How To Name Your D&D Character
Creating an epic character is a major part of any TTRPG (tabletop role playing game) so crafting the perfect name can be an important yet stressful task. If you go too silly, six years from now your old, grizzled fighter named “Sir Buttface” will likely be a challenge to take seriously. Yet, if you go too whimsical, no one at your table can pronounce your elven wizard “Axiziflle Granderalliex the third”. So, what to do?
We suggest a few options:
1. Use a name generator.
2. Find inspiration from language.
3. Roll for randomness.
1. Use a name generator. It can be a great tool in the name creating process.
Pros: easy, fast, and immediate.
Cons: a lot of the names look like random letters.
What we suggest is to find a few names that grab your attention that might work for the character you have in mind. Look at those names and say them out loud. Can you say it? Does it sound cool? Does it sound like a good fit for your adventurer? You can also take a name and change it to fit your OC.
Here are our favorite name generators (cation, sites contain annoying ads):
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/ an absolute classic. This is our personal go to.
https://www.thievesguild.cc/tables/ has more than just character names but names for places, taverns, and more.
https://www.namegenerator.co/ a good option that has some fun angel, baby dolls, and odd ball names.
https://codexnomina.com/ a good resource for some interesting names.
https://nine.frenchboys.net/ a strange name for a website that contains some different name generators.
2. Find inspiration from language. Sounds odd but let us explain. This is our founder, Michelle “Apple’s” favorite way of finding names.
Pros: creative, fun, adds some depth to your character name.
Cons: often a bit on the nose.
An example: Apple was creating an air genasi bard. She knew that he was going to be a snarky, air-headed slut so she wanted to play with the airy theme. What came to her mind was air, weather, and clouds. She went to our lord and savoir Mr. Google and searched cloud names: Stratus, Cirrus, Cumulus, Altostratus, and so on. Of course, she loved Cumulus but knew she would only be able to call him Cum and make jizz jokes all game long. Maybe not the best idea for a long campaign. Now Cirrus also had her attention. It makes a good, easy to pronounce name and the Cirrus cloud is all wispy and airy! So, Cirrus Cumulus was born. A good name but still with the option to say the occasional Mr. Cum joke. A win win.
Apple created a circle of stars druid, so she looked up names of stars, constellations and planets. So, Bellatrix Orion was born.
If you are creating a rock gnome, maybe investigate names of gems like Amethyst, Beryl, Crystal, or Tanz, short for Tanzanite. If you are creating a cleric dedicated to the sun, consider looking into names of sun gods & goddesses (that won’t be in your game) like Surya, Apollo, Sol, or Ra. When creating a necromancer, maybe search the name of vultures, mushrooms that eat off of decay, or necromantic spells. If you are making a character from the desert, maybe look at historical names from countries full of sand like Egypt, Afghanistan, or Libya. When building a druid maybe pick your favorite flower or plant and run it through google translate in different languages to see what comes up. The options are limitless!
3. Roll for randomness! There are a few tables full of premade names you can roll on. Feel free to use the tables below we created or ask Mr. Google for more options.
Pros: not much thinking.
Cons: not as many options.
20 Male Magic First Names
1. Vollmer
2. Baron
3. Mars
4. Balder
5. Calder
6. Goran
7. Cosmo
8. Lars
9. Magnus
10. Cirrus
11. Elwin
12. Felix
13. Walven
14. Liam
15. Lapin
16. Goren
17. Lucien
18. Dante
19. Balto
20. Tordek
Evil Magic First Names
1. Seldszar
2. Malakai
3. Morgath
4. Valtor
5. Xanderon
6. Arcturus
7. Astaroth
8. Balthazar
9. Vesper
10. Xandros
11. Nezzar
12. Zattara
13. Drogathar
14. Bazzor
15. Zar
16. Elvina
17. Malora
18. Ragnar
19. Igor
20. Vladimir
20 Female Magic First Names
1. Ava
2. Alenia
3. Amethyst
4. Rose
5. Adaine
6. Sapphire
7. Ravenna
8. Azura
9. Iris
10. Venus
11. Estrella
12. Ruby
13. Lilith
14. Pandora
15. Karma
16. Delta
17. Jade
18. Nira
19. Luna
20. Anastasia
Silly Names
1. Sticky
2. Sprinkle
3. Bean
4. Kookie
5. Chickadee
6. Cheese
7. Goose
8. Picklejuice
9. Flapjack
10. Snickerdoodle
11. Egg
12. Bucket
13. Snail
14. Belch
15. Snott
16. Bleb
17. Diddlybits
18. Todd
19. Ant Strong
20. Shake Spear
Nonbinary Magic First Names
1. Thistle
2. Sylva
3. Jinx
4. Xena
5. Maple
6. Onyx
7. Mithril
8. Pheonix
9. Vex
10. Rowan
11. Folin
12. Zen
13. Nova
14. Olive
15. Remmy
16. Mel
17. Kit
18. Silver
19. Quinn
20. Figueroth
Magical Last Names 1
1. Raven
2. Aramaris
3. Umbra
4. Thornton
5. Fang
6. Bloodworth|
7. Autumn
8. Seaspring
9. Willowhorn
10. Nightingale
11. Solara
12. Neverwinter
13. Eclipse
14. Faeth
15. Thistlespring
16. Abernat
17. Wray
18. Langford
19. Scarlet
20. Rothwell
20 Little Guy First Names Nonbinary
1. Ziggy
2. Riz
3. Fronx
4. Rex
5. Buzz
6. Hex
7. Kug
8. Bean
9. Twig
10. Iggy
11. Croc
12. Brox
13. Zyrk
14. Nutmeg
15. Basil
16. Pinto
17. Coffee
18. Pea
19. Garbanzo
20. Berry
Magical Last Names 2
1. Elrieth
2. Padan
3. Balren
4. Elrona
5. Daleth
6. Burrows
7. Underlake
8. Greenhill
9. Banks
10. Baggins
11. Jenkin
12. Lillian
13. May
14. Bronzebeard
15. Rosemond
16. Zumrel
17. Obsidian
18. Cardi
19. Vex
20. Hornswagle
Have fun finding the right name for your original characters. Set forth and roll strong! If you found yourself a name with our help, let us know by posting anywhere with #TheDicedApple
Written by: Michelle “Apple”
Edited by: Christina
