While BBQ may be most frequently associated with the Southeastern United States, barbecue is a global phenomenon that can reach a hungry base of customers just about anywhere. Just the thought of the succulent barbecued meat in delicious sauce makes you hungry for that tangy, spicy, and smoky flavor… especially if the meat was just pulled off the grill.

Breaking into this successful world of BBQ restaurants and trucks can be difficult due to the competition. It can take years to master the art of smoking, grilling, and seasoning meats.

But while mastering your craft, don’t forget to take the time to name come up with a unique BBQ business name too. If you’re planning to start a BBQ joint this year, we may have a variety our best name suggestions outlined for you. From catchy and funny to those that showcase the origin. of American BBQ. Grab a plate and let’s get started.

BBQ Restaurant Name Ideas

Meaty barbecue goodness, straight from the flames

Meaty barbecue goodness, straight from the flames

Restaurants in the BBQ business really need to have a name that shows their products, and pretty much anything ending in the letters B, B, and Q will do.

Whether you use your own surname, your mom’s best BBQ sauce style, or the location of your restaurant, you can be sure that adding BBQ to the end will clearly describe what you’re serving. Alternatively use BBQ at the beginning of your business name like  “BBQ House of Bob”.

Related Reading: Eight Low-Cost BBQ Business Ideas You Can Start This Weekend

You’ve also got the option of switching it up to give yourself a more unusual descriptive name using the words smokers, smoky, hog, hawg, pigs, or grill. There are so many options here, the creative naming options is off the charts. Here are our hand-picked favorites.

  • Black’s Barbeque Grill
  • White Smoke
  • Mad Grill Smokehouse
  • Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse
  • Smokeland
  • Bigfoot Mountain BBQ
  • Big Knuckle’s BBQ
  • Buckeye Barbeque
  • Good Smoke BBQ
  • Meat and Pan BBQ
  • Heavenly Hawgs
  • Just Blowin Smoke
  • Kicking Ash BBQ
  • Old 99 Meat Co.
  • Old Southern BBQ
  • Pit Bosses
  • Pigs Gone Wild
  • Porch Smokers
  • Sauce Optional
  • Savor Grill & BBQ
  • Scuffletown Smokers
  • Seasoned Smoke BBQ
  • Saucy & Smokin’ Hot
  • Seriously Smokin’
  • Shake ‘n Bake BBQ
  • Shigs-In-Pit
  • Slow & Easy
  • Swine-O-Mite
  • The Spice Grills

BBQ Food Truck Name Ideas

Grilled chicken from a barbecue food truck

Grilled chicken from a barbecue food truck

BBQ food trucks is another proven business model. Whether you’ve got a catering gig, family cookout or corporate office, you can travel to where the customers are located.  The idea of that tender succulent meat dripping with juices and sauce is enough to get people running to your truck.

Having a catchy and memorable name for your BBQ truck will help people to remember where they enjoyed some of the best BBQ they have ever tasted. Here is our long list of our favorite BBQ Truck name suggestions:

  • Eat Da Meat BBQ
  • All Fired Up
  • BBQ Junkies
  • Rollin’ Smoke
  • Oh My Grill!
  • 2nd Hand Smoke
  • 2 Men and a Pig
  • Bull Rush BBQ
  • Bushwhackers
  • Come & Taste It
  • Daddy Mac BBQ
  • Down Range
  • Getting Sauced
  • Grill and Shout!
  • The Meaties
  • GoGrill!
  • Wild BBQ
  • Grill N’ Roll
  • Lord of the BBQ
  • The GrillFather
  • Holy Smoke
  • The Smokesman
  • Broadgrill
  • Grillmore’s
  • Hogline
  • Hog Hammer BBQ
  • Meat Rushmore
  • Gnaw Da Bone
  • Roughnecks BBQ
  • Salty Dawg BBQ
  • Saucy Lil Porkers
  • Meat Beaters BBQ
  • Nicely Done BBQ
  • Outlaw Hawgs BBQ
  • Smoke In Your Eyes
  • Smoker Bandits
  • Smokin off the Grid
  • The Grill Is Gone
  • Tipsy Pigs
  • Too Sauced
  • Totally Sauced

Southern BBQ Names

Southern grilled spare ribs

Southern grilled spare ribs

Barbecue originated in the United States and there is nothing like a little southern drawl to make people think of BBQ and beer. And while there are also many states where you can find darn good BBQ, just letting people know that your place has a Southern twang can be enough to bring ‘em in. Here are some “Southern” sounding names you can try out.

Related Reading: 67 Sticky Sweet Competition BBQ Team Name Ideas

  • Rhythm & Ribz
  • North Carolina BBQ
  • Southern States BBQ
  • Way Down South BBQ
  • Sweaty Pigs BBQ
  • South of the Border BBQ
  • The Whole Hog BBQ
  • Kansas City Pits
  • Alabama Pigs BBQ
  • Porkin’ Georgia
  • Oklahoma Steers
  • Arkansas Red BBQ
  • Chicken White’s Alabama BBQ
  • Wooden Smokies BBQ
  • Charring Pigs
  • The Southern Grill

Memphis Style BBQ Names

Memphis-style spicy barbecue pork ribs

Memphis-style spicy barbecue pork ribs

Tennessee may be most famous for its whiskey, but it’s nearly as renowned for its barbecued meats. Memphis-style BBQ is big on pork, whether ribs or pulled pork. The rub usually includes garlic, paprika and other spices.

Typically, Memphis BBQ is served with a thin tomato-based barbecue sauce. We had fun coming up with names for this unique style of BBQ for your restaurant in this category.

