About the Dwarf Name Generator
Dwarf names in fantasy borrow their music from Old Norse, so the 70 given names here use the same short vowels and doubled consonants: Brunni, Kolbrun, Hrafna, Tordal. Roughly half are feminine in that tradition and half masculine, though nothing in the list forces a reading. The 60 clan names come from the other half of dwarven identity, the trade: Anvilborn, Quarryheart, Kilnhand, Lodestone, Warmhearth.
Because the surname names a craft, it does a lot of work for free. A character called Sigra Bellowsmith arrives with a forge in her family history, and Punni Cavernsong implies a household that sings underground. That is more useful at the table than a decorative surname, and it gives a game master an immediate hook when a player asks what their family does.
None of the words are taken from any novel or rulebook, which matters because the most famous dwarf names in fiction are protected text. Everything here was written from the phonetic pattern instead, so you can publish it. For the rest of the party, the Elf Name Generator and DND Name Generator cover other species, and the Fantasy Name Generator adds an earned title.
How to use
- Choose how many dwarves you need for the party or the hold.
- Press Generate and look at the trade implied by each clan name.
- Keep one clan and reroll the given names to build a family line.
- Copy or Download the batch for your campaign notes.
Common questions
- Do the clan names mean anything?
- Each one names a craft or a feature of the hold, such as smithing, quarrying or firing kilns, which gives the character an instant family trade.
- Are any names from published fantasy books?
- No. Famous dwarf names are copyrighted text, so these were written from scratch using the same Old Norse sound.
- Which names are feminine?
- Names ending in a or un, such as Gruna, Yrsa and Kolbrun, follow the feminine pattern, but you can use any name for any character.
- How many dwarves can it name?
- Seventy given names and sixty clans make 4,200 distinct dwarves.