The Substack Name Generator suggests publication names for Substack newsletters, filtered by topic, tone, and word count, for writers who need a masthead and a matching handle. Unlike a blog or podcast name, a Substack name has to work in three places at once: the publication name, the subdomain in your URL, and your @handle on Notes.
Below are 28 real Substack publications with the subdomain each one actually uses, followed by 29 ideas whose subdomains were still free when we checked.
Real Substacks Named After the Writer
| Publication | Writer · topic · subdomain |
|---|---|
| Lenny's Newsletter | Lenny Rachitsky · product and growth advice · lenny |
| Kyla's Newsletter | Kyla Scanlon · economics for general readers · kyla |
| Paul Krugman | Paul Krugman · notes on economics · paulkrugman |
| Robert Reich | Robert Reich · politics and economic power · robertreich |
| Freddie deBoer | Freddie deBoer · essays and commentary · freddiedeboer |
| Noahpinion | Noah Smith · economics; his first name folded into "opinion" · noahpinion |
| Silver Bulletin | Nate Silver · elections, sports, poker; a pun on his surname · natesilver |
Real Substacks That Name the Topic
| Publication | Writer · topic · subdomain |
|---|---|
| The Pragmatic Engineer | Gergely Orosz · software engineering at Big Tech and startups · pragmaticengineer |
| Big Technology | Alex Kantrowitz · big tech and society · bigtechnology |
| Sinocism | Bill Bishop · China · sinocism |
| Your Local Epidemiologist | Katelyn Jetelina · public health science · yourlocalepidemiologist |
| Chartbook | Adam Tooze · economics, geopolitics, history · adamtooze |
| Culture Study | Anne Helen Petersen · culture and society · annehelen |
| The Ankler | Hollywood industry coverage · theankler |
Real Substacks With a Concept or Attitude Name
| Publication | Writer · topic · subdomain |
|---|---|
| Platformer | Casey Newton · Silicon Valley and democracy · platformer |
| Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson · history behind today's politics · heathercoxrichardson |
| Garbage Day | Ryan Broderick · internet culture · garbageday |
| Slow Boring | Matthew Yglesias · politics and public policy · slowboring |
| The Honest Broker | Ted Gioia · music, books, arts, media · tedgioia |
| One Useful Thing | Ethan Mollick · AI at work and in education · oneusefulthing |
| Astral Codex Ten | Scott Alexander · reasoning, science, psychiatry, AI · astralcodexten |
| Not Boring | Packy McCormick · tech strategy and analysis · notboring |
| Blackbird Spyplane | Style, travel, and culture recommendations · blackbirdspyplane |
| Hung Up | Hunter Harris · movies, TV, celebrity culture · hunterharris |
| The Weekly Dish | Andrew Sullivan · politics and culture · andrewsullivan |
| Racket News | Matt Taibbi · investigative reporting · taibbi |
| Men Yell at Me | Lyz Lenz · personal and political essays from a red state · lyz |
| Doomberg | Energy, finance, and geopolitics · doomberg |
Substack Name Ideas With Open Subdomains
These are ideas, not existing publications. Each subdomain returned "not found" on Substack on 23 September 2026. That can change any day.
| Name idea | Niche · subdomain to try |
|---|---|
| Stack Narrative | Tech and startup analysis · stacknarrative |
| Dry Run | Engineering and product launches · dryrunnotes |
| Founder Drafts | Early-stage founders thinking out loud · founderdrafts |
| Latency Report | Infrastructure and developer tools · latencyreport |
| Float | Personal finance and cash flow · floatnotes |
| Basis Points | Rates, bonds, and central banks · basispointsletter |
| Ledger Lines | Accounting and small-business money · ledgerlines |
| Ground Truth | Fact-first political analysis · groundtruthnews |
| Floor Vote | Legislatures and how bills move · floorvote |
| Below the Fold | Under-covered news stories · belowthefoldnews |
| District Desk | Local government and city politics · districtdesk |
| Strange Tides | Culture criticism and essays · strangetidesmag |
| Second Screen | TV and streaming culture · secondscreennotes |
| Draft Zero | Writing craft and process · draftzeroletters |
| Slush Pile | Publishing, querying, submissions · slushpilereader |
| The Comma Club | Grammar and style for writers · thecommaclub |
| Error Bars | How to read scientific studies · errorbarsnotes |
| Petri Dish | Biology and lab science explained · petridishdispatch |
| Deep Cut | Obscure science stories · deepcutscience |
| Baseline | Evidence-based health · baselinebody |
| The Check-In | Mental health and habits · checkinnotes |
| Mise en Place | Home cooking and kitchen prep · miseenplaceletter |
| Simmer and Salt | Food writing and recipes · simmerandsalt |
| Small Hours | Parenting babies and toddlers · smallhoursparents |
| Press Row | Sports journalism and analysis · pressrowdesk |
| Tangent | Philosophy and ideas · tangentletters |
| The Memo | Career advice from inside companies · thememodesk |
| Off Cycle | Career changes and job hunting · offcyclecareers |
| White Space | Graphic and product design · whitespacedesign |
Name, Handle, and Subdomain on Substack
Substack treats these as three separate settings. Most confusion about "Substack usernames" comes from mixing them up.
