Choose a DJ Name: Ultimate Guide | DJCity
Once you’ve learned the ropes of DJing and you start to take it a little bit more seriously. One of the most important decisions you’ll have to make aside from the equipment you use, is your DJ Name! So in this article, we’ll go through why it’s so important, and what to consider so you can make the right choice for you!
- Why do you need a DJ name?
- What to consider?
- Will your name fit the style of DJ you are?
- Is it search engine friendly?
- Do you use the word “DJ” or not?
- Is your name pronouncable?
- Choosing a name
- DJ Name Generator
- Using a Thesaurus
- Other DJs
- Settling on a name
Why do you need a DJ name?
Whether you’re hitting the clubs or DJing Weddings & Formal events, your clients are always going to ask what your DJ name is. But you’re also going to need a name you can use for your logo. Otherwise, you’ll quickly be known as DJ “your first name” and your non-existent logo will be left off the club flyers deeming you less important.
So if you’ve decided you’re ready to take things a bit more seriously, now’s the time to settle on a DJ Name, as well as a logo! But what should you consider before settling on a name that you might have to stick with for a while to come?
What do you have to consider?
Will your name fit the style of DJ you are?
The biggest question that you need to consider before you get set on a DJ name and Logo is whether it’s going to fit the style of DJ you’re wanting to become. If your goal is to be a main stage club or festival DJ, then your goal should be to appeal to the type of music scene you’re looking to become a part of. It means you can get a little bit edgier and out there with your name and logo because you’re going to be appealing to a much different audience as to if your main focus is going to be on weddings and formal events.
So on that note, if you want to skip the nightclubs and focus mainly on the aspect of mobile DJing; you might want to go for something a little bit more sophisticated, yet still unique. Remember, you want to appeal to a wide range of people who might be booking you, whether it’s an engaged couple or someone booking a corporate function.
Another consideration is whether you decide to skip the individual DJ name altogether and opt for a company name to represent your DJing services. This can help make your DJ services look like a bigger entity than they might be, and help persuade more clients of your worth.
It also leaves the door open if you ever decide to team up with other professions to offer additional services for your events such as photography.
Is your DJ name search engine friendly?
In this day and age, you simply can’t undervalue the importance of showing up on the first page of Google! With an infinite amount of DJs offering their services online, there’s going to be a slim chance that you’ll instantly show up on the first page. But you can definitely do a few things to make it easier for yourself if people do try to search for you. This is why it’s important to pick a unique name. Even using your real name can come in handy unless your name is something monotonous like John Smith.
Not only do you need your name to stand out, but it’s worth making a few little tweaks to your online presence to help you get found. If you did decide to call yourself DJ John Smith, and you’re a mobile DJ with a focus on weddings who lives in Sydney. Changing your name on social handles and the titles on your website to include Sydney Wedding DJ John Smith can make a world of a difference. If people don’t yet know who you are, nobody’s going to be searching for you specifically. But they might be looking for the keyword “Sydney Wedding DJ”. This way you’re going to put yourself far more ahead of the competition who’s leaving these crucial keywords out of their online presence.
To use the word “DJ” or to not?
Over the years, having the term “DJ” in front of your name has slowly started to become a thing of the past. Just take a look at the annual DJ Mag Top 100 DJs for 2020 list. You’ll only find one DJ on that list who actually uses the DJ moniker before their name.
But in saying that, if you’re just starting out it can’t hurt to include it. You can also just as easily drop the “DJ” once you become a household name. It goes back to being easily found online, and having “DJ” in front of your name can quickly tell your audience exactly what services you’re offering.
Is your name readable and pronouncable?
There are definitely some benefits to using your real name as your DJ name. But if it’s something that’s not readable, pronounceable, or memorable; then it might be worth thinking of something a bit more fictitious. Or even a blend of your actual name. Take famous producer Kygo for example. Real name Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, do you think he would have as much claim to fame if that’s the name he went by?
Choosing your name
So we’ve touched over the things you need to take into consideration, now it’s time to get creative. By now, you might already have a few concepts of a name in mind. If not, and you’re still stuck for ideas, below are a few ways you might be able to spark your brain on some potentials.
DJ Name Generator
An obvious suggestion, using name generators such as cueup.io let you quickly and randomly generate names you can use as a DJ. Yes, sometimes these can be pretty cheesy but you just might find something that gets your creative juices flowing.
Online Thesaurus or Dictionary
Another great idea is to jump onto the online thesaurus or dictionary to help you think of different and alliterative names for your DJ Persona (Think Laidback Luke or DJ Jazzy Jeff).
Other DJs
You definitely don’t want to bite someone else’s DJ name, but studying the names of popular DJs in your area of music is a great way to get inspired for a name. It might be a good idea to write a list with all the names you do like, as well as all the names you don’t. This way you can find out what it is about certain names you like, and use that as fuel to come up with a unique DJ Name for you.
Settling on a name
Taking the suggestions from this article into account, you should hopefully now have a list of potential names you’re tossing up between. Before you settle on one, make sure you take the time to search for each of these names on google to make sure you don’t choose one that’s already being used! You might be able to use different spellings or formats to get around this but obviously, you don’t want to choose a name that could find you mixed up with a world-famous DJ.
All in all, whatever name you end up picking, there will undoubtedly be times where you wish you chose something different. Be confident with whatever name you choose and know you can always change things if you do decide to go a different path later on in your career.
