What Is an Instagram Handle? How To Choose a Handle

When you open an Instagram account, one of the first decisions you have to make is choosing a handle. It’s one of the first things that people see when they interact with your brand.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms, reaching three billion monthly active users in 2025. Setting up a handle that fits your brand helps you stand out and speak to your target audience.

This guide covers what an Instagram handle is, why it’s important, and how to choose a unique handle that works for your brand.

What is an Instagram handle?

An Instagram handle is your username on the platform. It’s the string of text that follows the @ symbol and appears at the top of your profile and in your profile URL. No two accounts can have the same handle. Your handle is separate from your Instagram name—also called your display name—which is the field where your brand name shows up. Unlike handles, display names don’t have to be unique. 

If your brand name is available, you can use it as your handle as-is, or a variation if it’s taken. Either way, the display name field is where your full, properly capitalized brand name goes. Handles have a maximum character limit of 30.

Women’s underwear brand Knix is a good example of how the two fields work together. Its handle is the brand name, while the display name reinforces the name along with their claim to be the #1 leakproof brand in North America.

Why your Instagram handle matters

• It helps customers find you
• It shows up in collaborations
• It builds brand recognition

Your Instagram handle is the first impression someone gets when they visit your profile. A well-chosen handle can do three things for your brand:

It helps customers find you

People across age groups use social platforms to search, not just scroll. Sprout Social’s Q2 2025 Pulse Survey found that 37% of consumers turn to social media first when looking for product reviews and recommendations.

Keeping your handle consistent with your brand name, bio, and content makes your profile easier to recognize across platforms. Using relevant keywords in your handle (along with your bio and captions) makes your brand more likely to surface when someone searches your name or niche.

The search term “running” is a good example of descriptive words surfacing brands within Instagram’s search function. Brands like Altra, Brooks, R.A.D., and Garmin pop up, even though none of them use running in their brand name. By adding it to their handles, they can appear when users search the topic.

It shows up in collaborations

Whether you find creators to work with through a management platform like Shopify Collabs or reach out to individuals organically, collaborative content shows both handles side by side. A recognizable, on-brand handle helps your brand stay visible and identifiable, even when someone else’s content is introducing it. Long handles may get cut off in some placements, so a shorter handle is more likely to stay fully visible.

Here’s an example from the seafood brand Fishwife, whose Instagram strategy includes creator partnerships.

It builds brand recognition

Brand recognition is a consumer’s ability to identify your brand by its attributes, such as your logo, packaging, messaging, and your Instagram handle. Every time your handle appears in a tag, comment, or mention, it reinforces your brand, making it more recognizable to shoppers over time.

How to create a good Instagram handle

• Put your brand first
• Use the same handle across channels
• Keep it simple
• Follow community guidelines
• Make sure it’s available

Here’s how to choose an Instagram handle that supports your brand identity:

Put your brand first

The most effective handles connect to your brand name clearly. Start by identifying what you want to communicate about your brand, especially if your exact brand name isn’t available as an Instagram handle.

For example, Chandler Honey founder Tique Chandler incorporates her own name to keep the brand personal.

“It just helps me maintain a really high standard for the product to sell customer service, everything, because my name is attached to everything,” says Tique on Shopify Masters.

By including a period between the two words that make up her brand name, Tique can claim a unique handle without sacrificing clarity or the part of the brand that matters most to her: her name.

Use the same handle across channels

If you’re active on more than one platform, keeping your handle, brand name, and profile photo consistent everywhere makes you instantly recognizable and easier to find when someone searches for your brand. 

Dog food brand The Farmer’s Dog, for example, uses the same handle across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The brand uses a slightly different version on YouTube to include "official," but the handle remains similar across platforms. Their branding is also consistent with the same profile picture across each platform, reinforcing the handle on each platform.

Keep it simple

As with choosing a brand name, a short and simple handle can be easier for customers to remember. It’s also easier to type into Instagram’s search bar, especially if it avoids numbers or symbols like underscores.

National Geographic is an example of a brand that simplifies their name on social media platforms, including Instagram, where their handle is @natgeo. 

Follow community guidelines

Whatever handle you choose, it has to follow Instagram’s Community Guidelines. A few guidelines that apply to handles include: 

• Intellectual property. You need the rights to any name or mark you use.

• Impersonation. Handles that pretend to be another person or brand aren’t allowed. 

• Hate speech, bullying, and abuse. Targeted attacks based on race, gender, religion, disability, and similar categories are prohibited.

• Spam. Handles or content designed to mislead other users aren’t permitted.

Make sure it’s available

If the handle you want is taken, you’ll need to choose a variation. A simple way to check availability is by typing your ideal handle into Instagram’s search. The app will tell you right away if it’s taken. 

It’s also worth checking every platform you might eventually use, such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest, so your brand stays consistent as it grows.

A few more ways to check whether a handle will work for your business:

• Search the trademark database. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) free trademark database lets you search for existing names that could cause confusion. Search for exact matches as well as common misspellings and variations, as a trademark holder can challenge your use of a name even if it’s similar.

• Check a search engine. Run a plain search for your business name, and look past the first page of results. Try a few different search term combinations to be thorough.

• Check the domain name. Even if you’re legally able to use a name, confirm the matching domain is available. A consistent web address can strengthen brand recognition, and tools like Shopify’s domain name generator make it easy to check for availability.