Starting a new youth sports team means giving them a good name. But if you're not the most creative person, it can be difficult to come up with the perfect name.
To help you, we’ve compiled a list of 100+ youth sports team names, along with a guide to choosing the perfect name for your league, club, or organization.
100+ youth sports team name ideas
To start, let’s dive into some inspiration. We’ve broken names down into sports-specific categories, like baseball, basketball, and soccer, as well as included a general category to ensure you’ve got enough great team names to choose from.
🏅Note: As you browse the lists below, remember that you’ll add the name of your city, town, or state to the beginning of each name. For example, if you like the team name Sluggers and you live in Youngstown, Ohio, you could name your team The Youngstown Sluggers.
Baseball team names
Minor league baseball teams can serve as a great inspiration, and they'll be flattered if you use their name. There's a few that kids will love in the list below if you're starting a baseball team.
- Sluggers
- Amazin' Aces
- Slick Sliders
- Yard Goats
- Sock Puppets
- Pop Flys
- Smashers
- Sea Unicorns
- Curveballs
- Disco Turkeys
- Trash Pandas
- Golden Gloves
- Moon Shots
- Dirt Devils
Basketball team names
There are a lot of options for basketball team names depending on how competitive your team is. AAU and select teams tend to have more serious team names with words like "Elite" and "Academy". But if you're coaching a non-competitive team name you can focus on making the team name fun that the players will be excited to share with their friends.
You can also get crazy creative with a team name for younger players. NBA or college team names can give your players examples to look up to and get them more excited to learn about the sport.
In the list here we focused mostly on fun team names for younger teams 😀.
- Blue Devils
- Wizards
- Jump Balls
- Globe Trotters
- Swish
- Backboard Breakers
- Hot Shots
- Pelicans
- Shooting Stars
- Basket Weavers
- Hoop Heroes
- Defenders
- Basketcases
- Alley Oops
- Nothing But Net
- (insert your town) Elite
Soccer team names
Soccer teams tend to have a regional tie to them. You can look at European leagues for inspiration like "Inter", "FC", and "Real" to give your team some credibility if you're starting a new soccer club.
Or, if you're coaching a recreational youth team you should just make the team name as fun as possible.
- Inter (insert your town)
- Golden Boots
- Dynamo
- Little Galaxy
- (insert your town) United
- Real (insert your town)
- Turf Kings & Queens
- Lightning Bolt FC
- Monarchs
- (insert your region) Tornado
- FC (insert your town)
American football team names
Finding a team name is one of the most important parts of starting a football team. Youth football players often associate with teams they see on TV, so it could be good to use a common football team name if no other youth football teams in your area are using it yet.
- Playmakers
- Cowboys
- Bengals
- (insert your city or town) Blitz
- Knights
- Titans
- Bulldogs
- Rattlers
- Buckeyes
- Raiders
Volleyball team names
If you're starting a volleyball club it's generally important to use the name of your city in the club name to differentiate your organization versus other clubs in the country.
- (insert your city) Elite
- (insert your city) Impact
- Serves Up (insert your city)
- (insert your city) Force
- (insert your city) Tidal Wave VBC
- (insert your city) Flight Academy VBC
- Apex (insert your city)
- (insert your city nickname) Attack
- Spin (insert your city)
- (insert your city) Block Party
Hockey team names
Hockey is another sport that has a lot of fun minor league teams you can use as inspiration.
- Ice Bats
- Cyclones
- Bruins
- Blade Hockey Club
- Thundersticks
- Stars Hockey Club
- Ice Pickers
- Arctic Foxes
- Penguins
- River Rats
- Blaze
Softball team names
Softball is known for having fun names for travel and recreational teams. Here are a few favorites if you're starting a softball team.
