Cliff Name Generator

Sea cliffs, bluffs, crags and precipices for maps

Places & Geography500 names

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Generate cliff names for maps, stories and games: plain geographic names like Gannet Head, Chalk Bluff and Raven Crag, legend names like Lover's Leap and Devil's Pulpit, long landforms like The Long Escarpment and Basalt Palisades, and fantasy names like Stormbreak Precipice and The Cliffs of Ashen Sorrow.

About cliff names

A cliff name is usually two words: something you can see from the path, then a word for the kind of drop. English has a long shelf of those second words, and each one places the cliff. Head, ness and foreland belong to the coast, where the land pushes out into the sea. Crag, scar, edge and nab are upland words from northern England and Scotland; crag is related to the Gaelic creag and the Welsh craig. Bluff is the North American word for a steep bank above a river or a plain. Escarpment and scarp describe the long edge of a plateau or a fault, and palisades are cliffs of upright rock columns, like the ones along the Hudson River.

The first word tends to be a bird, a rock, a color or a trade: Gannet Head, Chalk Bluff, Red Scar, Shepherd's Crag. Folklore supplies the rest. Giants, devils, saints and lovers have been given pulpits, chairs, chimneys and leaps on real maps for centuries.

The 500 names here run across coast, river gorge and mountain face. They mix real cliffs for reference (White Cliffs of Dover, Látrabjarg, Bandiagara Escarpment) with real-style names, one-word names such as Ravenscar and Whitecliff, and dramatic fantasy names such as The Titan's Brink.

How to choose cliff names

  • Choose the second word by region before anything else. Head and ness say sea coast, crag and scar say northern hills, bluff says river country, rim says dry plateau. One word sets the whole landscape.
  • Give a working map plain names and save the dramatic ones. Ten cliffs called things like Flint Cliffs, Kestrel Edge and Ferry Bluff make the one called The Howling Precipice stand out.
  • Name a cliff for what people use it for: a beacon, a lookout, a nesting colony, a ferry below. Signal Head and Pirate's Lookout tell the reader something about the people nearby.
  • For a legend name, decide who made the leap or sat in the chair and keep the story short. Stag's Leap, Giant's Staircase and Piper's Leap each suggest a tale in two words.
  • Long features need long-feature words. An edge that runs for thirty miles is an escarpment, a wall or a rim, not a crag.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good name for a cliff?

A good cliff name pairs one clear image with the right landform word. From this list, Gannet Head and Kittiwake Cliffs suit a sea coast, Raven Crag and Whitestone Scar suit hill country, Cottonwood Bluff suits a river valley, and Stormbreak Precipice suits a fantasy map.

What is the difference between a cliff, a bluff, a crag and an escarpment?

Cliff is the general word for any steep rock face. A bluff is a steep, often rounded bank above a river, a lake or a plain, and a crag is a rough, broken outcrop, usually in the hills. An escarpment, or scarp, is a long line of cliffs or steep slopes at the edge of a plateau or along a fault.

Are the names in this cliff name generator real places?

A small share are real and are there for reference, such as White Cliffs of Dover, Bempton Cliffs, Slieve League, Preikestolen and Vermilion Cliffs. Most are written in the style of real place names or as fantasy names, and some real-style ones will match a place somewhere, because names like Black Crag or Eagle Bluff are common.

How do I name a cliff for a fantasy world?

Start with the plain name local people would use, then add one grand name that mapmakers and bards use. The list has both kinds: working names like Beacon Cliff and Drover's Edge, and dramatic ones like Cliffs of the Drowned Moon, The Wall at World's End and Precipice of the Nine Winds.

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All 500 cliff 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: 8 names

  • Acantilado Rojo
  • Acantilados de Los Gigantes
  • Aerie Heights
  • Anchor Head
  • Antelope Rimrock
  • Aquinnah Cliffs
  • Ashfall Scarp
  • Avalanche Face

B: 25 names

  • Badger Scar
  • Bandiagara Escarpment
  • Banshee Cliff
  • Barnacle Head
  • Basalt Palisades
  • Bastion Cliffs
  • Beacon Brow
  • Beacon Cliff
  • Bellringer's Crag
  • Bempton Cliffs
  • Bighorn Ledges
  • Bilberry Edge
  • Birk Crag
  • Black Crag
  • Blackscarp
  • Blowhole Cliff
  • Bluebonnet Bluff
  • Book Cliffs
  • Breaker's Nose
  • Brink of Dusk
  • Brinkwater
  • Buckeye Cliffs
  • Buffalo Run Bluff
  • Bunda Cliffs
  • Buzzard Crag

