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Does Your Twitch Name Matter?

There are some way cool Twitch names out there, and there are also some crazy names that are full of numbers, symbols and other weird things. So how important is a Twitch name?

Does Your Twitch Name Matter?

If you are trying to grow your channel as a streamer then yes, your Twitch name does matter. If you have a weird name with a bunch of signs and symbols then it will be much more difficult for people to find you. If you are just streaming for fun, and not worried about growing your channel, or if you are just a casual viewer, then your Twitch name doesn’t matter as much since you don’t care if people find and follow you or not. 

How to Choose a Good Twitch Name

When choosing a good Twitch name you want to consider three things: is the name catchy, is it simple and does it align with your brand? You want a name people will remember so that way they can easily tie your Twitch name back to you. 

Using myself as an example, my name on Twitch is streamersplaybook. The name is short and simple, kind of catchy and it matches my brand. Let me explain this in greater detail below. 

First off, you want to try and choose a Twitch name that is catchy. Think of all the big streamers that you know of. Usually, their names are short and sweet. Nickmercs. Ninja.

Dr. Lupo. These names are easy to say. They don’t have all these crazy upper and lowercase letters. No random extra numbers at the end.

They are short and sweet. How I wrote the names is literally how you would type it into the search menu if you were trying to find them on Twitch.

If you are using different social media platforms to promote your Twitch channel, like you should be doing, then when people go to search for you on Twitch it will be much easier for them to find you if you have a simple name compared to if you have some kind of crazy random name where missing one letter could throw off the whole search. 

Keep it short, simple and sweet. 

Now maybe the name you want is taken. Now what? Well if you are dead set on a certain name, and you are completely unwilling to choose any other name, then I would suggest putting numbers at the end of your name rather than signs and symbols.

For example, if your name is “sharkdog”, and “sharkdog” is taken, then maybe try something like “sharkdog88”. It’s still short.

It’s still simple and the only thing you are adding is a couple of numbers at the end of the name. Now that I think of it, sharkdog is actually a pretty sweet name. You have my permission to use it.

The next thing you want to do is make sure the name you choose is simple. I am not a big fan of putting zeros instead of O’s and threes instead of E’s. I think doing things like that doesn’t look clean and will make your name harder to search.

Just keep it simple. It may look cool to you to have all these numbers and symbols and stuff but trust me, too much of that and people will be more confused than they will be impressed. 

Lastly, you will want to choose a name that matches your brand. If you want your name to be “sharkdog”, would it make sense to have a logo with kittens on it?

One good example of this is Eagle Garret. His name is Eagle Garret and everything about his brand has something to do with Eagles or birds from his Twitter to his Twitch.

Now you don’t have to choose a name with an animal in it. I am just using that as an example. However, your name should be consistent across all of your platforms.

You shouldn’t have one name on Twitch, another name on your social medias and then another name on Youtube.

That would be way too confusing and will make it much more difficult to get a following that way. Keep your name consistent with your brand and you will be all good. 

So now what if you chose a name that you don’t like? Or if you are doing a re-brand and want to change your name? Well lucky for you Twitch allows you to change your name for free every 60 days. Let me explain how to do that down below.

How to Change Your Name on Twitch?

To change your name on Twitch, follow these easy steps:

  1. Login to Twitch and go to your settings. 
  2. Scroll down to the profile settings section and you will see a section titled: username.
  3. Click the pencil (edit button) in the username section and change your name to what you want it to be.  If there is no pencil, you will be unable to change the name at that time.
  4. Update it and you are good to go!
  • Note: You can only change your name once every 60 days. If you have already changed your name recently then you will have to wait until those 60 days have passed in order for you to change your name again. 

Here is a visual breakdown of changing your name on Twitch:

Login to Twitch and go to your settings. 

Scroll down to the profile settings section and you will see a section titled: username.

Click the pencil (edit button) in the username section and change your name to what you want it to be. If there is no pencil, you will be unable to change the name at that time.

Update it and you are good to go!

Is it Better to Change Your Twitch Name or Just Keep the One you Have if you don’t like it?

If your Twitch name is lame, and you don’t see yourself growing with it, or if your name doesn’t align with your brand, then I absolutely think that you should switch your name. If you are new to streaming, and don’t have a super huge following, then it really won’t be that big of a deal.

It is better to decide now that you want to do a re-brand rather than months down the line once things start to get going. 

The beautiful thing is that you can keep changing your name every 60 days and so you can keep changing your name if you want to until you find one that fits you well.

It’s ok to do this. This is YOUR channel and YOUR stream and so you want to find something that just fits you. Don’t be so stuck in your ways with a certain name if you feel like the name is just not working for you. 

Twitch streaming is meant to be enjoyed and having a Twitch name you like is part of the enjoyment. 

As always, if you have any questions or just want to hang with me, stop by my Twitch channel here and say what’s up!



For even more streaming tips and how-to content check out my Youtube channel here. And if you want to check out my streams then stop by my Twitch channel here.

At the end of the day a Twitch name will probably not make or break your stream. However, it is still important to have a name that catches the attention of others and aligns with what you are trying to do on Twitch.

Avoid using a ton of signs, symbols and numbers as this can be tricky and looks spammy. If you have to use numbers or symbols because the name you want is taken, then keep it short and simple. Don’t get crazy because this will only make your name harder to find when people search for you. 

And remember if at the end of the day you don’t like your streamer name, you can always change it every 60 days to something that fits you better. But try to get it right the first time!

Good luck streaming out there my friends! Keep chasing those stream dreams!

👋 Hey There, I'm Eric!

Since 2018, I've been making streams come true.

I like gaming, streaming and watching other people stream. I created this website to help streamers, viewers, and gamers answer questions they have regarding live streaming, gaming, and PCs. I am a Twitch affiliate and currently stream on Twitch 3 days a week. I also have a Youtube channel where I make videos about streaming. I hope you find my content helpful. Feel free to stop by one of my streams to say hi.