Beatnik Name Generator

Cool-cat handles for coffeehouse poets and drifters

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Generate beatnik names for 1950s Beat Generation characters, costume parties and role-play: slang handles like Daddy-O Dan Kowalski and Real Gone Gus, coffeehouse regulars like Espresso Edna, Zen names like Satori Sam, and mock titles like Saint Irma of Bleecker Street.

About beatnik names

The word beatnik was coined in 1958 by San Francisco columnist Herb Caen, who bolted the ending of Sputnik onto the Beat Generation, the label Jack Kerouac had given his circle a decade earlier. The writers themselves, Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg among them, disliked it. What stuck was the cartoon: the beret, the goatee, the bongos and the basement coffeehouse in North Beach or Greenwich Village. This list is drafted for that character: invented coffeehouse regulars, not the real writers.

A beatnik name is usually a handle on an ordinary mid-century name: Zen Lenny, Bongo Marge, Turtleneck Ted. The handles come from hip talk (cool, dig, daddy-o, real gone), and that slang was borrowed from Black jazz musicians, who had been using it for years before the coffeehouse crowd picked it up. Other names come from poetry (Blank Verse Benny), from Zen reading (Satori Sam), from the road (Hitchhike Hollis Novak) and from a neighborhood (North Beach Nora).

The 1,000 names are mixed across those styles, along with painters from the loft crowd, women of the scene, one-word names such as Moth and Shadow, weekend visitors from uptown, and mock-serious titles like Saint Irma of Bleecker Street.

How to choose beatnik names

  • Start with the plain name. The joke of a beatnik handle is the contrast, so an everyday mid-century name (Stan, Edna, Mort, Thelma) under a lofty or slangy handle works better than two exotic words.
  • Pick the handle from what the character does all night: plays (Conga Corinne), reads (Paperback Pete), paints (Turpentine Thurston), sits (Zazen Zeke) or travels (Rucksack Russ).
  • For a costume party, choose a name the costume explains. Turtleneck Ted, Beret Bernard and Dark Glasses Doug need no introduction; Enjambment Enzo needs a poem in the pocket.
  • Use the slang lightly. It came from Black jazz musicians and was already being parodied on television by the end of the 1950s, so one period word in a name reads better than a string of them, and dialect spellings are best left out.
  • For a story set in the real scene, keep invented characters invented. Give them a neighborhood (Bleecker Street, Grant Avenue, Venice West) rather than a seat beside a real writer.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good beatnik name?

A slang or Zen handle on an ordinary 1950s name: Daddy-O Dan Kowalski, Zen Lenny, Bongo Marge, Espresso Edna or Blank Verse Benny. One-word names such as Moth, Shadow and Cricket suit quiet characters, and mock titles like Professor Bongo or Lady Leotard suit the loud ones. A few poet pen names, such as j. j. marrow and orpheus katz, are set in lower case on purpose.

Where does the word beatnik come from?

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen coined it in 1958, joining Beat, from the Beat Generation, to the ending of Sputnik, the Soviet satellite launched the year before. It was meant as a jab, and the best-known Beat writers rejected it, but it became the everyday word for the coffeehouse bohemians of the late 1950s.

Are these the names of real Beat writers?

They are not meant to be. The list is drafted as invented characters and leaves out the Beat writers and the people in their books, but nobody has compared it with records of real people. If you plan to publish a story, search a full name before you use it.

Where did beatnik slang come from?

Most of it (cool, dig, cat, daddy-o, gone, solid, square) came out of the talk of Black jazz musicians of the 1930s and 1940s and reached the coffeehouses through bebop fans and the Beat writers. That is why handles like Real Gone Gus and Solid Sid Abramowitz sound like bandstand talk.

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All 1,000 beatnik names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 40 names

  • Abbot of the Attic
  • Abe the Ad Lib
  • Absurd Abner
  • Abyss Abby
  • Accountant by Day Dave
  • Action Painter Axel
  • Adele "Adagio" Vitale
  • Admiral of the Airshaft
  • After Hours Abe
  • Agnes "Ashtray" Brannigan
  • Alienated Alan
  • All-Night Al
  • All-Night Drive Clive
  • Alley
  • Allowance Alastair
  • Almost a Doctor Doc
  • Alto Alma
  • Alvin "Abstract" Hennessy
  • Ambassador from Endsville
  • Ambrose Stray
  • Ampersand Annie
  • Andy Lindstrom
  • Angst Agnes
  • Anonymous of Avenue B
  • Applause-Free Abe
  • Apple Picker Abner
  • Apron Strings April
  • Army Surplus Arlo
  • Arnold "Angst" Mendelsohn
  • Artnik Artie
  • Ash
  • Assonance Asa
  • Asterisk
  • Astor Place Astrid
  • Attic
  • Augie "Attic" Castellucci
  • Authentic Arthur
  • Autoharp Audrey
  • Autumn Dusk Dustin
  • Avenue B Benno

