A good base vault name in Obsidian is usually simple, memorable, and broad enough to grow with you. Obsidian’s own help says vault names are the folder names, so renaming the vault also renames the folder, which makes a clean, practical name worth choosing upfront.

Good naming styles

  • Purpose-driven: Work Notes, Personal Notes, Research.
  • Theme-based: Second Brain, Knowledge Base, Life OS.
  • Project-based: Writing Hub, Client Docs, Study Vault.
  • Plain and minimal: Notes, Vault, Archive.

What works best

Pick a name that reflects how you will actually use the vault, not just how it sounds today. A name like Second Brain is fine for a long-term catchall vault, while Work Projects is better if the vault is mainly for one area of life.

Practical tips

  • Keep it short so it’s easy to see in the app and type later.
  • Avoid overly clever names if you plan to make multiple vaults.
  • If you use separate vaults, choose names that won’t overlap too much.
  • If you want a nicer display name without changing the folder, some community discussions mention a nickname-style plugin, but the built-in rename option changes the actual vault folder too.

A few solid examples

  • For everything: Second Brain
  • For work: Work Notes
  • For school: Class Vault
  • For personal life: Life Notes
  • For a general start: My Notes

My practical recommendation: choose one broad, boring, easy-to-remember name unless you already know the vault has a narrow purpose.