C: 54 names

  • Cabo Girão
  • Calvert Cliffs
  • Cape Enniberg
  • Cape Wrath
  • Caprock Escarpment
  • Carreg Wen
  • Castle Crag
  • Cataract Wall
  • Chalk Bluff
  • Chalk Foreland
  • Chalk Scarp
  • Chamois Ledges
  • Chapel Scar
  • Cirque Headwall
  • Citadel Palisade
  • Clay Banks
  • Cliffend
  • Cliffhaven
  • Cliffs of Étretat
  • Cliffs of First Light
  • Cliffs of Hollow Thunder
  • Cliffs of Moher
  • Cliffs of the Amber Dawn
  • Cliffs of the Broken Oath
  • Cliffs of the Drowned Moon
  • Cliffs of the Forgotten Fleet
  • Cliffs of the Salt Queen
  • Cliffs of the Sleeping God
  • Cliffs of Winter's End
  • Cliffwatch
  • Cloud End Crag
  • Coal Seam Cliffs
  • Coastguard Cliffs
  • Columnar Palisade
  • Confluence Bluffs
  • Copper Palisade
  • Corsair's Watch
  • Cottonwood Bluff
  • Council Oak Bluff
  • Coyote Bluff
  • Cragfast
  • Craghead
  • Cragmoor
  • Cragside Heights
  • Craig Goch
  • Craig y Deryn
  • Creag an Fhithich
  • Creag Dubh
  • Creag Mhor
  • Croaghaun
  • Crow Neb
  • Crumblecliff
  • Cuckoo Brow
  • Curlew Scar

D: 10 names

  • Devil's Chimney
  • Devil's Elbow Cliff
  • Devil's Pulpit
  • Dingli Cliffs
  • Dove Crags
  • Dragon's Leap
  • Dragon's Spine Scarp
  • Dragonroost Brink
  • Drover's Edge
  • Dunnet Head

E: 11 names

  • Eagle Bluff
  • Eagle Crags
  • Eagle's Drop
  • Eagleking's Precipice
  • Eaglescrag
  • Echo Cliffs
  • Echo Wall
  • Edge of the Vanished Sea
  • Edgemoor
  • Emberfall Precipice
  • Eyrie Face

F: 18 names

  • Fair Head
  • Fairy Ladder
  • Fairy Steps Cliff
  • Falaise Blanche
  • Falcon Scar
  • Falconcliff
  • Fault Line Scarp
  • Ferry Bluff
  • Ferryman's Cliff
  • Fiddler's Ledge
  • Flamborough Head
  • Flint Cliffs
  • Foxbluff
  • Friar's Leap
  • Frostgiant's Brink
  • Frostscar
  • Frostwork Scar
  • Fulmar Ness

G: 18 names

  • Gale Point
  • Gallows Nab
  • Gannet Head
  • Ghostlight Edge
  • Giant's Chair Crag
  • Giant's Footstool
  • Giant's Leap
  • Giant's Staircase
  • Goat Crag
  • Gordale Scar
  • Granite Apron
  • Gray Crags
  • Gray Mare Cliffs
  • Graycliff
  • Greenstone Scarp
  • Griffin's Eyrie
  • Gritstone Edge
  • Gullcrag

H: 29 names

  • Haar Cliffs
  • Hailstorm Edge
  • Hangcliff
  • Hanging Brow
  • Hangingstone
  • Harper's Seat
  • Hart's Leap
  • Hawk's Brow
  • Hawk's Plunge
  • Hawkscar
  • Heather Edge
  • Heaven's Threshold
  • Hermit's Bluff
  • Hermit's Ledge
  • Herring Head
  • Heugh of the Winds
  • High Neb
  • Highcliff
  • Highveld Escarpment
  • Highwayman's Cliff
  • Hob Nab
  • Hollin Edge
  • Hollow Foreland
  • Homestead Bluff
  • Hornelen
  • Horse Leap Crag
  • Horseshoe Bend Cliffs
  • Hunstanton Cliffs
  • Hunter's Leap