B: 86 names

  • Baby Blue Bea
  • Back Room Barnaby
  • Back Seat Bettina
  • Back Table Bernice
  • Bad Faith Faith
  • Baggage Car Bix
  • Ballad Singer Bess
  • Ballet Flats Fran
  • Bamboo Flute Beau
  • Bandstand Bette
  • Bangs Barbara
  • Banjo Case Casey
  • Barefoot Bettina
  • Baritone Barry
  • Barnard Dropout Babs
  • Baron von Beret
  • Barrow Street Barry
  • Basement Steps Bess
  • Bass Clef Clem
  • Batik Beth
  • Bay Bridge Bridey
  • Bea the Apostrophe
  • Beacon Hill Beck
  • Beatnik Bernadette
  • Beatnik for a Day Faye
  • Beatsville Beryl
  • Bedroll Bela
  • Begging Bowl Boaz

B, continued

  • Beginner's Mind Ben
  • Being and Bernie
  • Beret
  • Beret Bernard
  • Berkeley Bernie
  • Bernard "Bongos" Zielinski
  • Bettina "Brushes" McNulty
  • Big Brush Bruce
  • Big Sweater Sue
  • Billie Ostrowski
  • Biscotti Bruno
  • Bishop of Bedford Street
  • Black Coffee Blanche
  • Black Stocking Stella Vance
  • Black Sweater Sweeney
  • Blank Verse Benny
  • Bleecker
  • Bleecker Street Bea
  • Blitz Game Blaise
  • Blow Your Top Barney
  • Blue Hour Bev
  • Blue Note Nora
  • Bobbie Blackwood
  • Bodhi Tree Bodie
  • Bolinas Bo
  • Bongo Basement Babs
  • Bongo Bill Quigley
  • Bongo Marge
  • Bongos at Midnight Mick

B, continued

  • Bookmark Bridget
  • Booknik Boyd
  • Bop
  • Border Town Bea
  • Borrowed a Dollar Bill
  • Borrowed Car Boris
  • Borrowed Sweater Bev
  • Bottomless Cup Buck
  • Bow Tie Bassist Boyd
  • Bowery Bo Brannigan
  • Brakeman Bram
  • Breath Count Brenda
  • Briefcase Brice
  • Broadside Babs
  • Brooklyn Heights Hy
  • Brother Barnabas of the Back Room
  • Brother Blank Verse
  • Brother Ezra Halfway
  • Brother Theophilus of the Third Floor
  • Browse-All-Day Boris
  • Brush
  • Brush Stroke Bruno
  • Brushes Benson
  • Bugged Out Burt
  • Bulletin Board Bo
  • Burlap
  • Burnt Umber Bert
  • Bus Depot Bud
  • Buy You a Coffee Coby

C: 90 names

  • "Crazy Legs" Rosenthal
  • Cadmium Red Fred
  • Caesura Cecile
  • Cafe au Lait Colm
  • Caliban Jones
  • Calligraphy Cal
  • Came for the Jazz Jasper
  • Canal Bridge Cal
  • Candle Wax Max
  • Cannery Kip
  • Canvas Shoes Cass
  • Canvas Stretcher Karl
  • Cappuccino Carl
  • Captain Carfare
  • Carbon Copy Kay
  • Cardinal Cool
  • Carmine Street Carmela
  • Cashbox Cassie
  • Cassandra Vane
  • Cassius Rook
  • Cat Eyes Catalina
  • Cat's Pajamas Percy
  • Cecil "Cymbals" Bledsoe
  • Celia "Cellar" Finnegan
  • Cellar
  • Cellar Door Dora
  • Chairman of the Bored
  • Chairs-Up Charlie
  • Chancellor of the Chessboards
  • Chapbook Charlie

