Advice Column Name Generator

Dear, Ask and straight-talking titles for advice columns

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Generate advice column names for school papers, local newspapers, magazines, blogs, newsletters and podcast mailbags: Dear and Ask personas like Dear Delphine and Ask Aunt Marigold, plain titles like The Second Opinion and Word to the Wise, and niche names like Crush Hour, Common Cents and Per My Last Email.

About advice column names

Most advice columns are named one of two ways. The older way puts a persona in the title: Dear or Ask followed by a first name or a kindly title, so that readers feel they are writing to one person. Dear Abby and Ask Amy are the best-known examples of the form, and on some columns the persona is a pen name that passes from one writer to the next. The personas in this list are invented, such as Dear Delphine, Ask Aunt Marigold and Ask the Oracle.

The other way drops the persona and names the promise instead: a plain reply (The Short Answer, Straight Answers), a listening ear (Pull Up a Chair, The Open Door) or a second look at a problem (The Second Opinion, A Little Perspective). These titles suit a column that several writers share, because nobody has to be Delphine every week.

About a third of the list is for columns with a beat: love and friendship (Crush Hour, Mixed Signals), money (Common Cents, Split the Check), work (Per My Last Email, Managing Up), family, manners, tech and pets. Student papers get names built on lockers, hall passes and mascots, such as Hall Pass and Owl Be Honest, and a podcast's letters segment gets titles such as After the Beep.

How to choose advice column names

  • Decide first whether the column has one voice or many. A persona title (Dear Marguerite, Ask Uncle Archie) needs a consistent character behind it; a persona-free title (Word to the Wise, The Sounding Board) survives a change of writer.
  • For a school paper, tie the persona to something every reader knows: the mascot, a hallway, the lunch table. Ask the Owl or Dear Locker 214 tells students the column is theirs.
  • Let the title set the tone of the replies. Tea and Empathy promises gentleness, Tell It Straight promises bluntness, and Agony Auntics promises jokes. Readers decide what to confess by what the name signals.
  • Say it the way a reader would: "I wrote in to ..." Names that finish that sentence naturally, such as The Dilemma Desk or Asking for a Friend, are easier to mention and to remember.
  • Before you print it, search the title together with the words advice column. Many good puns are already in use somewhere, and a persona should not share a name with a working columnist.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a good advice column name?

A good name tells readers who is answering and in what spirit. Persona titles such as Dear Delphine or Ask Aunt Marigold feel personal, while titles such as The Second Opinion or Straight Answers promise a clear reply without a character. Pick the one that matches how the column will really be written.

What are good advice column names for a school newspaper?

Student columns do well with school vocabulary and the mascot: Hall Pass, Locker Talk, Notes Passed in Class, Ask the Seniors, Mascot Knows Best and Bear With Me are all in the list. Swap in your own mascot or a locker number to make one yours.

Are the Dear and Ask personas real columnists?

No. The personas are invented first names and titles, such as Dear Eudora, Dear Professor Quill and Ask Doc Marlowe, drafted for this list. A name can still coincide with a real column somewhere, so search it before you launch.

What is an agony aunt column?

Agony aunt is the British term for a writer who answers readers' letters about personal problems, and agony uncle is the male equivalent. The term comes from the agony column, an older name for a newspaper's personal notices. Names such as The Agony Column, Agony Hour and Agony Uncle Says use it directly.

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All 500 advice column names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 68 names

  • A Friend Asks
  • A Little Perspective
  • A Penny for Your Thoughts
  • A Reader Wonders
  • A Shoulder to Lean On
  • Advice After Dark
  • Advice by the Slice
  • Advice on Tap
  • After the Beep
  • Agony Auntics
  • Agony Hour
  • Agony Uncle Says
  • All Ears
  • All-Nighter Advice
  • An Outside View
  • Armchair Answers
  • Ask a Sophomore
  • Ask Anyway
  • Ask Aunt Clarity
  • Ask Aunt Marigold
  • Ask Aunt Sage
  • Ask Away
  • Ask Birdie
  • Ask Coach
  • Ask Constance
  • Ask Doc Marlowe
  • Ask Dottie
  • Ask Ernest
  • Ask Granny Smith
  • Ask Juniper
  • Ask Madame Zora
  • Ask Miss Winslow
  • Ask Nana Dot
  • Ask Nicely

