Not sure how to get started generating your own event name ideas? Here are some of our favorite ways to get the name ideas flowing, plus some event-specific examples:
How to Name Your Event: 4 Questions to Ask Yourself
Before you dive into brainstorming your event names list, there are a few questions you should consider that, when answered, will give you the contextual framework for building your potential names:
- What makes an event name good?
- What is your event about?
- What will it be like to attend your event?
- What do you want your first impression to be?
What Makes an Event Name Good?
Creating a good event name requires more than just creativity. A successful event name will be memorable, convey what the event is about and spark excitement in your audience. A potential attendee should be able to read or hear the name of your event and immediately have a sense of what the event will be about and what they can expect from the experience.
A great event name:
- Explains What The Event Is: An event name like “The 2022 Strawberry Festival & Marketplace” clearly explains what the event is (a festival and marketplace) and what it is about (strawberries).
- Excites the Audience: An element of fun, uniqueness or exclusivity in your event name is sure to excite your audience. “Challah at Me! A Holiday Baking Workshop” uses a fun pun to generate a smile or laugh from the viewer, making them more likely to look for more information and ultimately attend.
- Is Memorable: A memorable event name can take the form of something witty or rhyming, or it can be easy to remember because it contains the name of the host organization or company. “Minneapolis Vintage Market” is simple, but it conveys what the event is and where it is in three words, making it easy to recall.
What is Your Event About?
Again, a potential attendee should be able to look at or hear your event title and immediately know what the event is about. For example, the “Breath of Hope Lung Cancer Walk/Run” makes it clear that the event is about raising funds and awareness for lung cancer through a charitable walk/run.
What Would it Be Like to Attend Your Event?
Consider the environment and atmosphere you’d like to achieve with your event. Will it be a fun, upbeat party, or a more formal, restrained affair? Thinking about what it will be like for guests to attend your event may help you narrow down word choice and style for your naming conventions.
What Do You Want Your First Impression to Be?
Your event’s name is truly the first impression upon potential guests, so it’s important to consider what you want that first impression to be. A short name vs. a long name, a “punny” name vs. a straightforward name — each of these choices contributes to the ultimate impression made by your event’s title. Choose wisely!
Making It Your Own By Using Plays on Words
Whatever your event is about, there’s likely a way to create a fun, memorable play on words in the name. A great example of this is the 2021 Get Your Rear In Gear: A Colon Cancer Coalition Event in the Twin Cities. The play on words speaks to both the event’s type (a walk/run) and its focus (colon cancer). The play on words takes a serious topic and gives it a lighthearted but appropriate twist that will undoubtedly help bring in participants.
Event Name Ideas for Corporate and Conference Events
Coming up with great conference names can be difficult, particularly if the subject matter is especially dry or high-level. With a little creativity, your conference names list can burst with individuality that supports your brand and your goals. Take a look at the conference title examples below to learn more about how good meeting names can make a corporate event shine:
- 2022 National Baseball Association Touch Base
- The Hotcakes & Hot Topics Business Leaders’ Breakfast
- Mending Fences: Fostering Diversity & Intersectionality in the Construction Industry
- Charting the Course of a Century: A Celebration of 100 Years of the New Hampshire Sailing Association
- Leading the Charge: A Banking Leadership Conference
Finding Inspiration
Drum up some inspiration by thinking about your organization’s values, goals and messaging. How can those ideas be translated into a fun, engaging event name? You might consider other brainstorming tactics like free association, pop culture references or drawing inspiration from other industry events.
Event Name Ideas for Networking Events
A networking event is a chance for professionals of a certain industry to get together, learn more about one another and make connections. Your guests will arrive with the expectation that they will swap business cards and contact information, meet some new people as well as longtime fixtures in their industry, and perhaps enjoy a cocktail or appetizer.