- (insert your region) Force
- (insert your region) Storm
- (insert your favorite color) Sox Softball
- Hurricane Elite
- Base Blazers
- (insert your town) Showtime Elite
- Fireballs
- (insert your town) Hot Shots
- Diamondbacks
- Mayhem
- Cookie Batters 🍪 🥎
General youth sports team names
- Avengers
- Ninjas
- Bullseye
- Dream Team
- A-Team
- Pacers
- Hot Shots
- Outlaws
- Rebels
- Royals
- Superheroes
- Fireballs
- Gladiators
- Bobcats
- Wolves
- Challengers
- Marauders
- Achievers
- Pumas
- Tigers
- Braves
- Divas
- Panthers
- Royals
- Bulldogs
- Cheetahs
- Cougars
- Mavericks
- Panthers
How to choose a good team name
Here are three tips to help you choose the perfect name for your upcoming youth sports team, whether you choose a funny name or something more clever and punny.
Understand your audience
First, understand the players, parents, and potential youth sports sponsors in your area. How your audience perceives your team name can have a major influencer on the impact of your team name.
For example, it’s common to use professional team names for youth sports teams. But if you live in the Chicago area, your team members and your audience might not be thrilled if your football league uses the Little Packers as their team name, given the historic rivalry between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
Similarly, you need to make sure your team names are age appropriate. A team name like “Batter Babes” likely isn’t going to fly with the parents of an 8-year-old’s softball team.
Evoke the right emotions
Team names can help to evoke emotions, and hopefully increase youth sports participation. Something like “Homerunners” or “Lightning Bolts” can evoke a feeling of scoring or speed in a team. How cool would it be as a young athlete to play on a soccer team called the Houston Blaze.
However, you can also evoke negative emotions if you aren’t careful. Team names like “Flying Squirrels” might seem funny, but the name isn’t as inspiring as the Lions or Bears. Coming up with creative team names is a good idea—but make sure they’re evoking the right feelings for your team.
Make it attractive and catchy
Finally, make your team name attractive and catchy. Team members, parents, and other audience members may be cheering your team on at practices and games, so a team name that can easily be chanted is a great idea.
Try to find cool team names that easily roll off the tongue, so that everyone remembers your name and can easily shout it out at matches.
How to find a unique team name
Another challenge you face when naming your team is ensuring you choose one that other teams don’t have. Let’s cover a few tips for finding a unique team name that everyone will love.
Research existing team names
Do your research to find out what team names already exist. Your league may decide to use professional team names as a whole, but if you’re able to get more creative with it, you want to make sure your name isn’t already in use by an existing team.
Find out what names major and minor league teams are already using so you can avoid those. You may even want to research college teams—at least in your region—to make sure you don’t use any of those team names as well.
Use online name generators
Consider using an online tool to help you come up with a fun and unique name. There are a number of sports team name generators, like this one from Wooter Apparel. It’s incredibly easy to use—just click the Generate Team Name button to see what pops up.
Consider relevant foreign words or phrases
Play around with Google Translate to see what pops up. Type in a relevant sports term and find out what it means in other languages.
For example, the Latin word for “goal” is “metam.” Incorporating “metam” could help you create a clever team name that’s unique and won’t be used by another team.
Combine different words for an exclusive result
Look at popular words or phrases that have to do with your sport. See if you can combine any or use any as the basis for a brand new team name. That can also be a great way to make sure no one else will steal your team name.
Ask for input from team members
At the start of the season, consider getting input from the kids on your team. Have them work together or create a contest where the best team name wins. This can be a fun way to get your team excited about your team name.
The impact of team names
Keep in mind, though, the overall impact that team names can have. In professional leagues, many teams have had to change their names over the years due to negative connotations those names have had. Washington’s NFL team, for example, recently had to change their name.
You want your team name to be positive, reflect your team as a whole, and evoke the right emotions from everyone involved.
If you’re concerned about implications surrounding your potential team name, check with your league commissioners or run it by the parents to make sure no one will have any issues. And, even if your team does use an existing name, avoid a controversial or rival team name that your team members may take issue with.
Choose your youth sports team name today
If you’re short on time, scroll through our list above and choose whatever your finger lands on. But if you want to get more creative, do your own research or get your team members to help out.
Having the right team name for your youth sports organization can help improve team spirit and help everyone feel excited to compete.
Once you have a name, consider creating your own team website with Jersey Watch so parents and other family members can easily find all the information they need for their kids’ season.