C, continued

  • Charcoal Stick Charlotte
  • Checkered Tablecloth Chuck
  • Checkmate Chet
  • Cheesecake Cheryl
  • Cherry Blossom Cher
  • Chess Clock Clark
  • Chessboard Chaim
  • Chessnik Chester
  • Chester "Chalk" Karras
  • Cheyenne Shay
  • Chianti Bottle Chet
  • Chin Whiskers Chip
  • Chinos Chick
  • Chord Changes Chuck
  • Christopher Street Kit
  • Cinder
  • Cinnamon Stick Cyd
  • Clay Hands Clara
  • Cleveland Cleve
  • Clifford "Corduroy" Aldridge
  • Closing Time Clem
  • Cloud Nine Clarence
  • Clyde the Aside
  • Coast to Coast Cora
  • Coaster
  • Coco with the Cigarette Holder
  • Cold Cup Colette
  • Cold Water Flat Flossie
  • Collage Colleen
  • Columbus Avenue Gus

C, continued

  • Combo Carmine
  • Comma
  • Commodore Conga
  • Commuter Train Trent
  • Conga Corinne
  • Constance "Candle" Whitcomb
  • Cool Head Harriet
  • Cool It Clyde
  • Cool Jazz Cass
  • Cool School Sol
  • Cooled Out Cora
  • Cooler Than Thou Theo
  • Coolsville Connie
  • Copper Bracelet Cora
  • Corduroy
  • Corduroy Jacket Jake
  • Corkboard
  • Cornelia Street Corny
  • Corner Booth Kurt
  • Count Caffeine
  • Count Me In Quincy
  • Couplet Carla
  • Crazy Daisy Delgado
  • Crazy Eights Emmett
  • Crazy Man Mort
  • Cricket
  • Cross-Country Kristof
  • Crow
  • Curator of Crumbs
  • Cut Out Cal

D: 57 names

  • Dactyl Dexter
  • Daddy-O Dan Kowalski
  • Daddy-O Delancey
  • Daddy-O Dexter
  • Dame Demitasse
  • Dance Class Delia
  • Dark Glasses Doug
  • Darkroom Darla
  • Dash
  • Dawn Patrol Dot
  • Day Job Daphne
  • Day-Old Danish Dan
  • Deacon Dunleavy
  • Deadpan Deirdre
  • Dean of the Dishroom
  • Deckhand Dunc
  • Demitasse Dee
  • Denver or Bust Dusty
  • Depot Bench Deke
  • Desert Boot Desmond
  • Desert Stretch Dez
  • Desmond "Downtown" Tanaka
  • Despair Desi
  • Detached Dutch
  • Dharma Dot
  • Dharma Talk Doc
  • Dig Deep Dvorak
  • Dig It Doris

D, continued

  • Dig This Dolores
  • Diner Counter Dinah
  • Dirndl Skirt Dagmar
  • Dishrag
  • Ditto
  • Doctor Dog-Ear
  • Doctor Dungarees
  • Doctor of Applied Loafing
  • Dodie Downstairs
  • Dog-Eared Doug
  • Dolores the Chorus
  • Doorway
  • Doorway Dmitri
  • Dorothy "Dot Dot Dot" Mulcahy
  • Dot the Dash
  • Double Time Dot
  • Downbeat Della
  • Drag City Duane
  • Drip Paint Dolores
  • Drop Cloth Dottie
  • Dropout Drew
  • Duffel Bag Duff
  • Duffel Coat Duffy
  • Dulcimer Dulcie
  • Dullsville Dale
  • Duluth Dulcie
  • Dungarees Dunc
  • Dusk
  • Dust Jacket Jack

E: 33 names

  • e. v. blackwater
  • Easel Edith
  • Eastbound Edie
  • Easy Does It Edgar
  • Echo
  • Edmund "Endnote" Prescott
  • Edna the Crescendo
  • Eighth Street Ed
  • Electra Shaw
  • Elegy Ellie
  • Elliot "Eraser" Lindholm
  • Ellipsis Elsie
  • Embarcadero Emma
  • Ember
  • Empress of Espresso
  • Empty Cup Emil
  • Endgame Enoch
  • Endsville Enid
  • Enjambment Enzo
  • Ennui Henri
  • Epigraph Ephraim
  • Espresso Edna
  • Essence Esme
  • Estelle "Espresso" Quigley
  • Etching Press Etta
  • Eugene "Goatee" Fogarty
  • Eunice "Echo" Papadakis
  • Eurydice Bloom
  • Ex-Ad Man Adam
  • Ex-Navy Ned
  • Existential Ernie
  • Eyes Closed Eli
  • ezekiel flood

