Choosing your Etsy shop name is a big decision, and if you don’t have any idea of what name to use, it can also be a confusing decision.
I asked members of the Artisan Shopping Directory to tell me how they decided on their business names, and these were their responses.
Some are practical and based on products or locations, and some have deeply personal meanings.
Please note: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which will give me a small commission at no cost to you if you buy something when you use them.
- Destiny Karsner: Home Branded
is my shop name. I wanted it to be mostly wood signs but since I love to knit, crochet, and sew I didn’t want my name to limit what I could sell in that shop. Also, I think we all really want to brand our homes with our personal style, so Home Branded just seemed fitting.
- Elizabeth Roebuck-Jones: My shop name is Connect With Your Deck – I started using it as a phrase on Instagram and it worked. People loved it so it was logical to build branding around it and create my Etsy shop as part of that.
- Catherine Norris: Shop name is Memory Thread Co. I chose it because it describes what I do! I make cherished memories into a permanent embroidered gift. I wanted to suggest the embroidery process in the name and also the reason you’d purchase. When I started, my shop used to be called Bow Beanie. There is a long explanation behind that choice! My daughter’s nickname around the time I started was Feeney (it’s the end sound of her name). Did you ever see Boy Meets World? Where Eric would should Mr. Feeney to his teacher that lived next door? Well, there’s also a song that got sung “Feeney, weeney, *bow beanie* banana rarma…” I’d started my shop on the back of embroidering my daughter’s drawing as a gift and I was only selling children’s drawing embroideries back then. It took a while to realize that since my shop sold neither bows nor beanie hats, it was a daft name that made no sense to anyone but me!
- Janice King: Partners in Glass. I make a number of different fused glass items, although mainly barrettes at the moment, so I wanted more of a generic category name. I had the “partners” part to include my husband so that even though he doesn’t usually make any of it, his strength is more in organization and how to streamline the process.
- Libby Loftin-Cerimeli: Freckled Heart, (originally Freckled Heart Designs). I took the “designs” off because it sounds better without in my opinion. Also, I make jewelry in my Etsy shop, but I have the same name now in my eBay shop selling thrifted clothes and accessories. It is generic , and can be used for anything, which is what I wanted. I chose it by just brainstorming words that I liked or that had some personal meaning to me, then just started putting the words together until I came up with a combination that I liked and I thought was memorable.
- Nanette Thorell: My shop name is OldPaperShoppe. It started out as AntiqueFolio, but that was not SEO-friendly in the least. I chose it because – when asked – I would describe my supplies business like “I sell old paper”. I bought the domain oldpapershop dot com. It was taken at Etsy, so I added an ‘e’ to the end. It still comes up in a shop search, along with the other (taken) one.
- Carolyn Sadowski: CateReganDesigns. I used to be The_Wild_Gypsy. I chose that after I went into remission from breast cancer because I felt empowered. That was 16 years ago and for ten years I kept that name. Than my daughter told me she was pregnant with twins and if they were girls they would be named Catherine after my Mom and Regan because it was Irish and sounded good with their last name. CateReganDesigns was born that day.
- Alexandria Whiteman Hudson: Hudson Scrub Caps. I chose the name because it was clear, told everybody what I sold, and it honors my late husband by using his /our last name. I think he would be very proud of my little shop and business.
- Kara Buntin: I have three Etsy shops, my main shop is A Cake To Remember, which was the name of my wedding cake business. I later opened Clay, Paper, Scissors, which was going to be things made from clay and paper, but has since turned into a digital download shop. My vintage shop is Circus Pig Vintage, which is named for the little ceramic pig I got at an antiques mall. He has a hat and a neck ruff, so I always called him “Circus Pig,” and I thought it was a funny name for a shop.
- Nancy Moss: I have two shops. DecadesofVintage was named because I started out selling vintage and antique home decor before ending all of that and starting selling decorative book sets, mostly by the foot. My other shop, aBookByTheCover was named because I sell antique and old vintage books in sets curated “by their covers.”
- Tracey Lipman: My shop name is my name ‘Tracey Lipman‘. The first time I sold at a fair I was too busy organizing the event to give time to my branding. I told my partner, ‘just put my name down’. It was the best non-decision I ever made. I became well known locally through selling at fairs and I didn’t need to pay for advertising as people could just look me up by my name in the phone book. Now when people meet me and ask my name, I tell them and they say ‘oh you’re the bag lady’. (Yes, I know what that means in some countries! ) I would love one day to have the same name recognition outside the Anglo bubble of Israel (a girl can dream!) For an interview with Tracey, click here.
