The Do’s and Don’ts of Choosing A Twitter Handle

With over 200 million daily users, using Twitter right offers you massive benefits as a new or existing business.

Just as you would spend a considerable amount of time choosing your business name, Having a good handle is always a plus for marketing on Twitter. It’s also crucial to take time to consider your options before choosing or changing your Twitter handle.

This article will show you the do’s and don’ts of choosing a Twitter handle and 25 examples of great Twitter business names.

Twitter Name Do’s

Do use your full business name.

Making your Twitter handle as close to your business name as possible will make it easier for people to recognize you online.

Furthermore, whenever you tweet, you promote brand awareness for your business.

Do use short names.

Another tip is to use a short username. Why? Because it makes it easier to remember and spell for anyone that searches for your brand on the network.

If your business name is pretty long, then you can shorten it.

Do use taglines.

Sometimes it happens that your username has already been taken. When that happens, you could report the account for impersonation(if your business name is trademarked), or you can use an abbreviated form of your business tagline as the new handle.

Do be consistent.

If you already have a following on Facebook, Instagram, or some other social media, it’s a great idea to use the same username for your Twitter handle.

This way, it’ll be easier for your followers on those platforms to identify you on Twitter.

Twitter Name Don’ts

Don’t use numbers or symbols.

Unless a number is relevant to your business name, avoid using it on your Twitter handle. It isn’t a cool look and can be confusing for some users.

Don’t use witty names.

A witty username is excellent for a personal account, but it might not be the right fit for a business handle. Customers expect some level of professionalism, and funny names rarely give that impression.

Don’t overdo underscores.

Underscores separate characters in a username, which can be useful if two or more words make up your business name. However, be careful not to overdo using them. It’s recommended to use no more than a pair of underscores.

Good Twitter Name Examples

Here are 25 examples of great Twitter usernames. This list is divided into existing usernames and imaginary ones. Either option can serve as inspiration as you update your current Twitter handle.

Existing Twitter handles

1. Real Madrid – @realmadriden

Real Madrid FC is the biggest football club in the world and is loved by fans from different parts of the world.

The Real Madrid handle, with “en” indicates it’s the club’s official account in English, making it easy to remember and search.

This Twitter name can inspire you if your business exists in different locations around the world or communicates with customers in different languages,

2. Wendys – @Wendys

Wendys might not be your go-to fast-food chain, but they’re probably one of your favorite Twitter accounts. The burger joint is famous for its savage roasts and rivalries with other restaurants online.

We love this Twitter name because of its simplicity. It’s relevant to the brand’s name, which makes it very easy to find and identify.

3. Taco Bell – @tacobell

Using an underscore or number can differentiate your account, but it also makes it harder to find.

That’s why we like Taco Bell’s Twitter username.

Although the brand’s made up of two names, Taco Bell discards the underscore. Therefore, it’s easier to search for it on Twitter without wondering where the underscore appears.

4. PlayStation – @PlayStation

Playstation makes arguably the most popular gaming console on the planet, so it’s important that its customers can find it on Twitter and other social platforms.

It uses ‘PlayStation’ instead of ‘Playstation’ or ‘playstation,’ which we find interesting.

The capital ‘P’ and ‘S’ are synonymous with PlayStation, so it’s no surprise that it remains so even in its Twitter handle. If your business name has prominent features, something along the lines of PlayStation’s P and S, then you can also retain the feature in your username.

5. Yves Saint Laurent – @YSL

The designer apparel maker has an iconic, and lengthy name. Therefore, it might be rather tedious to find the official handle on Twitter.

Perhaps that’s why Yves Saint Laurent decided to use the ‘YSL’ username. It’s short, memorable, and definitely easier to find.

Do you have a long business name? Then take a leaf out of Yves Saint Laurent’s username.

6. Cristiano Ronaldo – @Cristiano

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the most popular sportsman in the world, and his personal brand is worth millions of dollars.

It’s no wonder, then, that all his social media accounts, Twitter inclusive, use his easily recognizable name as their usernames.

If your business is tied to your name, you can use your first or last name (or the two). We like the ‘Cristiano’ handle because it’s pretty easy to recall and is quite unique.

7. CNN Breaking News – @cnnbrk

CNN has made a name as one of the most popular news networks in the world. The company has several departments, with some focusing on fashion, sports, politics, and more.

@cnnbrk is the account focused on releasing breaking news as it happens, so it needs to be different from the other official CNN accounts.

If your business runs a similar model, with different departments, then you can draw inspiration from this username.

8. Slack – @SlackHQ

Slack is a messaging platform, and more. It’s become a favorite messaging platform for companies across the world.

It would’ve been pretty easy for it to use the @slack handle — if it weren’t already taken. So, instead of paying off the current owner of the handle, it simply added HQ to the brand’s name.

With the HQ (Headquarters), Slack circumvents the ‘Slack’ username elegantly. You can copy Slack’s example if you face the same challenge.

9. PayPal Support – @AskPayPal

Paypal is a financial platform that facilitates sending and receiving money to and from almost everywhere in the world.

As such, it’s only proper to have a channel where users can reach it on Twitter.

Paypal uses ‘ask’ right before its brand name, which is a nice move for a handle that handles customer inquiries and issues. It’s a brilliant username you can copy when creating customer care Twitter handles for your brand.

10. eBay – @eBay

eBay is a hugely popular ecommerce platform that allows users to sell and buy goods.

