5 Tips For Picking A Great Twitter Username

Written on December 11, 2009 by Forrest W. Kobayashi in Tips
20 Comments - Leave a comment!

The Twitter username (or handle, as some may call it) is probably one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make as a Twitter user. The username defines who you are to the Twitter universe—your personal identity.

The bottom line: It’s very important to pick the right username for your account.

Here are five tips you should take into account when you are setting up your first Twitter account or changing your username.

Keep your username as short as possible.

This one is key: a shorter username is a better username on Twitter. Think about it: your Twitter username will be used in replies, follow fridays, retweets and the like. 140 characters is not an awful lot of space to work with.

Twitter allows usernames to be up to 15 characters, but I recommend keeping your username under 10-12, if at all possible. Don’t underestimate what a difference two to three characters can make.

Reg Saddler has branded his online identity around the username "Zaibatsu".

Reg Saddler has branded his online identity around the username "Zaibatsu".

Try securing a username you already own on other sites for personal branding.

Online identity is becoming more and more important these days, so securing a username on multiple platforms (including Twitter) is likely a very good idea. Think about the usernames you use for your email, your instant messenger clients and your other social networking sites.

Avoid using underscores (_) or excessive numbers.

This is among the most common errors I see with new Twitter users. While using underscores or a few numbers may help you secure a choice username, resist the urge to do so. All too often, people leave out the underscore or a single number, and the user misses a reply.

Instead of using underscores or numbers, test out different variations of a like handle. You may find one you prefer to use instead, and more likely than not, you’ll be better off excluding underscores and numbers from your username.

Before changing my username to @forrestkoba, I branded myself around the sports niche.

Before changing my username to @forrestkoba, I branded myself around the sports niche.

Avoid tying yourself to a niche or brand unless the account is for that purpose.

What you originally intend on tweeting about may not be the same thing six or 12 months from your signup date.  Make a point to pick a username that is versatile and does not tie you in with a given niche or brand, unless you are directly affiliated with the brand or intend on using your Twitter account solely for a single niche.

This was one of my pitfalls when I signed up for the service. Since I planned on tweeting mostly about sports, I picked the username @forrestfanatic. However, the more I used Twitter, the more I found myself tweeting about other interests (tech, design, news). I just recently changed my username to a shortened version of my name, shedding the sports-only niche.

Pick a username that you think you’d be happy with one year from now.

Who isn’t in Twitter for the long term? Think about this: one year from now, will you be happy with the username you’ve selected? Ultimately, it is up to the user as to what makes him/her most happy with a username, so whatever you pick, make sure it’s something you like and something you want to stick with for a while.

What are your tips for picking a username? Let me know in the comments.

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  • yes,it's good.
  • laura
    welll i didnt wanta read dis whole thing.........................i actually didnt read any of it...............................can any one tel me wats it bout in a shrter wayyy???? please??/
  • Hey Forrest,

    Some great points there. I can't tell you how annoying it can be to have those 15 character names to write to and my msg is then short by like 5 characters.
    I thought I'd share with you my experience in having a short twitter name :)
    Having @day (which is also my nickname) has it's benefits and shortfalls. Benefits include being easy to tell people what my twitter name is and then it being easy for them to remember, it's short so it allows for more msg space and my friends don't have a hard time finding me.
    The biggest downside is that there are people on twitter that abuse the '@' symbol, and 'day' is a common word as well. So my replies 'box' is filled with messages from people who aren't actually mentioning me, or people who mistype 2day (while mistyping today anyway). Trust me when I say, that can get quite annoying.

    But it's all worth it when people say, "You're @day? How did you manage that? That's awesome! So easy! I'll remember that." :) hehe

    Some good points in the comments too.

    Hope you all have an awesome day!

    @day
  • Dayane, really appreciate you leaving such a thoughtful comment here.

    I've always wondered what it's like to have a username that is short and commonly referenced in tweets. You are incredibly lucky to have such a succinct username that is both a common word and a shortened version of your name! I bet that you've had some interesting experiences at networking events when people ask you what your handle is.

    More people are going to be signing up for Twitter and the good usernames will really begin to stand out in tweets. Here's to hoping the spam @ replies stay away!
  • I chose @consciousness as my handle to act as a one-word description of my eagerness to keep aware of a wide variety of topics I find interesting. I get the occasional holistic healer who follow me seemingly because they like the name, and others who seem to find me as a result of thinking, 'I wonder if someone has this account name'. I enjoy the randomness of it all, and treat it as another layer to this ever-evolving social experiment we call twitter.
  • Hey Justin, thanks for leaving a comment.

    That is very interesting to hear your experience with your username. I am aware of a few "holistic healers" on Twitter and bet that you get a few that follow you because of that.

    Looking at your profile page, it looks like you have a wide variety of topics that you tweet about. Do you focus on any one topic in particular?
  • Hey Forrest
    Thanks for the great article. I find user names easier to read (and understand) when they capitalize the first letter of each word. e.g Mine was originally expertresumeman, and thanks to a suggestion from @animal I changed it to @ExpertResumeMan ; which people tell me is much easier to read.
  • Hey Graham, thanks for leaving a comment!

    Yes, that is a great point that I did not bring up before: capitalization can be huge in helping to differentiate words and names. @expertresumeman is not as easy to read without the capital letters.

    Personally, I go all lowercase for my username, but that is because Forrest is such a distinct name that it's hard for people to read it any other way. I could see how multiple words or names could really be improved through the use of a few capital letters.
  • Check for inactive Twitter accounts because you can claim those names
  • Hey Fernando, thanks for stopping by.

    While you can check for inactive Twitter accounts, Twitter likely will not let you pick up an account name, as stated on their help page. They are releasing inactive accounts in batches, but it seems like a hit-or-miss deal.

    While my Twitter friend Kim Sherrell was able to change her username to an inactive account's name, I haven't heard of anyone who has been able to do this successfully following her change.

    Here is the link to her post: http://kimsherrell.com/?p=273
  • Hi Forrest!

    I also changed my user name as your friend Kim did. But in my case it was much quicker and easier. I filled a support ticket on January and in a couple of days all was done. I don't know if it's still possible with the lastest TOS, but in January it was. I'll search for all the info and I'll update.
  • Thanks for returning!

    Wow, that is really encouraging. I know a lot of people who would love to pick up a new username that currently is being held by inactive spam accounts. If you could lend your insight, it'd be greatly appreciated!
  • I've already written about how I did this on my blog. It turns out that it's not possible anymore. Read the details here:

    http://fernando-gutierrez.com/you-cant-claim-an...
  • I have been known as MadKeet on da 'street' an bars for years so it is only logic that my twitter name is @MadKeet - luv ya reg
  • Hi Keith, thanks so much for your comment.

    Didn't address nicknames here, but if you have a nickname and you're happy with it, it's definitely worth using as a handle if it's available. Glad you were able to secure yours!
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