- Sharon Scott: Choosing a shop name was a Herculean task. Mostly because so many of the ones I wanted were taken, either on Etsy or the .com. Initially chose SharijDesigns, as Shari J was a nickname when I was young, but after a while realized it just didn’t fit, plus had some less than stellar memories attached. Finally found one I loved and seemed to have the vibe I was searching for. Every now and then I’d run a new idea past my webmaster, whose funniest response was that it sounded like the name of a prescription drug. So, Silver Echoes it is.
- Sarah Vargas: My shop name is “Notorious Needle.” I chose “Notorious” because my brand is rebellious. I chose “Needle” for the needle arts. Cross stitch and some other crafty stuff. And I like alliteration, thought it would help ppl remember the name.
- Emily Lisbeth: My business name is my name “Emily Lisbeth Jewellery”. It started life as ELF contemporary jewellery (my surname is Fletcher) but a couple of people said they almost expected “hobbit” like jewellery (whatever that means) so quickly changed it. My hallmark is still my initials. At Christmas I can say all jewellery is made in my workshop by a real ELF!
- Pam Lyon: Tangled up in Blue Springs, choosing a name was a family affair and very few conversations in this family miss the opportunity to throw in a snippet of song lyrics. So if your shop involves yarn and you live in Blue Springs and you grew up listening to Bob Dylan, what else are you going to name your Etsy shop? I do wish Etsy had let me know that I exceeded the character count, instead of just truncating springs to sprgs, it is confusing for customers and I may eventually change it.
For an article about whether Etsy is a good platform to sell on, click here
- Chelcie Bardin: My shop name is Studio wildflower. Studio(my basement) wildflower(me)!
- Sally Field-Leal: Top Dogs Gear – I wanted a short name that wasn’t already taken on social media and a name that was generally descriptive.
- Brandi Langevin: Lolli and Pop Shoppe. I chose the name because I would make essential oils blends for my grandchildren and family members- and everyone said “you should start an Etsy shop.” Lolli and Pop is what the grandchildren call me and my husband so we went with that. I would love to change it though. I think having a name more geared to what you make just sounds better.
- Lyndsay Niederhuth: My shop is called Pony Express Graphics. When we bought our post office (authorized shipping center) it was already named Pony Express Mail and Gifts. (We received a letter stating we had to change our name because “express mail” is a trademark) so we became Pony Express Gifts and Mail. When we decided to expand into my part, we kept Pony Express and added the graphics division.
- Tracy Williams: Happy Nook Shop. It’s always been that because I literally started my shop from a small nook of my dining room. It was something that made me happy, working with crystals, and everything for my shop started out in that one little corner of the house. It was my “happy place” after feeling like I had lost my direction in life. It isn’t a little nook anymore but when people visit the shop I like to think that they find something there that makes them happy.
- Lisa Margaret: ila and alice, named after my Granny and my Baba. My Granny taught me how to sew when i was six and my Baba was a seamstress who sewed custom creations for many years. They both encouraged me to sew, create and eventually go to fashion school and create my own mini-fashion empire. Which I did for over twenty-five years until I closed in 2013. When I redirected to paper, cards, and postcards I dedicated the name of my biz to them to honor them and to keep their names and love alive. I miss them very much and this was a great way for me to keep them close to me on a daily basis.
- Hester Keith-Thomas: Hester’s Studio is my shop name. At the beginning I was making ceramic figurative sculptures and drawings, I now have switched to functional ceramics. I figured keeping my shop name part my name and having studio would allow me to switch my focus when necessary and not have to worry about changing my shop name.
- Kelly Harris: Kimmer & Co. My shop name comes from my grandmother (nicknamed Kimmer) who had a great love for dogs. She’s pictured here circa 1937, age 17. My shop used to be called Kelegant Studios. (Click here for an interview with Kelly)
- Karen Colbert: TahoeQuilts, because I live in Tahoe and make quilts!
- Wendy Tanner: Merry Mayhem Designs – Merry after my mother. She had recently passed when I started. Mayhem because I do a lot of different things!
- Tiffany J Tinsley: RavynEdge -Chosen because I love ravens and swords and a feather looks like the edge of a blade. Ravens are such beautiful, mysterious and intelligent creatures. And swords are badass works of art! At the time, I wanted to create a comic book and I named the main character, Ravyn. Her favorite weapons were blades, of course. She was the “face” of my company when I was actually creating artwork (prints, etc) at the time. When I changed to making jewelry, I kept my company name because I feel it still represents the art I create even though it is in a different medium.
- Petra Slay: I initially had “Petrina Jewelry,” but changed it to my name “Petra Slay Design” to give me the option to branch out to other things, not just jewelry.
