On top of being cool, catchy and clever, a really good blog name should be as authentically meaningful as possible. But how far do you need to go in juggling the trade-ff between witty wordplay and having to justify every word used in a name?

One of the best articles on starting a new travel blog is written by Jo Fitzsimons who shares 10 tips that every new blogger should read (even if you’re not an aspiring travel blogger).

But what’s better than the useful advice she shares in that post is the name of her blog – IndianaJo.com – it’s simply brilliant.

Indiana Jo(nes)

It’s the epitome of cool-catchy-clever, not only because it adapts the name of a popular character to perfectly fit her own name, but also because Indy was (and is) the ultimate globe trotting adventurer.

Anyone who has watched any of the Indiana Jones movies will love this name. It just doesn’t get any better if you’re trying to create a name that’s memorable, relevant and full of meaning for a travel blog.

Good Names Don’t Need to be Perfect

The naming trainspotters among you may be wondering if Jo is actually from Indiana as well. For some reason, when something is already gobstoppingly great, we somehow expect it to be totally perfect.

Unfortunately, she’s not. And in all fairness, she doesn’t need to be. It doesn’t take any shine off the awesomeness of the name at all. It would have just made it even better if she was.

The Right Name for the Right Audience

Okay, but all this is assuming that the blog’s visitors and intended readers know about our hero from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie (and/or the sequels that followed).

For the Generation Z’s and late Y’s who may not even know who Harrison Ford is, this name is not going to have it’s desired impact. They’re just not going to get it. In which case, they’ll probably expect Jo to be from Indiana, instead of London (which is where she’s from).

This highlights the importance of knowing your audience. Something that resonates with one demographic may not mean much to another.

In order to come up with a truly memorable name, you need to identify who you’re trying to reach, and know what they might think is creative or cool.

Full of Meaning and Relevance

Now consider this – would IndianaJo still be a good name if the underlying blog wasn’t a travel (or adventure) related blog? What if it was a food blog, or a mommy blog?

Most people would agree that it would still be a quality name if the blogger is called Jo and she’s from Indiana, where the ‘Indiana’ part of the blog’s name would then take its relevance from the place rather than the fictional character’s first name.

So, just as Jo Fitzsimons doesn’t need to be from the state of Indiana, the hypothetical Jo (who is from Indiana) doesn’t need to blog about travel for the name to hold its appeal.

What’s the point to note? You don’t have to cover absolutely all the angles when you’re trying to find an ideal name for your blog. The perfect name can never be completely perfect, so don’t set the bar too high for yourself.