Good emo band names come in two sizes: a few plain words about the suburbs, like Bike Rack Kids, or a whole sentence about your feelings, like Everyone I Know Is Doing Fine, Thanks. This emo band name generator does both, with Midwest emo, long sentence-style names and 2000s pop-emo, plus solo artist names and album titles.
Eight good emo band names
All eight came from the generator:
- Everyone I Know Is Doing Fine, Thanks: a sentence name with a sting at the end.
- Our Old House Wants to Talk: nostalgia for a place, which is half of emo.
- I Moved Out in October: a date and a life change.
- Bike Rack Kids: Midwest emo's small, suburban details.
- Corn Maze Society: a club named after a very specific autumn memory.
- Spelling Bee Ghosts: school days, turned sad.
- Dad's Old Car: a solo-project name that sounds like a song.
- All My Friends Are Moving to Chicago: an album title that tells a whole story.
Where emo names come from
Emo began in Washington, DC in the mid-1980s as "emotional hardcore", with bands like Rites of Spring and Embrace. It grew in three waves, and each one named itself differently:
- Midwest emo in the 1990s: twinkly guitars and small-town memories. American Football's first album, in 1999, put a house in Urbana, Illinois on the cover, and the house became as famous as the band. Names here are like that: Hall Pass Season, Paper Drive.
- Long sentence names, a tradition of the 2010s revival. The best-known is The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. Here: My Heart Is a Snow Day.
- 2000s pop-emo, when the scene went mainstream with bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, whose song titles were famously long. Names here: Postcard Avenue, Letters for Lost Friends.
Choose Solo artist for a real-sounding name like Jenna Walczak or a project like Night Swimmer, and Album title for records like You Can Keep the Hoodie.
Using an emo name
- Long names get shortened. Fans will turn a sentence into initials, so check those too.
- Specific beats general. "Corn maze" and "bike rack" say more than "sadness".
- Search before you commit. Look the name up on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube, and check the social handles are free. Two acts with one name confuse fans and streaming services alike.
For the louder, catchier side of the scene, try the Pop Punk Band Name Generator, and for something slower and quieter, the Slowcore Band Name Generator. The Song Title Generator is good at the long, confessional titles emo loves, and the Band Name Generator covers every genre.
For more genres, see all the music genre name generators.