Just as PlayStation mentioned earlier, eBay has an interesting Twitter handle. It continues the tradition of lowercase ‘e,’ and uppercase ‘B’ in its Twitter handle. Anyone who uses eBay won’t find it hard to find the Twitter handle.

So if your brand’s name has distinct features like capitalized letters, you can incorporate that into your Twitter handle.

11. Union – @JoinUnion

Union is a digital platform that connects startups to resources and networks across the world.

This handle works because the company is a service-based business, and ‘Join’ aligns with the community mandate of the business.

12. The New York Times – @nytimes

The New York Times is a popular news media company based in the United States.

The media company uses its already popular URL name ‘nytimes’ as its username. Thus, readers will find it easy to find.

You can also use your existing URL name as your Twitter handle to make it easy for people familiar with your website to find you on Twitter.

13. Notion – @NotionHQ

Notion is a tool that lets users manage files, save documents, schedule tasks and generally organize their work.

Like Slack, the Notion handle had already been taken. So what the Notion team did was to add HQ to the end of the brand’s name. Problem solved.

14. Carolina Hurricanes – @Canes

The Carolina Hurricanes is a professional ice hockey team based in North Carolina.

How’d you fit a lengthy brand name like the Carolina Hurricanes into a Twitter handle? By abbreviating it to ‘Canes.’ It’s a simple solution that can inspire business owners with long business names.

15. Bobby van’s Grill DC – @BobbyVansDC

Bobby Van’s is a restaurant that opened its doors in 1996 and is famous for its delicious steaks.

We like this handle because it includes the location of the business in the handle. An advantage of this is how the eatery appears in local searches for eateries on Twitter.

If you run a local business, adding your location in the handle can increase the chances of getting found by users.

16. Forever 21 – @Forever21

Forever 21 is a huge clothing company that sells trendy yet affordable clothing pieces.

Although we said you should avoid using numbers in your handle, this example works because ‘21’ isn’t a random pair of numbers but is part of the brand name.

So if the numbers in your brand name are tightly associated with the brand, then by all means add them to your username.

17. Chipotle – @ChipotleTweets

Chipotle is an American chain of fast casual restaurants in North America and Europe.

Chipotle had to resort to taking a lengthier Twitter handle because its first choice was already taken. This alternative handle works, though, as it reinforces that the handle belongs to an official account.

Adding ‘Tweets’ to your brand name can make your handle more recognizable to users.

18. Chick-fil-A – @ChickfilA

Chick-fil-A is the biggest American restaurant specializing in chicken sandwiches and is one of the biggest fast-food restaurants in North America.

Chick-fil-A could’ve gone for a handle like @Chick_fil_A, but we’re grateful they didn’t. The current handle is simple and doesn’t give searchers a hard time.

Editing a brand name to something simpler and easier to search for makes sense and pays off in the end.

19. Arby’s Guest Support – @ArbysCares

Arby’s is another fast-food company whose Twitter handle offers inspiration to any business looking to create a Twitter account.

The brand prides itself on an emotional connection with customers, and its customer service handle uses a username that conveys sympathy.

When creating a username for your business, you want to go with something that conveys positive emotions and puts the consumer at ease—like this handle.

20. Chili’s Grill & Bar – @Chilis

Like all great business Twitter usernames, this username does a great job of being simple and easy to find.

Users don’t have to search for ‘Chili’s Grill and Bar’ but can find the brand right away by just typing ‘Chilis.’ This is another hack you can use if your brand has a relatively long name.

21. ReadWrite – @RWW

ReadWrite aggregates professional communities dedicated to specific subjects of interest such as connected cars, smart homes, AR/VR, fintech, and APIs.

ReadWrite aggregates content from professional communities dedicated to interests like AI, fintech, APIs, and technology.

A shorter handle makes it easier for people to mention you in tweets without taking a lot of character space. The ReadWrite handle is an excellent example because they’ve abbreviated their name into just three letters.

As ReadWrite shows, abbreviations can be a cool way to create a memorable username.

22. Oberto Specialty Meats – @ObertoBeefJerky

Oberto is a specialty meats company that’s famous for its delicious cuts and beef jerky.

We like this handle because it uses keywords in the handle. Thus, the profile is likely to appear when someone searches for beef jerky on Twitter.

If you offer specific services or products, including it in your username like this example can boost your chances of popping up when people search for them.

23. MADE.COM – @madedotcom

Made designs and retails furniture and homewares online and in showrooms across Europe.

This is a cool handle because it makes it easy for users to remember the brand’s website.

If you’re looking for something non-generic and memorable, then copying this example can be what your username needs.

24. Netflix – @netflix

Netflix is arguably the most popular streaming platform on the planet with millions of subscribers paying for its content monthly.

The main account, @netflix, is simple and a no-brainer to remember. The brand name is consistent on every social platform, including Twitter.

If you’re setting up an account for your brand, it’s best to have a consistent username across all channels as Netflix has.

25. Cakes Decor – @CakesDecor

Cakes Decor is a community dedicated to showcasing beautiful cake decorations that inspire cake makers around the world.

The handle is great because it includes the keywords ‘cake’ and ‘decor,’ which means anyone searching for cake decoration inspiration on Twitter is likely going to come across the page.

So include keywords in your username to increase visibility.

The Perfect Twitter Name for Your Business

Twitter is one of the most popular social platforms on the web today, and how you show up isn’t limited to just what you say, but the name you say it under, too. Choosing the right Twitter name for your brand is key, so follow the tips in this guide and take inspiration from the list of businesses above that did it right. You’ll have the perfect Twitter handle in no time.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2009 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.