Ever wonder how people get those fancy phone numbers that spell out words? (You know, like, “1-800-I-AM-COOL.”) How difficult is it to make your name into a phone number that you can use, just like you use the number you have right now?
Good news: it turns out it’s not really that hard to convert your name into a usable phone number. You just gotta know where to look so you don’t spend too much money on it, and you need to make sure it can be transferred over to your current phone plan, (or you can have it as a second phone number, but we’ll get to that).
How To Get a Number Spelling Your Name
Ready to hunt down the number “555-555-PAUL”?
Typically, any phone number where you choose the numbers is referred to as a “vanity phone number.”
Most major phone providers (like T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.) usually won’t let you personalize the number you get from them down to the digit. However, you still can customize your own number somewhere else, then forward, or “port” it into your pre-existing phone plan.
1. Check online to see which numbers are available
There are multiple places you can get a number, though keep in mind that there may be restrictions on what that number can do, depending on where you get it.
We’ve made it super easy to check for whatever words you want to spell. Using the phone number search tool that’s hooked up to NumberBarn’s marketplace is literally the fastest way to see which numbers are available in your area online.
(And yes, you can search for toll-free numbers too. If you’re curious about how those work, you can check out our guide here.)
You’ll also be able to plainly see how long it may take to activate the number, since in some cases it could take more than a day or two, depending on a variety of factors.
2. Buy the number for as little as $5
What’s nice about NumberBarn is that you can grab a perfect number with your name in it for sometimes as little as a few bucks. (Though the price can scale, depending on how popular the number, and its availability.)
Forewarning: If your name is super popular like mine (please, no autographs), there can be a lot of competition for what might already be taken.
If the number you want is available in any area code, just click “Add to Cart,” and you’re basically almost done!
3. Set up your cool new number
Depending on your phone number needs and objectives, you will have a few options for getting your new number up and running.
Many people want to keep their original phone number since it’s tied to bank accounts, existing contacts, etc. In that case, instead of replacing your existing phone number, you could use call forwarding (starts at just $6 a month with lots of extra features) to have the benefit of a fun, additional phone number that spells your name (or word of choice) while safeguarding your long-time private number.
If you want to get your phone number up and running quickly, you can purchase and activate some phone numbers via the NumberBarn platform in minutes or just a couple of hours via the “Get It Now” filter, (then activate the call forwarding plan). This is by far the easiest and cheapest option for getting a cool, personalized number and even using it the very same day (as opposed to porting and paying for a plan with your carrier). Here’s a little more about porting and forwarding with NumberBarn:
4. Port the number away to your cell phone provider (the one phone number option)
If you know you want to use the number with a traditional carrier and their plans, porting is the way to go, and NumberBarn will help you do it. You just need to do the following:
- Find your favorite custom phone number
- Ask your carrier if they will accept a port from that number. Most carriers have quick lookups on their website which will tell you if they can accept that specific number.
- We secure it with our vendor and transfer it to you
- We activate it and give you “porting credentials”
- You then go to your carrier and follow their port-in instructions
If you want to learn a lot more about how porting works, check out our porting FAQ page.
5. Forward your calls from your new number over to your old one (the two phone number option)
You can easily set up calls to forward from your new number to any U.S. or Canadian phone number. Anyone who calls your new number won’t know it’s being forwarded. Plus, with forwarding you’ll be able to get a series of other features if you’d like, including:
- Voicemail to email
- Inbound text messaging
- Auto attendant menus (where people dial a number to navigate somewhere)
- Caller ID Select
- Call blocking / call logs
- The NumberBarn app so you can use all of the above directly from your cell phone, in addition to your desktop browser
To learn more about our call forwarding plan, check out our call forwarding FAQ page.
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And that’s literally it! After you do that, you’ll get emailed when your number is up and running. Remember though, getting your vanity phone number up and running can take anywhere from 24 hours to a few weeks, depending on a few factors related to whether you’re porting, and dealing with landlines or wireless plans. But that’s a small price to pay for being able to tell people to get a hold of you at “1-800-CHARLES.”
