Inspiring Naming Tips and Ideas from 61 of the Most Viral and Popular Tumblr Blogs

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Some of the most popular and viral sites on the Web are Tumblr blogs. So if you’re looking for naming ideas for a new blog or need inspiration for your own Tumblog’s name, you should probably check out what these super successful blogs are called.

Regardless of whether you’re searching for the best blogs to be entertained, or if you want to take a closer look at their names, we’ve done the legwork already by compiling 61 of the leading properties on Tumblr over the last couple of years.

61 of the Top Tumblr Blogs (2012-2014)

Note: This list is NOT ranked in order of popularity, and not all of the blogs have top quality names. The objective is to showcase the leading Tumblogs and to reflect on the mixed bag of naming styles.

Naming your (Tumblr) Blog

After going through that list, you’ve either got lots of ideas shooting off in your head, or you’re more confused than ever. A lot of it depends on the type of blog you’re starting and your taste for names.

  1. Personal Blog – if you’re starting a personal blog, these 61 names are not very relevant as most of them are not personal blogs. However, you can still learn a lot about the different blog naming styles that are possible – from asking a question (ie How May We Hate You?) and descriptively long names (ie Terrible Real Estate Agent Photographs), to short meaningful names (ie Public Shaming) and memorably quirky ones (ie Actresses Without Teeth).
  2. Topic-focused Blog – one thing that’s clearly evident from most of the names above is their uniqueness. On the whole, this is because the underlying content is a little weird or positioned in a strange way. Although the initial intention for your blog may not be so niched, perhaps you may want to consider zooming in a little. And if you do, it could automatically make your blog’s name a lot more catchy. Eg. ‘Black Guys with Puppies’ rather than just ‘Guys with Puppies’.
  3. Pronounceable & Typeable – some bloggers try to get too clever with their names (ie young wannabe hipsters) by using strangely spelled words that include numbers, hyphens and odd capitalizations. As you can see, the blogs that make it to the top use witty and creative word play to produce names that are easy to say and remember.
  4. Visualizable Names – a lot of the names are way too long. On the whole, it’s best to keep your blog’s name as short as possible, as that makes it more memorable. An exception to this rule, is if a long name results in producing a visual image or concept that makes a deep and long lasting impression such as ‘Great Art in Ugly Rooms’, ‘White Men Wearing Google Glass’ and ‘Black Guys with Puppies’. Or, if the name resonates with its audience and has them nodding in agreement ie. ‘Men Taking Up Too Much Space on the Train’, they’re much more likely to remember it.
  5. Short is Still Best if you Can – at the end of the day though, if you can combine a strong concept that produces powerful visual stimuli together with a short name, that’s always going to produce the best names ie ‘Exploding Actresses’, ‘Public Shaming’ and ‘Porn4Jews’. If possible, try to limit yourself to a maximum of 3 words and strive to keep things simple. There’s no point in having clever wordplay if most of your audience doesn’t understand it.

In summary, think hard about your content and consider refining how you approach it to confirm your blog’s brand positioning. Don’t overly concentrate on coming up with a great name without tying it in with what you’ll be posting about. By clarifying your content and how it will appeal to your desired audience, you should get a lot more naming ideas.

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