Orc name generator
Orc names are short, guttural, and built for carrying over distance. What distinguishes them is the epithet: among orcs a second name is not inherited, it is awarded, and it describes something the bearer actually did. Names change over a lifetime.
34 given names · 8 family names · 272 combinations
Example orc names
Grommash Bloodfist
Khorma Bonecrusher
Thok Wargrowl
How orcs are named
A hard one- or two-syllable given name plus a compound epithet such as Bloodfist or Doomhowl. The epithet is earned in front of witnesses and can be lost the same way.
Picking one that works at the table
- Ask what the epithet commemorates. That answer is a whole backstory for free.
- An orc without an epithet is young, disgraced, or hiding. All three are playable.
- Orc names should be easy to shout and hard to mistake for anything else.
Using these names
Every name here follows orc naming conventions from the D&D 5e SRD and traditional fantasy literature. None are copied from published characters, so they are safe to use in your own campaigns, streams, and published work without attribution.
Other races
Human names
Grounded, pronounceable names with a medieval European weight. Elf names
Flowing, vowel-heavy names built for centuries of use. Half-Elf names
Names caught between two traditions, and often between two worlds. Dwarf names
Hard consonants, short syllables, clan names you can hear ringing. Halfling names
Warm, homely names with surnames straight out of a pantry. Gnome names
Bouncy, invented-sounding names with too many syllables on purpose. Half-Orc names
Blunt, percussive names that do not soften for anyone. Tiefling names
Infernal names, or the virtue names chosen to escape them. Dragonborn names
Clan-first names with draconic weight and a hard landing.