Best Sourdough Starter Names: 60 Punny Ideas

Congratulations on the new baby! If you’re here, I assume you recently came into possession of a bubbly sourdough starter. Now, all it needs is a name! Our sourdough starter’s name is Apple, because we made her from scratch using an organic apple. Creative, huh?

I’ll admit that we didn’t use the most wit when it came to naming our sourdough starter, but I certainly had fun putting together this extensive list of 60 ridiculously punny sourdough starter names for you all to pick through! I also have to give credit to my Instagram community for contributing to this list. Y’all are so clever!

If you happen to NOT have a sourdough starter yet, learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch here. Or, check out the organic dehydrated sourdough starter we offer in our shop – it’s  pretty much foolproof to get going! Last but not least, we have a tutorial on how to create a gluten-free sourdough starter too.

Why name a sourdough starter?

It has been a long-standing tradition for baker’s to name their sourdough starter culture. In fact, I have heard it is considered bad luck if you don’t name your starter! It is a living thing after all, full of beneficial bacteria and yeast that must be tended to in order to survive. Perhaps giving your sourdough starter a name and a persona will make you more inclined to remember to take care of it. Or, make you feel guilty when you neglect to feed it. 

Need tips on how to feed a sourdough starter, or have other maintenance and storage questions? Visit our sourdough starter feeding and ongoing maintenance guide.

60 Sourdough Starter Names

Without further ado (and in no particular order) please enjoy this extensive list of clever, funny, ridiculous, and/or celebrity sourdough starter names. Can you think of more? Add them to the comments below. Let’s keep the list going!

1. Dr. Dough-little
2. Shannon Dougherty
3. Puff Daddy
4. Bread Pitt
5. Little Yeasty
6. Walter Wheat
7. Doughbalina
8. Herculyeast
9. QuaranTina (because, did you jump on the sourdough train in 2020?)
10. Wheatney Houston

11. Marlon Brandough
12. DoughWanda
13. SCOBY Dough
14. Bubbles
15. David Dowie (Doughie)
16. Hoochie Mama
17. Sir Rise-a-Lot
18. Doughrothy
19. Francisco
20. Clint Yeastwood

21. Claire-yeast
22. Doughlores
23. Demi Lovatoast
24. Sourfina
25. Joan of Starch 
26. Jane Dough/John Dough
27. Yeast Mode
28. Doughlene (Doughleen) 
29. The Grateful Bread
30. Bread Savage

31. Breadley Cooper
32. Bill Rye (the sourdough guy)
33. Alejandough
34. Bun Jovi
35. Madoughna
36. Frodough Baggins
37. Jesus (he has risen)
38. Doughbi-Wan Kenobi
39. Yeast Witherspoon
40. Rye Romano

41. The Yeastie Boys
42. Reading Raindough
43. Bready and the Yeast
44. Edgar Allan Dough
45. Toastface Killah
46. Breddie Mercury
47. Emilio Yeastevez
48. Yeaster Sunday (may he rise again)
49. Breadward Norton
50. Crostini Ricci

51. Spongebob Loafpants
52. Dough-ba Fett
53. The Weirdough
54. Bread Sheeran
55. Leonardough Da Vinci (or DiCaprio)
56. Little Bread Riding Hood
57. Adam Levain
58. Carrie Breadshaw
59. WheatLoaf
60. Ryehanna

What are YOU going to name your sourdough starter?

Well, that sure was ridiculous, am I right? This was honestly one of the most fun articles I’ve had the pleasure of putting together for you all! With this extensive list of sourdough starter names, I hope you found one that suits your starter. Please share any other clever sourdough starter names you conjure up in the comments. Also feel free to share this article by pinning it below!

Finally, don’t miss out on these fantastic sourdough recipes:

• Simple No-Knead Sourdough Bread
• Sourdough Cornbread Recipe (with vegan options)
• Cast Iron Whole Wheat Sourdough Pizza Crust
• Simple Puffy Sourdough Focaccia
• Herb Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers – the perfect use for discarded sourdough starter!