I: 6 names

  • Ibex Wall
  • Icefall Face
  • Ironscar
  • Ironstone Bluff
  • Ironwall Escarpment
  • Ivory Palisades

J: 2 names

  • Juniper Rim
  • Juniper Scar

K: 14 names

  • Kalaupapa Cliffs
  • Kelpie's Leap
  • Kestrel Edge
  • Kilt Rock
  • King Arthur's Seat Cliff
  • Kingdom's Edge Escarpment
  • Kingfisher Bluff
  • Kingscliff
  • Kirk Edge
  • Kissing Rock Cliff
  • Kittiwake Cliffs
  • Kittle Heugh
  • Kjerag
  • Knight's Leap

L: 13 names

  • Lammergeier Face
  • Land's Edge Cliffs
  • Lantern Head
  • Lapwing Nab
  • Last Light Cliffs
  • Látrabjarg
  • Lava Palisades
  • Lighthouse Cliff
  • Limekiln Cliff
  • Limestone Scar
  • Loess Bluffs
  • Longleaf Bluff
  • Lover's Leap

M: 18 names

  • Maiden Crags
  • Maiden's Leap
  • Malham Cove
  • Marble Steeps
  • Marchwall Escarpment
  • Marmot Ledge
  • Merlin Crag
  • Mermaid's Chair Cliff
  • Millstone Edge
  • Mistbelt Escarpment
  • Mistcrag
  • Mogollon Rim
  • Monastery Wall
  • Møns Klint
  • Moonlit Precipice
  • Moorcliff
  • Morning Face
  • Mull of Gulls

N: 2 names

  • Nā Pali Coast
  • Niagara Escarpment

O: 11 names

  • Oakbluff
  • Obsidian Wall
  • Ochre Bluffs
  • Old Harry Rocks
  • Old Light Cliff
  • Old Man's Brow
  • Osprey Crag
  • Outlaw's Leap
  • Overhang Point
  • Oxbow Bluffs
  • Oystercatcher Cliffs

P: 29 names

  • Packhorse Edge
  • Painted Escarpment
  • Painted Rimrock
  • Parapet Cliffs
  • Peat Hag Scarp
  • Penny Nab
  • Peregrine Crag
  • Pharos Head
  • Pictured Rocks
  • Pilchard Cliffs
  • Pilgrim's Rest Cliff
  • Pine Steeps
  • Pinebluff
  • Piper's Leap
  • Pirate's Lookout
  • Piskie Ledge
  • Plateau Edge
  • Pooka's Leap
  • Porpoise Cliffs
  • Portage Cliff
  • Prairie Wind Bluff
  • Prayer Flag Precipice
  • Precipice of Echoes
  • Precipice of Stars
  • Precipice of the Nine Winds
  • Preikestolen
  • Priest's Crag
  • Priest's Leap
  • Pulpit Crag

Q: 1 name

  • Quarryman's Scar

R: 20 names

  • Ram's Leap
  • Rampart Escarpment
  • Ramscrag
  • Rapids Overlook
  • Rattlesnake Bluffs
  • Raven Crag
  • Ravenscar
  • Ravenscliff
  • Razorbill Cliff
  • Red Clay Bluff
  • Red Rim
  • Red Scar
  • Redbed Escarpment
  • Redcliff
  • Rift Wall
  • Rim of the World
  • Ring Ouzel Crag
  • Riverbend Bluff
  • Roc's Perch
  • Rowan Crag

S: 67 names

  • Sagebrush Bluff
  • Saint's Step
  • Salisbury Crags
  • Salmon Leap Cliff
  • Salt Cliffs
  • Salter's Heugh
  • Saltwind Cliffs
  • Samphire Cliff
  • Sandstone Bluffs
  • Scarhaven
  • Scarth Nab
  • Scotts Bluff
  • Sea Fret Ness
  • Seacliff
  • Seal Cove Cliffs
  • Sealhead
  • Selkie Cliffs
  • Sentinel's Watch
  • Seven Sisters
  • Shadowfall Heights
  • Shale Scarp
  • Sheerwall
  • Sheerwater
  • Shelf of the Winds
  • Shepherd's Crag
  • Shingle Ness
  • Signal Fire Bluff
  • Signal Head
  • Silver Sheer
  • Singing Sands Cliff
  • Siren's Ledge
  • Skerryhead
  • Skua Ness

