In a world of wonder, filled with colorful fantasy characters, sometimes a bit of name inspiration is required. Names tell us much about the world they live in, and it is important to provide both a sense of casual existence, and a sense of atmosphere. Therefore, I’ve scoured the pages of history, the expanse of the internet, and some creative twist in the form of non-standard conventions in lettering and pronunciation, to deliver a random name generator designed for naming the serendipitous characters our worlds are filled with, and our adventures are built of.
Pulling from a bunch of names across medieval, renaissance, and victorian eras, along with a collection of fantastical compound surnames, this generator provides a basis for non-player characters that make up the backdrop of your world, city, or village. What you insight from that name is up to you! … Is it a villager? … A traveling merchant? … City guard? … Crafter? … Tax collector? … Royal courtier? … Retired hero?
Here are some other fantasy name generators hosted in ChaoticanWriter:
- Fantasy Nation Name Generator
- Fantasy City Name Generator
- Fantasy Street Name Generator
- Fantasy Shop Name Generator
- Fantasy Landscape Name Generator
From the point that this generator was published, it quickly became one of the most visited pages on the site! It makes be very happy to know that something I’ve created, even as a simple as an NPC name generator, has gone to help a number of worldbuilders, writers, game masters, dungeon masters, and creatives. Therefore, I’ve committed to updating this generator with a number of new name options, pulling some from history, some from a few different cultures, and some good ole made up options as well!
So whether it is for a Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder tabletop RPG campaign, or an epic fantasy novel or short story, a fan fiction story, a video game with customized character options, a live-action or forum-based roleplay session, or other fabulously geeky acivity… you can generate your own fantasy NPC names today! … Just click the button and give it a spin!
(Version 2.0 Current) – 300+ male names, 300+ female names, 400+ surnames. Eight options.
(Version 1.0) – 200+ male names, 200+ female names, 300+ surnames. Five options. Deployed name generator.