How to use AI to generate band names

Bobby Owsinski took 3 genres and used AI to find 60 possible band names that may just spark the inspiration you and your band have been needing… or maybe not.

by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

Anyone who’s ever formed a band knows how difficult it can be to come up with a name. Many times the arguments over the name are enough to break up the band before it even gets started. Luckily today we have ChatGPT to come to our rescue. I asked the Ai to come up with 10 band names for a hard rock and an Americana band, then suggest some names for an electronic music artist/band. This is what it came up with.

Rock Band Names

First of all, I used ChaptGPT 4, the $20 a month version of the free platform, mainly because it would be faster and not subject to a potential wait because of server overload. Here’s the prompt that I started with:

Bobby O: “Hi Chatty. Can you give me 10 names for a hard rock band, please? Make sure that none of the names are currently being used by a band signed to a record label.”

Chatty (which many users are calling ChatGPT now to personalize it a bit), then came up with the following:

ChatGPT: “Hello! I can certainly try to come up with some unique and cool hard rock band names for you, but please note that I can’t guarantee that none of these names are in use, as new bands are formed all the time and my browsing capability is disabled. I recommend checking the availability of these names online and in relevant databases before committing to one. Here are 10 suggestions:

1. Iron Vortex
2. Raging Serenade
3. Stone Reverie
4. Volcanic Echo
5. Thundering Silence
6. Crimson Odyssey
7. Steel Resonance
8. Pyroclastic Flow
9. Sonic Titan
10. Quake Rhythm

Remember to do a thorough search to ensure that the name you choose is not already in use or trademarked by another group. Enjoy forming your hard rock band! 🎸”

I then hit the Regenerate button to get another response, and this is what it spit out:

ChatGPT: “Of course! Please note that while I can suggest names based on my last update in September 2021, I can’t guarantee that they haven’t been taken since then. It’s always a good idea to do a thorough search online and check for trademarks before settling on a band name. Here are 10 hard rock band name suggestions:

1. Stone Vortex
2. Iron Echoes
3. Riftwalkers
4. Obsidian Pulse
5. Molten Reverie
6. Granite Veil
7. Pyroclastic Flow
8. Bedrock Rumble
9. Crystalline Fury
10. Tectonic Shift

Remember, the best band names often reflect the band’s identity, ethos, or musical style, so feel free to modify these suggestions or use them as a starting point for brainstorming!”

The only one I cared from out of the 20 names generated was “Thundering Silence” but a combination of words might provide something. Actually, all you need is one word to generate a human idea.

Americana Band Names

Now I asked it for 10 names for an Americana band. You’ll notice I didn’t get too in-depth on the prompt (that’s for another time) just to see what would happen.

Bobby O: Now give me some possible names for an Americana band, please.

ChatGPT: “Certainly! Here are 10 suggestions for an Americana band name. As with the previous list, I recommend checking online and for trademarks to ensure the name isn’t already in use:

1. Heartland Harmony
2. Prairie Soul
3. Rustic Echoes
4. The Wandering Pines
5. Homestead Serenade
6. Riverbend Revival
7. Dusty Roads
8. Americana Alchemy
9. The Front Porch Collective
10. Blue Ridge Balladeers

These names aim to evoke the rich, diverse, and roots-oriented sound that is characteristic of Americana music. Feel free to modify these suggestions or use them as inspiration for your own ideas!”

Once again, I asked it to regenerate.

ChatGPT: “Certainly! Americana music often evokes feelings of nostalgia, heartland values, and the vast landscapes of the U.S. Here are 10 suggestions for an Americana band name:

1. Heartland Hymns
2. Dustbowl Drifters
3. Prairie Poets
4. Lonesome Highways
5. Rustic Reverie
6. Blue Ridge Balladeers
7. Delta Dawnriders
8. Homestead Harmonies
9. Crossroads Chronicles
10. Appalachian Echoes

As always, it’s a good idea to check for any existing bands with these names or similar ones, and to ensure there are no trademark issues before settling on a name.”

I think that Chatty is a lot better at doing Americana than hard rock. There a number of bands names from the 20 created that I would consider.

Let’s Get Electronic

Now I asked it for names for an electronic artist or band. Once again, the prompt is very simplistic just as an experiment.

Bobby O: Now give me 10 names for an electronic music artist, please.

ChatGPT: “Certainly! Here are 10 suggestions for an electronic music artist name:

1. Neon Pulse
2. Synthwave Serenade
3. Digital Drift
4. Circuit Symphony
5. Electro Ethereal
6. Quantum Quiver
7. Binary Bliss
8. Sonic Silhouette
9. Volt Visions
10. Hertz Harmony

Please remember to do a thorough search online and check for trademarks before settling on an artist name to ensure it is unique and not already in use.”

And once again, I asked it to regenerate the answer.

ChatGPT: “Of course! Electronic music often has a futuristic, ethereal, or digital vibe. Here are 10 suggestions for an electronic music artist name:

1. Neona Dreams
2. ByteWave
3. SynthSilhouette
4. Digital Drift
5. EtherEcho
6. PulsePixel
7. Quantum Quiver
8. VoxelVibe
9. Circuit Serenade
10. Neon Nebula

As with any artist or band name, it’s essential to check for existing artists with similar names and potential trademark issues before finalizing a choice.”

Is It Better Or Worse?

As with almost anything that an Ai spits out, you should be able to get at least a few really good ideas, especially if you’re starting with no ideas at all. If you get something that works immediately, then consider it an unexpected bonus.

In the end, out of the 60 names generated, a handful were actually pretty good in my opinion. You could probably get another handful from patching names together from different lists.

Until recently ChatGPT 4 was connected to the internet via Bing Ai but that proved to be a bit shaky, so right now it’s only connected through a number of plugins which seem to come and go. Right now, the bad part is that if it does happen to come up with a name you like, you’ll have to do some searching to determine if the name is clear or not, which seems like an unnecessary step considering the power of the Ai. The good thing here is that Chatty keeps reminding you of this limitation.

If you want to try this experiment with an chatbot Ai that’s connected to the internet, try Google’s Bard. There’s also this band name generator that gives you some great ideas for expanding the prompt for ChatGPT.

Bobby Owsinski is a producer/engineer, author, blogger, podcaster, and coach. He has authored 24 books on recording, music, the music business and social media.