- Salina Huie-Vahling: The Dezign Shoppe– I wanted to be focused on custom designs to fit individual personality in your home, for wall decor. Custom fabrics and paint color choices to fit their design. So many options to shop with!
- Alix Kruse LaMay: Simply LaMayed. It’s a parody off of my last name and appropriate for hand made home decor.
- Bill Mason: When I started thinking about my shop it began with creating Christmas ornaments but knew something needed to be added for year-round. Then I remembered seeing on HGTV a segment from David Bromstad where he was showcasing his Halloween décor, and a Halloween Tree he created on his dining room table. I’d also seen people hanging brightly colored plastic Easter eggs on trees outside. Although some refer to the period between Halloween and New Year as “Happy Holidays” it struck me that all Holidays had fun décor. From there I thought about a favorite Christmas pastime of driving around town looking at the Christmas lights while listening to carols. Thinking of road, avenue, drive, eventually the most “fairytale” sounding and somehow comfy feeling name to me was lane. So I joined them together and landed on the destination of Holidays Lane.
- Carrie Scott Wood: My shop is called More Love Mama. I sell “global textiles”. It started as a way to raise funds for the adoption of 2 of my sons. We had made t-shirts with the phrase “More Love” that we sold for several months. Then I started making blankets and other hand sewn items with fabrics that I brought home from DRCongo and that’s when I started the Etsy shop and named it More Love Mama. When I shifted to selling mostly fabrics, I thought about changing the name to something that more clearly sounded like a fabric shop, but by then it was pretty well established so I was afraid my customers might not be able to find me. Someone once told me that they thought my shop named sounded a little dirty, but I’ve had this name since 2012, so guess I’ll keep it!
- Ang Neufeld: My business name is Daisy Thirteen. My favourite flower and my lucky number! I knew I might change lanes at some point because I get bored easily so it had to be a name that wasn’t too specific. I have changed products (from hemp jewellery and patchwork bags to home decor) but not the name.
- Nancy Jones Anderson: My shop name is Doodle Graphics. It’s a combo of my love of painting/illustration and computer graphics (I’m a graphic artist by trade). My nickname in school was Noodles Nancy so I thought Doodles kinda went along with that! To tell you the truth, I didn’t give my name as much thought as I should have but it stuck and I’m not inclined to change it now! Besides, there’s another artist on the internet with my full name so there’s that…
- Lona Bullock: Artisan Rose Creations. I changed to this name a couple months ago because it was brought to my attention that I am an Artisan and since I paint a lot of freestyle designs with my favorite flower Roses, so why not bring attention to what I create with love.
- Laura Anne: My shop name is Cabbage Patch Soap. I chose it because all the other domain names I could think of were taken. I wanted a cute, down-to-earth kind of name, and something that could be easily visualized. My old name was Victorian Apothecary, and I still use that as my wholesale/white label brand name. Technically Cabbage Patch Soap is like a subset of VA. I branched off because the soaps I wanted to make were difficult to sell under the VA branding, which was/is very high-end and expensive. I always received positive comments about my soap packaging and presentation for VA but it was so time-consuming, and much of the cost of the product was due to the fancy boxes and packaging. My products would have been perfect in a classy boutique or gift shop, but I didn’t know how to get my soaps in there. I also started getting occasional requests for custom soap orders. This left me with a choice. I knew I needed to change things, but didn’t want to give up on VA since it was starting to attract white label sales, but I also wanted to make my own soap with my own designs and have fun. That’s why I created Cabbage Patch Soap, so I could make fun, colorful soaps in small batches that were easier to sell, and use cheaper, more efficient packaging. I still get rave reviews about my packaging, but the customer expectation is much lower making it easy to “under promise, over deliver.”
- Jes Ware: My shop and business name is Sixth Spice. I wanted Sixth Sense but when I was looking at business names it wasn’t available so I chose Sixth Spice for the Spice of life. I secretly wanted a different name but the business name wasn’t available… sometimes we must compromise and get creative in order to keep the ball rolling when starting out. It took me literally a year to brand, and get the first product in my shop.
- Anne Londez: AnneLondezGlass. I’ve always used my own name as a brand. My second shop is FrenchVintagePrints because I wanted it to be descriptive… that was before I learned it’s not a good branding idea. Oh well…
- Tina DuBois: My shop name is Wires And Knots Design. My two favorite art forms are wire jewelry and knotted fiber art, so it seemed perfect! I also couldn’t find anyone with a remotely similar name, which was very important to me.
- Erica Morgan Long: Wicked Bride... Married on Halloween in Boston (here we use “wicked” interchangeably with “very” or “really” – she’s wicked smart, he’s wicked funny, etc). People don’t forget it, that’s for sure! (Click here for an interview with Erica)
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