The masthead readers see. Set in Settings under Basics.
- Change it any time; takes effect immediately
- Hidden if your theme is "Profile"; switch to "Custom"
The yourname.substack.com part of your URL.
- 4 to 32 characters, letters and numbers only
- Changing it breaks old links unless you use the one-time redirect option
Your @name on your profile and Notes, at substack.com/@handle.
- Your subdomain is reserved as your handle
- A changed handle frees the old one for anyone
No hyphens, no underscores. That rules out most "handle ideas" borrowed from Instagram or X. Substack also won't hand over a taken subdomain or handle on request.
Why the Obvious Subdomain Is Gone
We tried 43 subdomains for short newsletter-style names on 23 September 2026: thecrumb, marginalia, sidequest, loosethreads, and so on. Only 5 were unclaimed. Three of those five (dryrunnotes, floatnotes, groundtruthnews) already carried a qualifier word.
Now look back at the real tables. Culture Study's subdomain is annehelen. The Honest Broker's is tedgioia. Hung Up's is hunterharris. Several well-known writers keep a concept name on the masthead and their own name in the URL.
That split is the practical fix. A full personal name is less contested than a common word, and it survives a rebrand. The other option is a qualifier: desk, notes, letters, or your niche.
What This Generator Is Told to Skip
The generator's instructions tell it to avoid a few patterns outright, and some niches carry their own vocabulary rules. Word count is defined literally: "Field Notes" counts as two words, and "StackNotes" is not accepted as a single word.
- Magazine-title names with a point of view
- Names easy to spell after hearing once
- Room to drift into adjacent topics
- "[Topic] Weekly" and "The [Topic] Letter"
- "[Name]'s Newsletter"
- "Wealth," "rich," "abundance" in finance names
- Sanskrit, crystals, and "glow" in health names
Avoiding "[Name]'s Newsletter" is a judgment call. Lenny's Newsletter and Kyla's Newsletter both use it. It works when readers come for the person. The generator assumes you want the name itself to carry the topic, and if you'd rather host a site yourself, the blog name generator is built for that.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a Substack name and a Substack handle?
The name is your publication's title and can change whenever you like. The handle is your @username at substack.com/@handle. If you run a publication, your subdomain is reserved as your handle, though you can claim a different one.
What are the rules for a Substack username or URL?
A subdomain must be 4 to 32 characters, letters and numbers only, and not in use by another publication. No spaces, hyphens, or underscores. Those rules are for subdomains; for handles, the help center only says a taken one shows "handle is already taken," and Substack won't transfer taken names on request.
Can I change my Substack name or URL later?
The publication name, yes, any time. The subdomain can be changed too, but it breaks existing links. Substack offers a redirecting version, "Change subdomain without breaking links," and you can use it only once.
Should my Substack handle match my publication name?
Not necessarily. Culture Study, Hung Up, and The Honest Broker all use the writer's name as the subdomain. A name-based handle is easier to get and stays accurate if you rename the publication.
Sources
- How do I change my Substack publication name? (Substack Help Center)
- How do I change my subdomain? (Substack Help Center)
- What are Substack Handles? (Substack Help Center)
Updated September 2026: added 57 real and idea Substack names with subdomains, Substack's name/handle/subdomain rules, and new FAQs; removed unsourced stats.
