Naming is Difficult — Choosing a Site Name
Self-hosting building record, Part 7. A site name is harder than a domain name.
← Previous: Part 6 — Domain Purchase: Cloudflare Registrar
TL;DR
- The initial name “jamjam’s voyage diary” → changed to “Star Whale” within three days
- It is okay for the domain (
sticknstone.org) and brand name (Star Whale) to differ. This can be explained on the About page. - Including the English subtitle “Star Whale” → friendly for global search
- Five criteria for naming a personal blog: differentiation, metaphor depth, memorability, domain conflict, English pronunciation
1. The Problems with “jamjam’s voyage diary”
The name chosen initially. A combination of my nickname (jamjam) and “voyage diary.” While positioning the articles over three days, five issues became apparent.
| Issues | Reasons |
|---|---|
| Too Ordinary | Conflicts with objective content and tone like “study, trading, automation” |
| Nickname Exposure | The nickname jamjam prioritizes personal identity over site identity |
| Imitable | Many blogs follow the pattern “OO’s voyage diary.” Weak search exposure |
| Difficult English Conversion | “jamjam’s voyage diary” — awkward |
| Narrow Perspective | “diary” implies a personal log. Too private for outside readers |
2. New Name Candidates
Comparison of five candidates.
| Name | Meaning | Differentiation | Metaphor | Memorability | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jamjam’s voyage diary | My diary | ★ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★ |
| firewhale | Fire + Whale (intensity + depth) | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Star Whale | Star + Whale (exploration, depth) | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★ |
| One-Pyeong Library | One-person workspace | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★ |
| Sailor’s Resource Room | Collection of information | ★★ | ★★ | ★★ | ★ |
Star Whale dominates in differentiation and metaphor. The English name has weaknesses but can be supplemented by the subtitle “Star Whale.”
3. The Depth of the Metaphor for Star Whale
“Star Whale is a deep voyage toward the star” — captures the tone, content direction, and blog identity in one sentence. The core of my learning notes is about going “calmly far away,” fitting perfectly.
4. Firewhale Disqualified — SEO Conflict
“Fire + Whale” = Motivation from the intensity of fire + the depth of a whale. It seems appealing, but searching reveals:
| Owner | What |
|---|---|
| firewhale.io | iOS app development company (numerous music apps) |
| firewhale.org | Notable Publications |
| firewhalemusic.com | Music artist |
| Firewhale (FIREW) | Cryptocurrency token |
| GitHub FireWhale | Personal account |
The search results show zero opportunities for Star Whale (ours) to enter the first page. A new site starting with firewhale would be forever buried.
Star Whale, upon searching, is nearly clean. We rank first. Overwhelming in SEO and GEO exposure.
5. The English Subtitle “Star Whale”
Korean main title + English subtitle. WordPress settings:
Site Title: Star Whale
Tagline: Star Whale — Self-hosted notes on learning, trading, automation
Advantages:
– Korean Search: “Star Whale” ranks cleanly at number one
– English Search: The “Star Whale” portion is English-exposed
– Business cards and SNS self-introduction: “Star Whale (Star Whale)” sounds natural
– No burden when expanding globally
There is a ML company using Starwhale as one word. However, if we separate it into two words as Star Whale, there’s no association (only slight brand proximity).
6. Domain and Site Name Mismatch — Is It Okay?
| Domain | Site Name | Example |
|---|---|---|
google.com |
Match | |
meta.com |
Meta | Match |
medium.com |
Medium | Match |
stripe.com |
Stripe | Match |
sticknstone.org |
Star Whale | Mismatch |
Generally, it is preferable for them to match. In our case, we intentionally separated them.
Why is the separation acceptable?:
– It can be explained naturally in one line on the About page
– “Stick & Stone = the stones and sticks a former sailor used to point to stars” → “Star Whale = A deep voyage toward that star” → a storytelling asset
– The aim is not to have the URL memorized but to have visitors arrive through search, making the domain-brand alignment secondary.
For corporate sites, matching makes sense. A personal learning note blog is different.
7. The Change Task — One Line with wp-cli
wp option update blogname "Star Whale" --allow-root
wp option update blogdescription "Star Whale — Self-hosted notes on learning, trading, automation" --allow-root
That’s it. Additional updates needed:
– One line in llms.txt (# Star Whale)
– About page (storytelling)
– OG tags (Rank Math automatic)
– Email sender name (UpdraftPlus notifications, etc., follows automatically)
FAQ
Q. Can I not change the name once I’ve set it?
You can change it. However, the earlier you change it, the cost is zero. Changing it after publishing 100 articles would require adjustments to external links, social, and search indexing.
Q. Is the English subtitle necessary?
Korean alone is feasible. However, the English subtitle = friendly for global searches + naturalness on business cards. The benefit far exceeds the 5-minute task.
Q. Isn’t a compound Korean name like “Star Whale” difficult for foreigners?
It is challenging. Hence the English subtitle. My main readers are Koreans, so priority is given to Korean.
Q. Should I register a trademark?
For a personal blog, it is unnecessary. The probability of an external user creating products/services under the name Star Whale is zero. This will be reevaluated at the point of accumulated content + monetization.
Q. I’m delaying publication because I can’t decide on a site name?
Start publishing under a provisional name. Content comes first. The name solidifies naturally after writing about five pieces of content.
Next Episode Preview
Part 8 — Bots arrive within 24 hours: Security P0 before domain exposure. Blocking xmlrpc + changing wp-login slug = 25 minutes of work will block 99% of brute force attempts.
One-Line Summary
Choosing a site name is harder than the domain. Star Whale overwhelmingly satisfies five criteria for differentiation, metaphor, and search exposure. The combination of a Korean main title + English subtitle (Star Whale) + storytelling on the About page complements the domain mismatch.
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