  • The Memphis Belles
  • Wet n Dry Ribs
  • Smoked n Pulled
  • Sticky Fingers
  • Spicy Dry BBQ
  • Tennessee Trippers
  • The Memphis BBQ Pit
  • Slow n Meaty
  • Mississippi River BBQ
  • de Soto’s BBQ
  • Conquistador Grill
  • Chickasaw Chew BBQ
  • Antebellum’s BBQ
  • RnB n BBQ
  • Pickering BBQ Co.
  • Memphis Best BBQ

Texas BBQ Name Ideas

Texas smoked brisket barbecue

Texas smoked brisket barbecue

Texas is big on meat and barbecue. In Central Texas the oak-smoked brisket is famous brisket. Ribs are normally pork, and hot-gut sausages made from ground beef and spices round off this unholy trinity. If you’re thinking of a Texas BBQ joint, then we have some lone star ideas for ya’ll.

  • Dixie Pigs
  • Border Wall Smokers
  • Brisket Smokers
  • The Spicy Sausage
  • Rockin’ Ribs
  • Texas Pigs Ribs
  • The Texan Trinity BBQ
  • Mesquite BBQ Haus
  • Pecan Oak BBQ
  • Texas Mop BBQ
  • Lone Star BBQ
  • Euro-Tex BBQ
  • Grillers in Texas
  • Ten Gallon BBQ
  • Stetson’s BBQ Haus
  • Legends BBQ Joint
  • Maverick’s BBQ
  • Hello Friend BBQ
  • Gunfighter’s BBQ
  • The Rangers BBQ
  • The Friendship BBQ Ranch
  • Ranch-hands BBQ
  • True Grit BBQ
  • Route 66 BBQ
  • 28th State BBQ
  • Big Bend BBQ
  • Wild Frontier BBQ
  • Wildhouse BBQ

Regional BBQ Name Ideas

The best Kansas City style barbecue ribs

The best Kansas City style barbecue ribs

Carolina (North and South), Kansas, Alabama, and Kentucky are the most famous and nationally recognized styles. But these are not the only areas with a unique blend. Unique spins can be found all over the country and around the world, so if you want to try out a different style of BBQ for your business here are some regional-based names that can be used to showcase your style.

  • Bigfoot Mountain BBQ
  • Alabama Slammers
  • Alabama Whites BBQ
  • American Piggery
  • Bavarian BBQ
  • California Coated BBQ
  • Carolina Gold
  • Decatur’s Hogs
  • Fatty nubs BBQ
  • Filipino Jalapenos
  • Hell Hath No Fury BBQ
  • Hickory Smokers
  • Jalapeno Grill
  • Jersey Jack’s BBQ
  • Kansan Burnt Ends
  • KC Smokeys
  • Kentucky Muttons
  • Lexington BBQ Smokers
  • Monatana Meats BBQ
  • NC Tomato BBQ
  • Oklahoma Smokies
  • Piedmont Pigs
  • Pork Butt BBQ
  • Rocky Mountain Roasters
  • SC Whole Hogs
  • Smokey Okie’s
  • The Chopped Brisket
  • The Mustard Belt BBQ

Funny BBQ Name Ideas

Albert EinSwine's BBQ Lab Sample Sign

Alburt EinSwine’s BBQ Lab Sample Sign

If you like a good joke then making the name funny or punny can make it much more memorable for people who visit you. Using puns, respellings of barbecue-based words, or famous quotes aligned to BBQ in the title makes for a great and easy to remember BBQ business name.

And there are so many ways to make fun out of greasy meaty deliciousness. Pick something strange, or just choose the obvious name, “The Bar B Cue”. Here are a few more examples that fit this theme.

  • Smokin’ BBQ
  • Alburt EinSwine’s
  • All In Smokers
  • All Sauced Up
  • American Piggers
  • Backdraft BBQ
  • Beer Goggles BBQ
  • Beer-n-Bones
  • Blood, Sweat & Beers
  • Blowing Smoke BBQ
  • Burnt Finger
  • Casual Smokers
  • Charcoal Monkey
  • Chubby’s BBQ
  • Cool Smoke
  • Cosmic Cookin’
  • Dirty Leg BBQ
  • Easy Pickens
  • Extreme Pork
  • Fat Bottom BBQ
  • Fatty Shack BBQ
  • Four Hawgs
  • Four Men And A Pig
  • Gettin Piggy With It
  • Gone Grillin’
  • Gone Up In Smoke
  • Grilluminati
  • Hawg Dawgs BBQ
  • Hog Whisperers
  • Hot Diggity Hot Doggers
  • Keep Calm and Blaze On
  • Kill It & Grill It
  • Little Pig Town
  • Man Cow Pig
  • May The Sauce Be With You
  • Nice Racks BBQ
  • Notorious P.I.G.
  • Nutthin Butt Pork
  • Oink n Doink
  • Pig Floyd
  • Pork-O-Holics
  • The Spare Rib
  • Porkasaurus
  • Silence of The Hams BBQ
  • Porks & Boots
  • Rise n Swine

One of the things I love best about BBQ is the flavors appeal across culture, gender, and socio-economic lines. Even the 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson made BBQ parties a recurring event at the White House. Former President Jimmy Carter hosted a pig roast on the White House lawns. This truly is a food as American as Apple Pie.

If you’re planning to start a restaurant or food truck be sure to sign up for our free Food Business Startup Kit. This guide includes access to our food business model canvas and exclusive interviews with BBQ entrepreneurs.

bbq restaurant name ideas

Want to start your own food business?

Hey! 👋I’m Brett Lindenberg, the founder of Food Truck Empire.

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