F: 40 names

  • Far Out Phyllis
  • Ferry Deck Fergus
  • Fifth Floor Phoebe
  • Filbert Steps Phil
  • Fillmore Phineas
  • Finger-Snap Fran
  • Fire Escape Esther
  • First Light Lila
  • Five-Four Felix
  • Five-Seven-Five Fay
  • Flatbed Finn
  • Flatbush Flo
  • Flatted Fifth Phil
  • Flip Lid Floyd
  • Flo the Flame
  • Floor Sleeper Flynn
  • Florence "Folding Chair" DiNapoli
  • Flute Flora
  • Folio
  • Folk Song Sonny
  • Folknik Fay Halloran
  • Footnote
  • Footnote Fenwick
  • Former Seminarian Sean
  • Forwarding Address Fred
  • Found Object Fitz
  • Four-Four Flo
  • Fran the Deadpan
  • Frankie Feldstein
  • Franklin "Footnote" Stankiewicz
  • Frantic Fran
  • Frayed Cuff Frank
  • Free Lunch Lenny Carlson
  • Free Verse Freddie
  • Free Will Willa
  • Freight Yard Fritz
  • French Quarter Quentin
  • Freshman Freddy
  • Friend of a Friend Fritz
  • Frog Pond Phil

G: 30 names

  • Gallery Opening Gwen
  • Galley Proof Gail
  • Garret
  • Gas Money Gabe
  • Gasser Gil
  • Gene the Unseen
  • General Delivery Del
  • General Loitering
  • Georgie Papadopoulos
  • Gertrude "Garret" Sweeney
  • Gesso Jess
  • GI Bill Bill
  • Gigi from Jersey
  • Gil the Still
  • Gilbert "Glasses" Pappas
  • Ginchy Ginny
  • Goatee
  • Goatee Gary Lindqvist
  • Golden Gate Gately
  • Gone Cat Gene
  • Gong Gordon
  • Governor of Grant Avenue
  • Grant Avenue Granville
  • Gray Flannel Glenn
  • Green Street Greta
  • Greyhound Gracie
  • Grounds Keeper Gus
  • Group Show Grover
  • Guitar Case Kate
  • Gus the Ghost

H: 35 names

  • h. b. lamplight
  • Haiku Counter Hugo
  • Haiku Hank
  • Hal the Hat
  • Half Lotus Lottie
  • Half Time Hal
  • Half-Note Hugh
  • Hand-Set Type Hy
  • Hang Loose Hank
  • Hard Bop Hobart
  • Harold "Hush" Tierney
  • Harriet "Hallway" Oberlin
  • Harvard Square Harv
  • Hat Passer Hap
  • Hazel "Haze" Fogarty
  • Head Arrangement Herb
  • Headlight Hedda
  • Henrietta "Hemline" Thackeray
  • Hepcat Hal
  • Herbert "Haiku" Sorensen
  • Here and Now Howie
  • Hi-Hat Hilda
  • Hip Harvey Feldman
  • Hip Pocket Hattie
  • Hitchhike Hollis Novak
  • Hoboken Ferry Fay
  • Hoop Earring Irene
  • Hootenanny Hoyt
  • Horn-Rim Horace
  • Hot Plate Hattie
  • House Paint Hans
  • Houseboat Hattie of Sausalito
  • Howard "Hi-Fi" Engstrom
  • Hudson Street Hudson
  • Hyde Park Heidi

I: 11 names

  • Iambic Ike
  • Icarus Malone
  • Incense Inez
  • Ingrid "Inkwell" Bjornstad
  • Ink
  • Inkblot
  • Insomnia Izzy
  • Insurance Office Irv
  • Irv the Nerve
  • Irving "Fingers" Goldfarb
  • Ishmael Brody

J: 14 names

  • j. j. marrow
  • Jam Session Jess
  • Jazznik Jerry
  • Jeremiah Gutter
  • Jewelry Bench Jules
  • Jezebel Crane
  • Jo Vandermeer
  • Joan the Unknown
  • jonah ashcan
  • Josephine "Jukebox" Armijo
  • Judge Jive
  • Julius "Journal" Washington
  • Just Looking Judd
  • Just This Justine

