Dwarf name generator

How dwarf names are structured

A dwarven given name is one or two blunt syllables (Thor-, Dur-, Bor-) capped with a gendered ending (-in, -or for masculine; -a, -dis for feminine). Almost every dwarf also carries a clan name — Ironforge, Stonehammer, Goldvein — earned by an ancestor's deed and worn with pride.

Dwarf naming conventions

Dwarven names are short, hard, and grounded: heavy on th, d, b, k, and r, light on frills. They sound like something you would carve into stone, which suits a culture of miners, smiths, and masons who measure worth in lasting work.

Examples of dwarf names

Mountain dwarves favour peak-and-stone names, hill dwarves lean warmer and hearth-like, and duergar names turn grey and grim. Thorin, Durak, and Disa are squarely in-tradition without reproducing any specific published character.

Clan names, and how a dwarf earns one

Every dwarf carries two names: a given name from the clan-rolls and a clan name earned by an ancestor's deed — Ironforge, Stonehammer, Goldvein. The clan name is not decoration; it is a résumé, a promise and a burden at once. A dwarf who disgraces the line can be stripped of it, which dwarves consider worse than exile.

New clan names still arise. A dwarf whose deed the holds will sing about for a generation may found a new line, and their descendants carry the deed as a surname ever after. When a generated name above draws a clan surname, the gloss beneath it tells you what that ancestor supposedly did.

Life stages and the three holds

Dwarven given names change little across a life — a dwarf is named once, recorded in stone, and that is that. What changes is standing: apprentices are addressed by given name alone, masters by given name and craft-title, and elders by clan name alone, as a mark of respect.

Naming diverges by hold. Mountain dwarves favour peak-and-stone sounds (Moun-, Thor-), hill dwarves lean warm and hearth-like (Hil-, -und 'root'), and the duergar of the Underdark grind their names down to ash and chain (Due-, -rak) — a tradition as grey as their forges. Use the subrace filter above to lean into any of the three.