Etsy Shop Name Availability Checker

How to check if an Etsy shop name is taken

There are four ways, and only one of them is final.

1. This checker. It asks the Etsy API for open shops with the exact name. If one exists, the name is taken and you get a link to the shop. Capitalization is ignored, as it is on Etsy.
2. The URL test. Open etsy.com/shop/TheName in a browser. A shop page means taken. A "not found" page means no open shop has it, which is not the same as free.
3. Etsy search. Searching shops on Etsy finds names and near-matches, but Etsy's own Help Center notes that closed shops do not appear in search, and its Seller Handbook says searching is not enough to know a name is free.
4. Etsy's own check. When you open a shop, Etsy checks the name as you type and, if it is in use, suggests alternatives. The name is held for you while you finish setup. This is the only answer that counts.

Use the checker to rule names out fast, then let Etsy confirm the one you want.

Why a name can look free but not be

Etsy only shows open shops, in search, at shop URLs and through its API. The pool of names it refuses is bigger:

• Closed shops. "Once a shop name has been used on an open shop, it can't be used again even if the shop it's connected to is closed." Closing an account does not free the shop name either, per Etsy's account closure article.
• Previous names of renamed shops. When a shop changes its name, Etsy keeps the old one so nobody else can take it, and redirects the old URL.
• Usernames. Shop names and usernames share one pool. A buyer who signed up as MugCo years ago blocks the shop name MugCo.
• Frozen or removed shops. Etsy's API documentation says these are left out of shop search results.
• Names being held. Someone halfway through opening a shop has the name reserved until they finish.

That is why this tool says Looks available and never "available". It is also why a name you used on an old account of your own stays blocked; Etsy's advice is to reopen that shop instead.

What to do if the name is taken

Do not add a digit or swap one letter. YourName2 and YourNaem send buyers to the other shop and look like a copy. Instead:

• Add a word that says what you do. MugCo becomes MugCoStudio, TheMugCo or MugCoGoods. The checker suggests these under a taken result, each with its own check.
• Change the frame, keep the idea. If OakAndEmber is gone, try CedarAndEmber, EmberOakGoods or OakEmberStudio. The name generator does this with your keywords and a style.
• Look at the shop that has it. If it has been closed to the public for years you still cannot have the name, but if it is active and sells what you sell, you want distance from it anyway.

If you own a registered trademark in the name, Etsy's shop name article says to contact the member and try to resolve it between you. You can file an intellectual property infringement notice, but Etsy states that doing so will not free the shop name for your use.

Check trademarks, domains and social handles

A name free on Etsy is a start. Before you print it on packaging, run the same name through three more checks. The links under a "Looks available" result above open each one.

Trademarks

Not infringing a trademark is one of Etsy's shop name requirements, and Etsy cannot test it at signup. Search the USPTO database (or your national registry) for the name and close spellings in your product category, then search Google. Skip anything that borrows a brand, a character or a franchise.

Domain

You may never build a website, but owning yourname.com stops someone else from putting it next to your products. If the .com is gone and the owner is a different business, consider a different name.

Social handles

Check Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest for the exact handle. A matching handle is not essential, but a near-identical handle owned by another shop in your niche is a problem. The URL pattern is the same on each: instagram.com/yourname, tiktok.com/@yourname, pinterest.com/yourname.

When all four agree, save the name on Etsy, claim the handles the same day, and buy the domain if you can.

Go further with Alura

Once the name is yours, the work is getting found. Alura shows the keywords buyers actually search on Etsy, scores and rewrites your listings, and lets you study the top shops in your niche before you list your first item.

Start for free or see pricing.