K: 17 names

  • Kalamazoo Kaz
  • Kalimba Kay
  • Karma Later Kermit
  • Kay the Essay
  • Kearny Street Kearney
  • Kenji "Koan" Nakashima
  • Kensho Ken
  • Kettle Drum Karl
  • Keys
  • Kicks Kaminski
  • Kid Brother Kip
  • Kiki the Kiln Queen
  • Kiln Fire Kyle
  • King of the Cold Water Flat
  • Koan
  • Koan Kate
  • Kohl-Eyed Colette

L: 53 names

  • Lady Leotard
  • Lady Longhand
  • Lady of the Long Poem
  • Laguna Lou
  • Lamppost
  • Landlord's Nephew Neville
  • Laredo Lou
  • Larimer Street Larry
  • Last Call Lottie
  • Last Line Lionel
  • Last Set Lester
  • Last Subway Sam
  • Later Gator Lloyd
  • Laughing Monk Lonnie
  • Laughing Rivka
  • Lay It On Me Leon
  • lazarus quinn
  • Leather Sandal Leander
  • Left Bank Leopold
  • Lemon Peel Lem
  • Lenny the Listener
  • Lenore "Last Stanza" Yamamoto
  • Leonard "Lowercase" Katz
  • Leotard Lil
  • Library Card Lars
  • Life Drawing Liv

L, continued

  • Light Meter Lem
  • Like Crazy Lester
  • Like Wow Wally
  • Lilith Marlowe
  • Lincoln Tunnel Linc
  • Line Break Lena
  • Linocut Linus
  • Linotype Lyle
  • Linseed Lin
  • Little Magazine Maggie
  • Loft Light Lionel
  • Long Braid Bridget
  • Long Way Round Lorna
  • Loom Lucinda
  • Lord High Loafer
  • Lord Lowercase
  • Lorraine "Leotard" Novak
  • Lotus Position Lois
  • Lou the Blue
  • Low Flame Luther
  • Low Voice Lois
  • Lowercase Lou
  • Lucille "Loft" Santangelo
  • Lulu of the Loft
  • Lydian Lydia
  • Lyle "Long Pause" Pemberton
  • Lysander Hobbs

M: 67 names

  • Mabel "Mimeo" Kilbride
  • Macchiato Mack
  • MacDougal Mac
  • Madame Marginalia
  • Madison Avenue Marv
  • Maestro Mumbles
  • Mailing List Mildred
  • Major Minor Key
  • Malaise Maisie
  • Mallet Mel
  • Man Alive Marv
  • Mantra Marty
  • Maracas Marta
  • Marge at Large
  • Margin
  • Marginalia Marty
  • Marjorie "Midnight" Halloran
  • Marseille Freighter Marcel
  • Matchbook Matt
  • Matchstick
  • Mavis the Maverick
  • Max Rosenzweig
  • Maxine "Metaphor" Rafferty
  • Meaningless Max
  • Medea Voss
  • Mellow Milt Hirsch
  • Merchant Marine Marco
  • Metronome Murray
  • Mickey Flaherty
  • Middle Way Mabel
  • Midnight
  • Midnight Mavis Tolliver
  • Midnight Morty

M, continued

  • Milk Train Milt
  • Mill Valley Millie
  • Milton "Mumbles" Bronstein
  • Mimeograph Mike
  • Mimi the Mime
  • Minetta
  • Minetta Lane Minna
  • Minister of Mood
  • Minna from Minneapolis
  • Minor Key Minnie
  • Miriam "Margin" Kessler
  • Miss Lowercase i
  • Mist on the Ridge Midge
  • Mister Mu
  • Mobile Maker Moira
  • Mocha Java Joe
  • Modal Moe
  • Model on Break Mona
  • Modern Dance Margo
  • Moe the Slow Burn
  • Monsignor Metaphor
  • Moody Trudy Kaminski
  • Moon Viewing Mona
  • Morning Bell Mel
  • Mort the Retort
  • moses vandal
  • Motel Sign Moe
  • Moth
  • Mountain Hermit Herm
  • Mountain Pass Pax
  • Mouthpiece Mavis
  • Mu
  • Mudra Muriel
  • Murray "Monotone" Finkel

