhere first

Before you commit, check the handle is free on every platform you might use, plus the domain if you think you might ever want one. Consistency across platforms is worth more than a marginally better name on one of them.

Changing later is expensive

You keep your followers but lose every existing link, tag and mention pointing at the old handle, and people who searched for you once will not find you again. Worse, abandoned handles get claimed quickly by someone else. Decide properly now rather than tidying up later.

Boring and findable beats clever

The clever pun that requires explanation loses to the plain, memorable name every time. Your pet's name plus something simple about them is usually the right answer, and it is the one you will still like in five years.