Lazy ASOHow to name an iOS app so people find it
Updated 5 November 2026
Put a search people really type at the very start of your app's name, and pick one no other app starts its name with. Skip "Brand: keyword" after a colon: it does about the same as leaving the keyword out. An app named with a free search can sit above apps with hundreds of thousands of ratings.
Six steps
- Write down what people type. Not your idea, the job the app does. "Sky map", not "Stellar".
- Check that people really search it. Apple's official search lists show which searches have demand in each country.
- Read the first 25 results. Count the apps whose name starts with your phrase. Zero is what you want.
- Count the apps with it mid-name, like "Star Tracker: Sky Map". They lower your chance of the top 10 too.
- Put the phrase first. "Sky Map - Star Tracker", not "Stellar: Sky Map".
- Repeat in every country. A name taken in the US is often free elsewhere. Translate it for each one.
What the numbers say
| Name of a new app under 100 ratings, counted down to #200 | Top 10 chance |
|---|---|
| Starts with the search, then more words | 5–10% |
| "Brand: search", after a separator | 1–3% |
| Search not in the name | 2–3% |
From our scan of 350,712 App Store searches in 87 countries.
Three mistakes to skip
- Taking a name nobody searches. First place on a search nobody types brings nobody. You need demand and a free name together.
- Using someone else's brand. App Review guideline 2.3.7 forbids trademarked terms and competitor names in metadata.
- Renaming blind. If your app is live, check the positions you already hold first.
App Store field limits
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Name | 30 characters |
| Subtitle | 30 characters |
| Keywords | 100 characters |
| Description | 4,000 characters |
Or let your AI do it
By hand, this is one phrase in one country. Lazy ASO checks every official search in 87 countries, shows you the names still free with a measured chance, and lets your AI pick the one that fits.
Want to start now? app-name-check is our free agent skill: install it with npx skills add dyuven123/app-name-check, and your agent can test a name against live App Store results.