N: 30 names

  • Naomi "Nocturne" Lippman
  • Nausea Nadia
  • Neatnik Ned
  • Ned the Well-Read
  • Nell the Bagatelle
  • New Jersey Turnpike Nate
  • Newark Transfer Newt
  • Nickel Tip Nick
  • Night Class Nadine
  • Night Coach Nico
  • Night Owl Olive
  • Night School Nick
  • No Cream Norm
  • No Fixed Address Ned
  • No Lipstick Liz
  • No Punctuation Pat
  • No Socks Knox
  • No Sweat Nat
  • No-Mind Mindy
  • Nodding Along Ned
  • Norman "No Rhyme" Pruitt
  • North Beach Nora
  • North Light Nora Jean
  • Northbound Nils
  • Nothing Doing Norm
  • Nothing Special Nate
  • Nothingness Nat
  • Nowhere Ned
  • Nowheresville Nell
  • Nurse-a-Cup Nan

O: 22 names

  • Ocean Front Walk Walker
  • Ode Otto
  • Offbeat Otis Tolliver
  • Ohio Turnpike Opie
  • Old Pond Otto
  • Old Town Otis of Chicago
  • Omaha Omar
  • One Hand Clapping Hal
  • Opal "Offstage" Schulman
  • Open Floor Opal
  • Open Reading Olga
  • Ophelia Brink
  • Oracle of the Orange Crate
  • orpheus katz
  • Oscar "Onionskin" Ruggiero
  • Otto the Staccato
  • Our Girl in the Village
  • Out of Sight Ozzie
  • Outsider Ozzie
  • Overdue Odette
  • Owes Everybody Owen
  • Owl

P: 49 names

  • Paint-Spattered Pat
  • Pale Lipstick Pauline
  • Palette Knife Pru
  • Paper Lantern Lana
  • Paperback Pete
  • Parenthesis
  • Paris Return Perry
  • Park Bench Petrov
  • Part-Time Beatnik Pat
  • Passing Through Thora
  • Pastry Case Patsy
  • Patched Elbow Elbert
  • Patchin Place Patch
  • Pauline "Pencil" Gilhooly
  • Pawn Shop Pavel
  • Pea Coat Pete
  • Pearl the Mural
  • Peasant Blouse Petra
  • Peoria Runaway Pearl
  • Percolator Perry
  • Persephone Dowd
  • Philip "Paperback" Dunleavy
  • Philosopher King of Kearny Street
  • Pipe Stem Piers

P, continued

  • Plaster Cast Caspar
  • Play It Cool Paula
  • Plum Branch Prudence
  • Pocket Edition Polly Ann
  • Poet Laureate of Pier 40
  • Poet Laureate of the Laundromat
  • Poetnik Paula
  • Poetry Aisle Paige
  • Poker Face Portia
  • Ponytail Peg
  • Postcard Polly
  • Poster Paste Polly
  • Potrero Hill Pete
  • Prince of the Paint Rags
  • Princess Pale Lipstick
  • Private Thoughts Pruitt
  • Professor Bongo
  • Professor Emeritus of Nothing
  • Professor Fotheringay of the Free Lunch
  • Professor Hush
  • Professor Paperback
  • Prometheus Plotkin
  • Prose Poem Prue
  • Protest Verse Vern
  • Provincetown Prue

Q: 9 names

  • Quartet Quinn
  • Queen of the Quiet Table
  • Queen's Gambit Gabby
  • Queens Boulevard Queenie
  • Quentin "Quatrain" Chin
  • Quiet Fire Faye
  • Quiet Joan from Queens
  • Quiet Sitting Quinn
  • Quill

R: 47 names

  • r. m. cinder
  • Radiator Seat Ray
  • Radio Dial Dale
  • Raked Gravel Greg
  • Raku Ruth
  • Ramona "Raincoat" Montoya
  • Reading Lamp Ramona
  • Real Cool Roz
  • Real Gone Gus
  • Real Nervous Rudy
  • Recorder Rhoda
  • Recovering Banker Bancroft
  • Reed
  • Reed Man Reggie
  • Refill Rita
  • Refrain Renata
  • Rejection Slip Rip
  • Reluctant Beatnik Rolf
  • Remainder Bin Rex
  • Reno Renee
  • Rent Dodger Roger
  • Rent Party Roxanne
  • Reverend Doctor Dig

R, continued

  • Reverend Riff
  • Rice Paper Rhea
  • Ride Board Rae
  • Ride Cymbal Roz
  • Riff
  • Rim Tap Rudy
  • Rita "Red Wine" Lombardi
  • Rittenhouse Rita
  • Road Map Roscoe
  • Robe and Bowl Rollo
  • Roland "Rucksack" Vanderhoof
  • Ronnie Abernathy
  • Rooftop Rosalie
  • Rope Belt Roland
  • Rosalind "Riff" Castellano
  • Rough Draft Thad
  • Roz the Pause
  • Rucksack Russ
  • Rudolph "Radiator" Battaglia
  • Rufus "Rimshot" Jefferson
  • Run-On Ronnie
  • Runaway Rosie
  • Russian Hill Rusty
  • Ruth the Truth

