App Name Generator: Name a Mobile App

An app name generator can start the work, but shortlist only names that fit the 30-character App Store name limit and 30-character Google Play title limit, remain recognisable when a home screen cuts them at roughly 11–12 characters, and pass trademark-register and domain searches. Put category keywords in Apple’s Subtitle or Google Play’s Short description, not in the product name. Test each finalist by saying it aloud and asking someone to spell it after one hearing; names that fail either test cost organic referrals and word-of-mouth acquisition.

Key takeaways

• •App Store app names are limited to 30 characters in App Store Connect.
• •Google Play app titles are limited to 30 characters in Play Console.
• •Home-screen labels commonly truncate at roughly 11–12 characters, depending on device, font and language.
• •Apple’s Subtitle supports 30 characters; Google Play’s Short description supports 80 characters.
• •Trademark searches must happen before design, domain purchase and launch work begin.

This guide is for mobile product designers, founders and engineers who can describe an app’s audience, core job and category.

Time: 45 minutes · You'll need: A one-sentence product brief, App Store Connect Help documentation, Google Play Console Help documentation, A trademark register for each launch market, such as USPTO Trademark Search or EUIPO eSearch, A domain registrar search page

What's on this page

1. •Write the app’s naming brief
2. •Generate app naming candidates in three territories
3. •Score mobile app name ideas aloud
4. •Fit the app store name and home screen
5. •Clear trademark and domain checks
6. •Reference table

• •Common mistakes
• •FAQs

Creating mobile app name ideas, step by step

1. Write the app’s naming brief

Write one sentence in this format: [audience] uses [app] to [complete a job] unlike [current alternative]. For example: “Independent runners use PaceNote to record coaching cues during interval sessions, unlike a generic notes app.” Then list three naming territories: the outcome, the behaviour, and a distinctive invented word. Do not begin with a feature inventory such as “AI fitness tracker planner.” It produces interchangeable names and uses the words people expect in store metadata.

Set two exclusions before generating candidates. Exclude names that describe a regulated claim you cannot support, such as “medical” or “guaranteed.” Exclude names that rely on punctuation, unusual capitalization, or a numeral whose spoken form is unclear. The result is a brief that a teammate can use manually or paste into floow.design’s free App Name Generator at /free-tools/app-name-generator to produce short, sayable candidates.

Tip: Keep the audience out of the name unless it creates a useful contrast, such as a product explicitly for clinicians rather than patients.

2. Generate app naming candidates in three territories

Create 10 candidates in each of the three territories, for 30 total. In the outcome territory, combine a concrete benefit with a distinctive sound; in the behaviour territory, name the action the user repeats; in the invented territory, make a new but pronounceable word. Use two or three syllables as a practical starting constraint, then read every candidate aloud at normal conversational speed.

You can do this on paper with word lists from the brief. Alternatively, describe the audience, job and tone in floow.design’s App Name Generator and use its candidates as raw material rather than final decisions. Reject any candidate that requires you to explain which letters are capitalised, where a hyphen sits, or whether a letter is doubled. Keep names that another person can spell after hearing them once. This is an acquisition test: referrals, podcasts, spoken recommendations and search queries begin as heard language, not as a logo.

Tip: A compound word can be clearer than an invented word, but it becomes weak when both parts are generic category terms.

3. Score mobile app name ideas aloud

Put the 30 candidates into a sheet and score each from 0 to 2 on five checks: says easily, spells on first hearing, suggests the intended tone, differs from direct competitors, and still works if the product expands. A maximum score is 10; advance only candidates scoring 8 or more. Run the spelling test with at least three people who did not help create the names. Say the name once, without showing it, and ask each person to type it.

Do not treat this as branding polish. A user who hears “Try [name]” but searches a different spelling may never reach the store listing. Reject names that are valid words but have multiple likely spellings, and reject clever phonetic substitutions such as “Lyte” when “Light” is the expected spelling. Keep the spoken test in the shortlist record, alongside the character count and legal-search result.

Tip: If a name is easy to say only after someone sees it written, it has failed the test.

4. Fit the app store name and home screen

Count every character in each finalist, including spaces. Apple limits the App Store Name field to 30 characters, and Google Play limits the app title to 30 characters. Design for a shorter visible core as well: home-screen labels often truncate at roughly 11–12 characters, with the exact cut-off changing by device, system font, language and icon-label layout. Test the first word or first 11–12 characters as the recognition unit, rather than assuming the full store title will be seen.

