How to come up with a DJ name.
Are you even a real DJ if you don’t have a cool DJ name? Probably yes… but picking a great name can help you developing a brand and getting well known. Nevertheless, it’s a fun thing to play around with.
Here we share some tips and tricks to come up with a good DJ name.
Inspiration
I’ve categorized the names into 4 different types:
- Real name: The safe bet all around.
- Branded: For trying to hit it big.
- Descriptive: Good for mobile discos and event DJs.
- Ironic: Short term, just having fun, but who knows where you’ll end up?
Using your real name
First of all, you might not have to get overly creative choosing a name if your birth name can do the job just fine. This, of course, depends on how you choose to brand yourself, but often, a simple name is better than something original that people might find funny or dumb.
Keep in mind, that by using your real name, you and your DJ alter ego becomes the same personality. This might not be desirable if you are working a corporate career by day, and don’t want your boss asking how the weekends’ gig went down in the local Club Tropicana. Instead, you can try out variations of your name to change it up a little bit but keep the personal touch. It could be something unique about you, like a second nationality or a specific feature in your looks, or maybe you already have a nickname from your friends that fits well.
Branded and descriptive names
If you know your target audience well, you can go for something riskier than your name that in turn will resonate more with the audience. Let’s say you play a specific genre of music, the name could be coming from the subculture related to the genre. Or if you only play some kind of events you can get very specific, like “Wedding DJ Paris”, which would do well in the search results on Google and people instantly know what your expertise is, but in some cases, it is a bit too descriptive and boring.
Choosing between descriptive names and branded names is always a challenge. You’re trying to pick between making people know exactly what you do, and something that sounds cool and is memorable. Doing this depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Are you trying to get gigs at local events or are you trying to hit it big as a DJ?
Ironic names
If you’re more the “DJing for the sake of partying and drinking” type, you can choose an ironic and funny name, that people remember easily. It can be something like “DJ {{insert meme here}}” or wordplay on existing brands or things. Positioning yourself to an existing brand or thing can be a powerful move from a marketing perspective. People already maintain opinions and thoughts about everything, so by including a well-known thing or brand in your name, you instantly get a place in the mind, and people will remember your name.
DJ name generator
To help you get the brain juices flowing, we’ve created a DJ name generator that can create more than 19 billion combinations of names. Check it out and see if you get any inspiration.
Most importantly don’t wait on getting out and playing just because you don’t have a DJ name. Some things take time to process in the mind, and sometimes it appears when you expect it the least. I know guys that came up with their DJ name on the spot when the MC asked what name to introduce — and 10 years later it still sticks.
Branding
Once you’ve picked out a few names that you like, you can start narrowing them down by looking at the branding qualities of each of them.
Is a name already taken by someone, then you can quickly scratch that name. Check if you can get the domain name. Check if there are any existing Facebook pages, Instagram or Soundcloud profiles with that name.
Next, try to look at the pronunciation of the names, are they easy to remember and pronounce just by reading it. Imagine a radio host reading the name aloud for the first time — would it be smooth, or would they stumble upon the words?
Coming back to the subject of audiences, knowing exactly who you’re want to reach gives a lot of clarity when picking the name. If you’re trying to reach multiple audiences, you will probably benefit from having multiple DJ names that target each of its audience.
You’ve made a name… What’s next?
Nothing is permanent, and if you don’t like your name you can always switch it up. It’s not that big of a deal, and after all the music and performance is what matters. For example, if names like “Marshmello”, “ DJ Snake” and last but not least “The Chainsmokers”, can make it to the top 40, then any name will do.
When you’ve chosen a name, it’s time to start bringing yourself to market. How to get gigs is it’s very own subject, and way harder than picking a name, but having chosen the right name hopefully helps you some of the way. To begin with, you want to create a presence on all the social media platforms, and as you grow you probably want to create your website or sign up on a platform like Cueup to help you promote your online presence.