S: 135 names

  • Sad-Eyed Sophie
  • Sailor Jersey Serge
  • Saint Dolores of the Day-Old Bread
  • Saint Gladys of the Gas Ring
  • Saint Irma of Bleecker Street
  • Saint Mort the Unpublished
  • Saint Stan of the Stoop
  • Salome Fitch
  • Salt Lake Slim Sorensen
  • Sam Delacorte
  • Sandals
  • Sandals in Winter Winnie
  • Sangha Sandra
  • Santa Fe Sage
  • Satori
  • Satori on Sunday Sunny
  • Satori Sam
  • Saturday Night Sandy
  • Saucer Sam
  • Sausalito
  • Sax Appeal Saul
  • Scarf
  • Scarsdale Scott
  • Scat Singer Stella
  • Scranton Skip
  • Scrap Metal Stella
  • Scroll Painter Sully
  • Sea Chantey Seamus
  • Second Draft Sadie
  • Secretary of the Interior Monologue
  • Semicolon
  • Sergeant Satori
  • Serious Naomi

S, continued

  • Seven Rides Sven
  • Seventeen Syllables Cy
  • Shades
  • Shades-Indoors Sheldon
  • Shadow
  • Shaggy Bangs Bjorn
  • Sheboygan Shel
  • Sheldon "Shrug" Wexler
  • Sheridan Square Sherry
  • Shotgun Seat Shep
  • Sibyl Hartnett
  • Sicilian Defense Sid
  • Sid the Katydid
  • Side Man Silas
  • Sideburns Cy
  • Sidewalk Table Sid
  • Sidney "Snaps" Garfinkel
  • Sign-Up Sheet Shel
  • Silkscreen Sy
  • Silver Ring Simone
  • Sir Reginald Rent-Due
  • Sir Sandals
  • Sir Syncopation
  • Sister Espresso
  • Sister Midnight Mulcahy
  • Sister Sonnet
  • Sit-In Simone
  • Sitting Still Stillman
  • Sixteen Millimeter Miles
  • Sketchbook Sal Mancuso
  • Skylight Sylvie
  • Sleeping Bag Sig
  • Sleeps Till Noon Noonan
  • Slim the Slim Volume

S, continued

  • Slim Volume Vern
  • Slow Burn Bernice
  • Slow Clap Clay
  • Slumming Sloane
  • Small Fierce Miriam
  • Small Press Sal
  • Smith Girl Gone Downtown
  • Smoke
  • Smoke Ring Raoul
  • Snaps
  • Snaps Sullivan
  • Snare Drum Sherm
  • Sol the Soul
  • Solid Gone Sadie
  • Solid Sid Abramowitz
  • Somebody's Cousin Cosmo
  • Sonnet Sonia
  • Soup Kitchen Sol
  • Southbound Sully
  • Spare Couch Kurt
  • Spare Mattress Matty
  • Sparrow
  • Specs
  • Sphinx
  • Spider
  • Spine Cracker Spike
  • Split Scene Seymour
  • Splitsville Sylvia
  • Spokane Spence
  • Spondee Spencer
  • Square Root Ralph
  • Squaresville Sherman
  • Stacks Stavros
  • Stalemate Stella

S, continued

  • Stand-Up Stanley
  • Stanley "Sticks" Wojcik
  • Stanza
  • Stanza Stan
  • Stapler Stella
  • Staten Island Stan
  • Static
  • Stayed for the Soup Stu
  • Steam Wand Wanda
  • Stencil
  • Stevie Kowalczyk
  • Sticks
  • Still Pond Stella
  • Stone Lantern Stan
  • Stool by the Stage Stu
  • Stoop
  • Straw Sandal Sandy
  • Stream of Consciousness Stu
  • Street Photo Stefano
  • Streetlamp Stan
  • Strings
  • Striped Shirt Stefan
  • Stuyvesant Stu
  • Suchness Sasha
  • Sugar Cube Sue
  • Sullivan Street Sully
  • Sumi Ink Sumner
  • Super's Daughter Suzette
  • Sutra Sybil
  • Sweatshirt Sal
  • Swinging Stu Pulaski
  • Switchyard Swede
  • Sylvia "Sandals" Okafor
  • Syncopated Cyril