Move descriptive keywords out of the product name. Apple provides a 30-character Subtitle field, while Google Play provides an 80-character Short description field. Use those fields to state the category or benefit in natural language. For example, keep the product name as “PaceNote” and use a subtitle or short description to explain that it records running workouts. This preserves a distinct app store name without wasting the 30-character title on repeated keywords.

Tip: A longer legal company name does not need to become the name shown beneath the app icon.

5. Clear trademark and domain checks

Search trademark registers before choosing a winner, commissioning an icon, or buying paid acquisition. Search the exact name, phonetic variants, spacing variants, singular and plural forms, and the words users could confuse with it. Start with the register for every market where you will launch: for example, USPTO Trademark Search for the United States and EUIPO eSearch plus for European Union coverage. Review registrations and pending applications in product and software-related classes with counsel when a result is close.

Then search the matching domain and the social handles your launch plan needs. A free domain is not evidence that a name is legally available, and a clear trademark search does not guarantee a domain. Record each candidate as clear, review, or reject, with the searched jurisdictions and date. Your deliverable is a shortlist of three names that fit both 30-character store-title limits, survive the home-screen check, have a documented trademark search, and have an acceptable domain path.

Tip: Do not rely on an app-store search as a trademark search; store availability and trademark rights are separate questions.

Reference table

Mobile naming fields and checks

Do it with the free App Name Generator

Describe your app and get name candidates that are short, sayable and plausibly available.

Open the App Name Generator → — free, no sign-up.

Common mistakes

Using “AI”, category terms and features in the 30-character product name.

Use one distinct product name in the App Store Name and Google Play title. Put descriptive category language in Apple’s Subtitle and Google Play’s Short description.

Approving a name because it looks good in a large onboarding mockup.

Place the app icon on iOS and Android home-screen prototypes. Check whether the first roughly 11–12 characters still identify the product.

Buying a domain before searching trademark registers.

Search relevant national or regional registers first, including close phonetic and spelling variants. Escalate similar software or product results to trademark counsel.

Treating an available store listing as proof of legal availability.

App store listings show listing availability, not trademark clearance. Maintain a separate record of trademark searches by jurisdiction and date.

Frequently asked questions

What is the character limit for an app store name?

Apple allows 30 characters for an App Store Name, and Google Play allows 30 characters for an app title. Count spaces and punctuation when comparing candidates. Keep the recognisable part near the beginning because home-screen labels can truncate long names.

Should I put keywords in my mobile app name?

Put category and benefit keywords in Apple’s Subtitle or Google Play’s Short description rather than filling the product name with them. Apple’s Subtitle has a 30-character limit, and Google Play’s Short description has an 80-character limit. A distinct title is easier to recognise, pronounce and remember.

How do I check whether an app name is available?

Check trademark registers in each intended launch market, then check domains and relevant social handles. Search the exact name plus phonetic, spacing, singular, plural and spelling variants. Store availability alone does not establish trademark availability, so review similar software-related results with qualified trademark counsel.

How long should a mobile app name be?

A mobile app name should fit the 30-character App Store and Google Play limits while keeping its first roughly 11–12 characters recognisable on a home screen. There is no single official home-screen character limit because device layout, language and font affect truncation. Short, pronounceable names generally create fewer spoken-referral and spelling failures.

Where this leaves you

The strongest name is not the cleverest candidate in a workshop. It is the one a person can say, another person can spell, a home screen can show recognisably, and your launch markets can support after a trademark search. Keep the product name distinct; use Apple’s Subtitle and Google Play’s Short description for the explanatory words that help people understand the category. Your next action is to create 30 candidates across outcome, behaviour and invented-word territories, then score them before checking the final three in trademark registers and domain search results.

---

Design the screens first

Describe the screen you need in plain English and floow.design generates production-ready iOS and Android layouts you can iterate on by chat, then export to Figma or code. Design your mobile app screens in floow.design first, then build.

Start designing free →

---

Related

• •User Persona Generator — Turn a description of your audience into structured personas, exportable as Markdown, CSV or JSON.
• •ASO Tool Free: Run an App Store Screenshot A/B Test — Use an aso tool free workflow to test App Store and Google Play screenshots, set a sample
• •App Store Screenshot Sizes for iOS and Google Play — App store screenshot sizes for iPhone and Google Play: export 6.9-inch assets, meet image
• •Design by AI: A Realistic Workflow for Mobile App Teams — Learn a realistic Design by AI workflow that helps mobile app teams move from clear briefs

Sources

• •Apple App Store Connect Help — App information
• •Google Play Console Help — Create and set up your app
• •Apple Human Interface Guidelines — App icons
• •USPTO — Trademark Search
• •EUIPO — eSearch plus