Check out these networking event names to get inspired for your next networking opportunity:
- Twin Cities Young Business Professionals’ Happy Hour
- Coffee & Conversation: Networking for Local Changemakers
- #MingleMode
- IdeaTank: Minneapolis Creatives’ Connect
- Old Clothes, New Connections: Networking for Vintage Sellers & Curators
Outlining Your Goals
A clear understanding of your goals for your networking event can go a long way toward finding the perfect name.
If the goal of your meet-up is simply to socialize with likeminded people, you’ll want to choose networking event titles that convey a more laidback, casual atmosphere.
On the flip side, if the event is intended to forge high-powered connections and business alliances that will affect the future of your industry as you know it, your networking event name ideas will need to reflect that more serious, professional approach. Write down your goals for your networking event and see how those might change or inform your networking event name ideas!
Considering Themes and Activities
If your networking event will have a theme or activity tied to it, consider bringing that element to the forefront of your event title — think “Bulldog Breeders Who Brunch” or “Mystery Writers’ Escape Room Night.” This will help differentiate your event from other, similar events and give potential attendees something to be excited about.
Event Name Ideas for College Events
In many ways, naming a college event is the same as naming a corporate event — it should hit on all the same key components and inspire the same interest in potential guests. However, a college event provides a unique opportunity to incorporate the school or university’s name, mascot, values and other details into the event name. Below you’ll find some inspiration for catchy names for college events, from tailgating to academic events and beyond.
Tailgating!
It’s not hard to make a college football game or related event fun and exciting, but a creative college event name can help! Score points with potential guests by using puns, references to your team, and other personalized touches in your event name:
- Pre-Game Grill & Chill
- Go Go Gophers! Gameday Get Together
- Cleats ‘n Eats
- The 2022 Gophers Fans Ice Cream Social
Greek Life and Social Clubs
Greek life event names are usually fairly self explanatory and have a philanthropic bent. If you find yourself needing names for a sorority, fraternity or social club event, try taking inspiration from who is hosting or sponsoring the event or the cause it will benefit.
- Kappa Sigma Skate to End Lung Cancer
- University of Minnesota Veterans’ Association PTSD Awareness Walk/Run
- Alpha Delta Pi-e Baking Contest
Academic Clubs
Giving your academic club event a fun name is not only a great way to show the personality of your club and its members, but also to get the word out about your group to people who might be interested in joining. Your event name should convey what your group is about in addition to the type of event you’re hosting.
- Eagles’ Speech Team Talkathon for Hope
- Rock Concert Off-Campus Outing: Hosted by the Geology Club
- The Great Gopher Bake Off
Coming Up With Names for Other Social Celebrations
Any social celebration or event can benefit from a creative name! When planning their wedding, the soon-to-be Mr & Mrs. Goehring might make “Goehring To The Chapel” their wedding hashtag. Gertie might choose to dub her 30th birthday party “Gertie, Thirty and Thriving” as a nod to the film “13 Going On 30.” The possibilities are endless! Below, you’ll find some fun and funny ideas to get you started.
Wedding vs. Birthday
The context of knowing who and what the celebration is for can better inform your ideas for funny event names. A wedding for a notably extroverted or outgoing couple is going to have very different naming conventions than a birthday party for your most introverted, soft-spoken friend! Make sure that the names you consider on your list of event titles are appropriate for the occasion, setting and guests of honor. Be respectful, but have fun!
Other Adult Get-Togethers
Birthdays, holidays, work promotions, or even a breakup or divorce — any event can be cause for celebration, and that means any event could potentially have a creative name! Here are some ideas for fun adult get-together event names:
- Janet’s Just-Divorced Disney Trip 2022
- It’s the Paw-lidays! A Dog-Friendly Festivus Party
- Over the Hill: Hank’s 40th Birthday Hike
- BYOB, HBIC: Celebrating Maya’s Promotion!
Host Your Perfectly Named Event at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center
When you’re ready to plan your next perfectly-named event, the expert planners at the Heritage Center will be ready to help! We’ve hosted corporate events, conferences, meetings, galas and more. We are dedicated to making your next event extraordinary. Contact us today to learn more about hosting corporate events!