Kismet's Fantasy Name Compendium Index & Advice

 

 

"Commission" by Nikulina-Helena (resized) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

 

It can be surprisingly difficult to come up with thematic names off the top of your head, especially in the middle of an intense gaming or writing session, so I offer several lists for quick reference. The Fantasy Name Compendium was created for general fantasy character names. My articles about drow names contain some traditional Lolthian fare but also offer unique options for other dark elves. And if you include Thayans in your Forgotten Realms adventures, I can help you name them with their distinctive style.

You can also use the advice below to alter names on the lists swiftly and in pleasing ways.

You can use the online lists and you download a Google Sheets version for your own use. I also offer various generators that can randomly create new names based on the lists here.

Start the Fantasy Name Compendium

Drow Naming Practices

Drow Name List

Drow Name Generator

Thayan Name List

Thayan Name Generator

Altering Names

Most of the names I list can easily be altered to suit a male or female character. It's usually just a matter of adding different endings to a name, and most of us have noticed which endings clue you in to whether a name is meant for a male or female. To alter a female-sounding name so that it will suit a male character, try adding the following to the body of the name:

 

Masculine Suffixes
-an	-nik	-anar	-ton	-or
-ant	-er	-dir	-ius	-ric
-no	-ien	-ard	-len	-ian
-en	-o	-as	-on	-rus
-us	-dath	-ym

 

For example, Abria ends with -ia, which is often affixed to the end of female names. Let's try removing the final -a- so that we are left with Abri. Then let's see what we come up with when we add more male-sounding endings (some endings don't give very pleasing results, so you can forgo what you don't like): Abrian, Abriant, Abriard, Abrias, Abrien, Abrilen, Abrion, Abrius, Abriym. By doing this, we have effectively generated nine variants that can be used as separate names.

If you would like to do the same to make a name more feminine-sounding, try adding one of these endings to the name:

 

Feminine Suffixes
-a	-ina	-ie	-ara	-eera
-aea	-osa	-ya	-tha	-aya
-ana	-ielle	-ia	-ora	-iss
-ea	-ene	-ice	-ra	-ka
-nira	-wen	-elle

 

For example, Alovandre can be modified thusly: Alovandra, Alovandriss, Alovandrea, Alovandrelle, Alovandrene, Alovandria, Alovandrice, Alovandrie. (And there's eight more names you can use.) Certain endings may not always sound right, but you can use others instead.

These suffixes are provided in the .pdf list of names at the very end of the document for quick reference.

 

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Resources are free for noncommercial use with credit to Kismet Rose and a link to Kismet's D&D.

Thank you, and happy gaming!

 

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