T: 71 names

  • t. r. nightingale
  • Tacoma Tam
  • Tagalong Paulie
  • Take Five Tess
  • Tall Judith
  • Tao Ted
  • Taos Tess
  • Tatami Tad
  • Tea Bowl Tobias
  • Tea Ceremony Tessa
  • Teddy Marchetti
  • Telegraph Avenue Telly
  • Telegraph Hill Tilly
  • Temple Bell Belle
  • Tempo
  • Tempo Tommy Dunleavy
  • Tenor Tony Moretti
  • Tenth Street Tina
  • Terre Haute Terry
  • The Archbishop of Avenue A
  • The Duke of MacDougal
  • The Honorable Hal Nowhere
  • The Mayor of Minetta Lane
  • The Most Myrtle
  • The Poet Known as Kip
  • The Provost of Perry Street
  • The Reverend Real Gone
  • The Sultan of Stanza
  • Thelma "Tambourine" Ruiz
  • Theo the Trio
  • Theodora "Thumb" Halvorsen
  • Third Set Theo
  • Third Street Station Stosh
  • Thompson Street Tom
  • Three A.M. Thelma

T, continued

  • Thumb Out Tommy
  • Thumb Piano Pearl
  • Thumbtack
  • Tip Jar Jerome
  • Tiresias Finch
  • Tobias "Typewriter" Feinberg
  • Toe Tap Toby
  • Tom-Tom Thelma
  • Tompkins Square Tomasz
  • Toni Bellweather
  • Too Much Trudy
  • Top Shelf Tobias
  • Topanga Tom
  • Tourist Tina with the Camera
  • Trading Fours Frankie
  • Trail Crew Travis
  • Translation Trina
  • Treble Trixie
  • Trio Trudy
  • Trochee Trish
  • Truck Stop Trudy
  • Trust Fund Thaddeus
  • Tucson Tuck
  • Tugboat Tug Brannigan
  • Turkish Coffee Tariq
  • Turnaround Tina
  • Turpentine Thurston
  • Turtle
  • Turtleneck Ted
  • Twelve Bar Bart
  • Twelve-String Trent
  • Two Reeds Reuben
  • Two-Lane Tess
  • Typeface
  • Typewriter Ribbon Tess
  • Typing Pool Trish

U: 10 names

  • Ultramarine Marina
  • Unbuttoned Collar Cole
  • Uncombed Uriah
  • Union Song Eunice
  • Unrhymed Ruth
  • Unsold Canvas Ansel
  • Upbeat Una
  • Upright Bass Burt
  • Uptown Ursula
  • Used Books Ulysses

V: 14 names

  • Vallejo Street Val
  • Vamp Till Ready Vince
  • Vassar Runaway Val
  • Venice West Wes
  • Vera the Verb
  • Verse
  • Vibes Vic
  • Villanelle Vera
  • Vincent "Verse" Moretti
  • Virgil "Vibrato" Eckhardt
  • Vivian "Void" Stavros
  • Vocalese Val
  • Void
  • Void Violet

W: 31 names

  • Wabi-Sabi Wally
  • Wail On Walt
  • Walking Bass Wes
  • Walt the Gestalt
  • Walter "Wig" Lindqvist
  • Wanda "Whisper" Janowicz
  • Washington Square Wash
  • Waverly Place Waverly
  • Way Out Wendell
  • Weekend Wally Prescott
  • Welding Mask Wendy
  • Weltschmerz Walt
  • West Coast Wes Halvorsen
  • West Fourth Wes
  • Westbound Wyatt
  • Westchester Wes Whitcomb
  • What a Gas Gloria
  • Wheel Thrower Thea
  • Wherever Wes
  • Whisper
  • White Line Willa
  • Wichita Witt
  • Wigged Out Wilma
  • Wilbur "Woodshed" Hathaway
  • Wild Thing Winnie
  • Window Seat Winston
  • Winifred "Walk-Up" Van Buren
  • Wire Sculpture Wim
  • Wire-Rim Wyatt
  • Woodcut Woody
  • Wooden Fish Fisher

Y: 1 name

  • Yonkers Yetta

Z: 8 names

  • Zafu Zelda
  • Zazen Zeke
  • Zeke the Critique
  • Zelda of the Zither
  • Zen Archer Archie
  • Zen Garden Gardner
  • Zen Lenny
  • Zero