A, continued

  • Ask Otis
  • Ask Out Loud
  • Ask Patience
  • Ask Professor Pennywhistle
  • Ask Sister Sensible
  • Ask the Back Row
  • Ask the Barista
  • Ask the Crossing Guard
  • Ask the Dean of Common Sense
  • Ask the Dog Walker
  • Ask the Gardener
  • Ask the Librarian
  • Ask the Lighthouse Keeper
  • Ask the Lunch Lady
  • Ask the Lunch Table
  • Ask the Mechanic
  • Ask the Middle Child
  • Ask the Night Editor
  • Ask the Oracle
  • Ask the Owl
  • Ask the RA
  • Ask the Seniors
  • Ask the Sphinx
  • Ask Tilly
  • Ask Uncle Archie
  • Ask Uncle Frank
  • Ask Your Mother
  • Asked and Answered
  • Asking for a Friend
  • At a Crossroads
  • At Wit's End
  • Aunt Misbehavin'
  • Auntie Dote
  • Awkward Silences

B: 16 names

  • Backseat Advisor
  • Balancing Act
  • Bark Back
  • Bear With Me
  • Because I Said So
  • Bedtime Negotiations
  • Beg Your Pardon
  • Best Behavior
  • Best Friend Counsel
  • Better Judgment
  • Between You and Me
  • Broke but Curious
  • Bug Report
  • Bulldog Backup
  • Bus Stop Wisdom
  • Byte-Sized Advice

C: 35 names

  • Cafeteria Counsel
  • Call-In Counsel
  • Caller, You're On
  • Campus Compass
  • Campus Confidential
  • Career Counsel
  • Cash Counsel
  • Change for a Dollar
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Chew on This
  • Chewed Slippers
  • Chore Wars
  • Circle Back
  • Clock In, Speak Up
  • Coffee and Counsel
  • Common Cents
  • Common Sense Corner
  • Commuter Confessions
  • Compass Check
  • Confidentially Yours
  • Control Alt Advise
  • Conundrum Corner
  • Cost of Living
  • Counsel and Crumpets
  • Counselor's Corner
  • Couples Counsel
  • Coupon Clipper's Counsel
  • Coworker Conundrums
  • Coyote Counsel
  • Creature Counsel
  • Credit Where It's Due
  • Crush Course
  • Crush Hour
  • Cupid's Inbox
  • Curfew Court

D: 60 names

  • Dance Floor Dilemmas
  • Date Expectations
  • Dean's List of Problems
  • Dear Aunt Hattie
  • Dear Auntie Pearl
  • Dear Barnaby
  • Dear Beatrix
  • Dear Big Sis
  • Dear Coach Callahan
  • Dear Cornelius
  • Dear Cousin Clementine
  • Dear Delphine
  • Dear Doc Holloway
  • Dear Eudora
  • Dear Grandpa Gus
  • Dear Granny Wren
  • Dear Horatio
  • Dear Hyacinth
  • Dear Lady Thistlewood
  • Dear Leopold
  • Dear Locker 214
  • Dear Mabel June
  • Dear Madame Fontaine
  • Dear Marguerite
  • Dear Mascot
  • Dear Me
  • Dear Minerva
  • Dear Miss Primrose
  • Dear Mrs. Finch
  • Dear Nana Fern
  • Dear Neighbor
  • Dear Night Owl
  • Dear Odette
  • Dear Oh Dear
  • Dear Ottilie
  • Dear Persephone
  • Dear Professor Quill
  • Dear Roomie
  • Dear Rosalind
  • Dear Seen-It-All
  • Dear Tabitha
  • Dear Thaddeus
  • Dear Theodora
  • Dear Third Floor
  • Dear Uncle Bartholomew
  • Dear Upperclassman
  • Dear Voice of Reason
  • Dear Whoever Reads This
  • Dear Wilhelmina
  • Dear Winnifred
  • Dear Wise One
  • Debt Be Not Proud
  • Detention Hall Wisdom
  • Dial a Dilemma
  • Digital Manners
  • Dilemma Hour
  • Dilemma Llama
  • Dilemma of the Week
  • DM Me Your Problems
  • Dorm Room Dilemmas

E: 7 names

  • Eagle Eye Answers
  • Elbows Off the Table
  • Empty Nest Notes
  • End of My Rope
  • Etiquette Emergency
  • Excuse Me, But
  • Extra Credit

