Username generator

Each idea combines short English words: an adjective such as swift, cosmic or misty and a noun such as fox, comet or harbor. If you type a word of your own, it's combined with one of those (alexfalcon, brightalex, nova_alex). Every click gives 16 new, different ideas.

Options:

• Separator: none (swiftfox), underscore (swift_fox) or period (swift.fox).
• Add a number at the end: a two- or three-digit number (swiftfox482) makes it more likely the name is still available.
• Max length: 6 to 30 characters, to fit sites with short limits.

Accents and special characters are removed, and everything is lowercase, because most sites only accept letters, numbers, underscores and periods.

If you leave the word box empty, the ideas are pure adjective-noun pairs such as quietowl or rapid.comet. With a word, the patterns change from click to click: your word can come first or last, next to an adjective or a noun. Ideas shorter than three characters are skipped, and a trailing separator is trimmed when a name is cut to the maximum length.

Rules change, so check the sign-up page. Most platforms allow letters, numbers and underscores; Instagram and TikTok also allow periods. Set the max length to the strictest site you plan to use if you want the same handle everywhere.

• Make it easy to say and spell. People should be able to find you after hearing it once.
• Keep it short. Shorter names are easier to remember and fit everywhere.
• Avoid personal details like your full name with your birth year, your address or your school, especially for kids and teens.
• Use the same handle across sites so friends and followers can find you.
• Avoid look-alike characters such as l and I, or 0 and O, which are easy to mistype.

The generator doesn't check whether a name is taken; only the site itself can tell you that when you sign up. Popular word pairs are often taken on big platforms, so if your favorite idea is gone, try it with a separator, add a number, or swap one word. Generate a few batches and keep a short list of backups.

The word you type stays in your browser and is never sent anywhere. Ideas are random and not saved, so copy the ones you like. If you need a realistic-looking person's name instead of a handle, use the random name generator; for a strong password to go with your new account, use the password generator.