Sep 10, 2013 / Beginner

Choosing the Perfect Blog Name: The Goat That Wrote

Ian “Goat” Fraser, the blogger at The Goat That Wrote, talks about how he chose the name for his walking and hiking blog.

Our Q&As with WordPressers on how they chose their blog names, from Talking Covers to Museum in a Bottle, have been wildly popular. We recently chatted with another WordPress.com blogger, Ian “Goat” Fraser, about how his blog name, The Goat That Wrote, came about.

The Goat That Wrote

What’s the story behind your blog name, The Goat That Wrote?

The year 2010 was big for me, with a 2,000-mile walk in the US and three months living with a girlfriend in Switzerland (to see if it would work). It didn’t, but the walking was great! I was then back home in Australia, broke and glum and kinda stranded, so I started a blog.

Goat is my trail name in America, where most long-distance hikers use a nice dashing alias. It’s what a lot of friends call me now even off-trail. I wanted “goat” in my blog name because it suggests age, wisdom, stubbornness, mischievousness, and perhaps foolishness — qualities I admire or am stuck with. And goats and mountains go well together.

The rhyme with “wrote” was too good to ignore.

The rhyme with “wrote” was too good to ignore. I was almost going to use “The Goat Has Wrote” — intentionally bad grammar — till a colleague who was always encouraging me to write my adventures down pointed out the obvious and grammatically correct rhyme.

Although it’s (mostly) a walking blog, I didn’t want “hike” in the name because I didn’t want to feel limited to dry trip reports with statistics, advice, gear reviews, etc. And I wanted people who weren’t hikers to enjoy the posts.

Your custom domain ends in .net — was .com not available?

When I first started The Goat That Wrote, I registered the .com name, but the early incarnation was aimless: I couldn’t find my voice, and I gave it up after a few sad posts. I eventually was reinspired, but in the meantime some evil domain squatter had hijacked the name when it lapsed and demanded a king’s ransom for its return! I don’t like to encourage these villains, so I reluctantly grabbed the .net version and held on tight.

Got advice for bloggers deciding on a custom domain name?

Acquiring a domain name seems like a scary business but it’s remarkably easy and it adds a feeling of “legitimacy” and protection to your site, which feels great. Find a name with flair that sums up your blog in just a few words and won’t be confused with other, perhaps bigger concerns. Don’t be too wordy, don’t be too dry — and don’t let your name lapse!

Do you use this name on other social media sites or for other purposes?

I’m @Goat_that_Wrote on Twitter (which is still a bemusing experiment for me at this stage), and in the email address I use for blog business. On my next multi-month walk, I may well use it as my trail name!

You started your blog in early 2011 — are you still happy with the name?

I think it has some personality and irreverence missing in a lot of “hiking blogs.”

I love the name — it has a maverick Dr. Seussian quality I enjoy. It’s easy to remember, and it makes people smile.

It does lead the odd goat enthusiast and hobby farmer to my site by accident, but I think it has some personality and irreverence missing in a lot of “hiking blogs.” I’m sure it’s cost me some readers in the hiking world, but my readers and commenters are a nice and diverse bunch.

Editor’s note: If you’re interested in getting a custom domain for your blog, visit the WordPress.com Store. You can also check to see if the domain name you want is available. For more general information on domains, check out our recent Domains 101 series.

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  1. What an interesting theme! I was wondering what to name my blog, when I saw the beautiful dark wood desk my laptop was placed on. Timberdesk just seemed right, especially since I wanted to blog on design and world affairs! It has served me well this far 😌

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  10. What a interesting blog name that rhymes! I would have hoped that I can create such an unique blog name. I had a headache when I was brainstorming the names. It must be something special. Moreover, it should give an idea about what the blogger and the blog content. In the end, in a haste of starting my first post, I hastily gave a name. Not very satisfied but to change all my links and images’ watermark, it will be an even bigger headache.

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  11. Good article. Personally I used Google trends to find a name that people are searching for online. Thinking it would work well with our site which is based on Family Law issues in LA. That’s why I went with FamilyLawCourt.wordpress.com. So far have only posted a few articles though figure with a few more will start to see an up-tick in traffic.

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  23. Great article! I have just started a blog about backpacking and really wanted a good blog name. We seem to spend a bit more than the normal backpacker and were labelled “flash-packers” by a family member! A play on the movie “Flashbacks of a fool” became my blog “Flash-packs of a fool”.

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  24. Interesting blog name, and I love the story behind it.

    Sadly, I don’t have quite as amazing of a story behind mine.
    The main site has a spur of the moment name that works in hindsight, and one of my secondary sites was named–courtesy of a loosely connected book-series-in-progress–after a few dozen tries on a random title generator.

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  25. It took me ages to decide on a name as I wanted it to be quirky but still representative. I do love a good pun as well so am an absolute fan of ‘The Goat that Wrote’. It’s spot on!

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  26. It was good to read an account of how a blog name came about…real Dr. Seuss stuff..and good to have the questions that drew out the author.

    I had an earlier blog called French Leave…as that was what I wanted to do, take french leave but on moving to WordPress made a new start, blogging about stuff in general.

    My title isn’t snappy, or figuring in trends…but it reflects what I like and want to share – a sense of history with a laugh along the way, so it is The Venomous Bead from Sellars and Yeatman’s 1066 and All That – the best crammer for English history you could wish to meet. Understand the jokes and you can pass any history exam.

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