F: 16 names

  • Family Group Chat
  • Finals Week Fixes
  • First Date Debrief
  • First Job Jitters
  • First Paycheck
  • First-Time Caller
  • Fix-It Felicity
  • Food for Thought
  • For What It's Worth
  • Frankly Speaking
  • Free Advice
  • Fresh Eyes
  • Freshman Survival Guide
  • Fret Not
  • Front Porch Wisdom
  • Fur Real

G: 11 names

  • Glad You Asked
  • Go Ahead and Ask
  • Go Ask Your Dad
  • Good Counsel
  • Good Dog, Bad Habit
  • Graceful Exits
  • Grain of Salt
  • Grandparent Hotline
  • Green Flags Only
  • Group Project Grievances
  • Gut Check

H: 19 names

  • Hall Pass
  • Hallway Help
  • Happily Ever Asking
  • Have You Tried Restarting?
  • Hawk Talk
  • Heart to Heart
  • Heartline
  • Heartstrings
  • Help Is on the Way
  • Here's the Thing
  • Hindsight
  • Hire Ground
  • Hold the Line
  • Holiday Table Truce
  • Homework Helpline
  • Hopeless Romantic Help Desk
  • House Rules
  • How Rude
  • Hypothetically Speaking

I: 8 names

  • If You Ask Me
  • In a Pickle
  • In Confidence
  • In My Humble Opinion
  • In Polite Company
  • Inbox Hour
  • It Takes a Village
  • It's Complicated

J: 2 names

  • Judgment Call
  • Just Ask

K: 3 names

  • Keep Calm and Write In
  • Knight Notes
  • Knotty Problems

L: 18 names

  • Lantern in the Letterbox
  • Late Night Line
  • Leash Lessons
  • Leave a Message
  • Left on Read
  • Let's Be Honest
  • Letter Rip
  • Letters to the Desk
  • Level With Me
  • Line Two
  • Listener Mail
  • Listener Questions, Honest Answers
  • Locker Talk
  • Lonely Hearts Desk
  • Long Distance Line
  • Love Notes
  • Love, Honestly
  • Lunch Table Talk

M: 11 names

  • Mailbag Minute
  • Managing Up
  • Manners Matter
  • Mark as Urgent
  • Mascot Knows Best
  • Matters of the Heart
  • Mayday Mail
  • Mixed Signals
  • Monday Morning Counsel
  • Mustang Musings
  • My Friend Wants to Know

N: 13 names

  • Name Withheld
  • Nap Time Notes
  • Napkin in Your Lap
  • Nest Egg Notes
  • Netiquette Notes
  • New Puppy Panic
  • Nine to Thrive
  • No Question Too Small
  • Not a Doctor, But
  • Not Your Therapist
  • Notes Passed in Class
  • Now That You Ask
  • Now What?

O: 8 names

  • Off the Record
  • Office Hours
  • On Second Thought
  • One Reader Writes
  • Open Letters
  • Out of Office
  • Over the Fence
  • Owl Be Honest

P: 25 names

  • P.S. I Have a Question
  • Pardon Me
  • Pass the Note
  • Password Reset
  • Paws for Thought
  • Pearls of Wisdom
  • Peer Pressure Valve
  • Peer Review
  • Pennies and Pleasantries
  • Penny Wise
  • Per My Last Email
  • Performance Review
  • Pet Peeves
  • Pickle Jar
  • Plain Speaking
  • Playground Politics
  • Please and Thank You
  • Plus One
  • Plus-One Protocol
  • Pop Quiz
  • Porch Talk
  • Prom Date Panic
  • Pull Up a Chair
  • Purely Hypothetical
  • Purr-spective

Q: 3 names

  • Quad Questions
  • Questions From the Queue
  • Questions, Comments, Concerns

R: 17 names

  • Rainy Day Fund
  • Raising Questions
  • Rant and Reason
  • Read Receipts
  • Reader Mail
  • Reality Check
  • Receipts, Please
  • Recess Rules
  • Red Flag Review
  • Regrets Only
  • Relatively Speaking
  • Resident Know-It-All
  • Return to Sender
  • Rhyme and Reason
  • Roommate Rules
  • RSVP
  • Ruffled Feathers

S: 35 names

  • S.O.S. Desk
  • Sandbox Rules
  • Save the Date
  • Screen Time Sense
  • Screenshot and Send
  • Sealed With a Question
  • Send Help
  • Senior Sense
  • Shop Talk
  • Should I or Shouldn't I
  • Sibling Revelry
  • Signal Strength
  • Signed, Anonymous
  • Signed, Confused
  • Silver Linings
  • Sincerely Yours
  • Sit, Stay, Ask
  • Sleep on It
  • Small Budget, Big Questions
  • Small Talk Survival
  • Smart Aleck Answers
  • Smarty Pants Says
  • Sound Advice
  • Spare Change
  • Sparks and Red Flags
  • Speakerphone
  • Spill the Tea
  • Split the Check
  • Stamp of Approval
  • Steeped in Wisdom
  • Sticky Situations
  • Straight Answers
  • Study Abroad SOS
  • Swipe Sense
  • Syllabus Week

T: 97 names

  • Table for Two
  • Tail Talk
  • Tails of Woe
  • Take It or Leave It
  • Talk It Out
  • Tardy Slip
  • Tea and Empathy
  • Tech Support Group
  • Tell It Straight
  • Thank-You Notes
  • The Advice Desk
  • The Agony Column
  • The Armchair Aunt
  • The Bigger Picture
  • The Bottom Line
  • The Break Room
  • The Breakup Desk
  • The Bright Side
  • The Carpool Lane
  • The Confidant
  • The Corner Cubicle
  • The Couch Is Open
  • The Counsel Table
  • The Cover Letter
  • The Cubicle Confidant
  • The Dating Desk
  • The Dilemma Desk
  • The Dinner Table Docket
  • The Etiquette Desk
  • The Exit Interview
  • The Falling-Out Desk
  • The Family Table
  • The Fish Bowl
  • The Friend Zone Files
  • The Frugal Answer
  • The Go-Between
  • The Gracious Guest
  • The Group Chat Verdict
  • The Guidance Office
  • The Help Ticket
  • The Honest Answer
  • The Hotline
  • The Impartial Observer
  • The In-Law Inbox
  • The Intern's Inbox
  • The Kitchen Table
  • The Last Straw
  • The Late Pass

T, continued

  • The Letterbox
  • The Letters Segment
  • The Listening Ear
  • The Litter Box Letters
  • The Long Answer
  • The Lovelorn Letters
  • The Mail Break
  • The Mascot's Mailbox
  • The Minivan Memos
  • The No-Judgment Desk
  • The Open Door
  • The Panther's Ear
  • The Piggy Bank
  • The Problem Page
  • The Problem Whisperer
  • The Proper Thing
  • The Quandary
  • The RA Desk
  • The Reply
  • The Salad Fork
  • The Second Opinion
  • The Settings Menu
  • The Short Answer
  • The Side Hustle Desk
  • The Sounding Board
  • The Third Wheel
  • The Thrift Desk
  • The Tiebreaker
  • The Tip Jar
  • The Troubleshooter
  • The Viking's Verdict
  • The Voice of Reason
  • The Voicemail Box
  • The Way I See It
  • The Worry Jar
  • Think It Over
  • Thyme Will Tell
  • Tied Up in Knots
  • Tiger Tips
  • Tight Spots
  • Time-Out Corner
  • Tough Calls
  • Transfer Student Tips
  • Trouble Brewing
  • Truth Be Told
  • Turn It Off and On Again
  • Two Cents
  • Two Hearts, One Inbox
  • Two Weeks' Notice

U: 6 names

  • Uncommon Sense
  • Unqualified Opinions
  • Unread Messages
  • Unsolicited Advice
  • Untangled
  • User Error

V: 2 names

  • Vent Session
  • Voice Memo Dilemmas

W: 16 names

  • Wallet Wise
  • Water Cooler Wisdom
  • Which Fork?
  • Which Way Is North?
  • Whisker Wisdom
  • Who Pays?
  • Wildcat Wisdom
  • Wisecracks and Wisdom
  • Wish You Were Wiser
  • Word to the Wise
  • Work in Progress
  • Work It Out
  • Worry Wart Weekly
  • Worth Its Salt
  • Write In
  • Write or Wrong

Y: 4 names

  • Yes, No, Maybe
  • You Asked for It
  • You're on Mute
  • Yours Truly