S, continued

  • Skybreak Wall
  • Skyfall Drop
  • Skyline Precipice
  • Slieve League
  • Smith's Anvil Crag
  • Smuggler's Cliff
  • Snow Leopard Ledges
  • Snowfold Crags
  • Sou'wester Cliffs
  • Spindrift Head
  • Spray Point Cliffs
  • St Abb's Head
  • St Bees Head
  • St Cuthwin's Cliff
  • St Enoder's Ness
  • St Morwen's Head
  • Stag's Leap
  • Staircase Cliffs
  • Stanage Edge
  • Steamboat Bluff
  • Steepside
  • Stevns Klint
  • Stonehead
  • Storm Petrel Head
  • Stormbreak Precipice
  • Stormcrow Heights
  • Stormhead
  • Stormscar
  • Summit Precipice
  • Sunderwall
  • Sundown Rim
  • Surveyor's Bluff
  • Sweetheart Seat
  • Sycamore Bluffs

T: 111 names

  • Tableland Scarp
  • Tallgrass Bluffs
  • Tanner's Nab
  • The Amphitheater Wall
  • The Answering Cliff
  • The Battlement Scarp
  • The Bill of Storms
  • The Bishop's Mitre
  • The Black Face
  • The Bonewhite Cliffs
  • The Bride's Veil Cliff
  • The Brink of the World
  • The Broken Scarp
  • The Caprock Breaks
  • The Cathedral Face
  • The Central Buttress
  • The Cliffs of Ashen Sorrow
  • The Cliffs of Dun Sarroch
  • The Cliffs of Gold and Ash
  • The Cliffs of Ishamar
  • The Cliffs of Ten Thousand Wings
  • The Cliffs of Vael Tor
  • The Curtain Wall
  • The Dreaming Edge
  • The Drop of Ages
  • The Eagle's Throne
  • The Endless Wall
  • The Falcon Throne
  • The Gates of the Gorge
  • The Gray Palisade
  • The Gray Precipice
  • The Great Roof
  • The Great Scarp
  • The Great Shelf
  • The Great Slab
  • The Great Step
  • The Green Verge
  • The Hag's Head
  • The Headwall
  • The Heights of Morrowgar
  • The High Banks
  • The Howling Precipice
  • The Knife Edge
  • The Last Precipice
  • The Lonely Heights
  • The Long Escarpment
  • The Mirror Face
  • The Mistveil Drop
  • The Monk's Cowl
  • The Moonpale Cliffs
  • The North Wall
  • The Nun's Veil
  • The Oathbreaker's Precipice
  • The Obsidian Precipice
  • The Organ Pipes Wall

T, continued

  • The Overhang
  • The Pale Precipice
  • The Palisades
  • The Parapet
  • The Queen's Leap
  • The Ramparts
  • The Razor's Edge
  • The Rift Escarpment
  • The Roaring Cliffs
  • The Roof of the Sea
  • The Serpent's Wall
  • The Shattered Cliffs
  • The Sheer
  • The Silent Face
  • The Sky Door
  • The Sleeping Giant's Brow
  • The Stair of the Gods
  • The Starfall Cliffs
  • The Steeps
  • The Step
  • The Stone Curtain
  • The Sundered Edge
  • The Sundering Escarpment
  • The Sunless Face
  • The Sunrise Escarpment
  • The Tabletop Rim
  • The Thousand Foot Wall
  • The Three Judges
  • The Thunder Drop
  • The Tilted Scarp
  • The Timberline Wall
  • The Titan's Brink
  • The Undercliff Walk
  • The Verge of Night
  • The Vertical Mile
  • The Wall at World's End
  • The Wall of Storms
  • The Weeping Wall
  • The Witch's Nose
  • Thieves' Edge
  • Thornscar
  • Thornveld Scarp
  • Thousand Step Face
  • Thrift Cliffs
  • Thunder Wall
  • Thunderbird Ledge
  • Thundercrag
  • Thunderhole Cliffs
  • Tidefall Cliffs
  • Topsail Head
  • Trader's Bluff
  • Troll's Leap
  • Trysting Crag
  • Tumblecliff
  • Twin Palisades
  • Two Rivers Bluff

U: 2 names

  • Undercliff
  • Upland Rim

V: 1 name

  • Vermilion Cliffs

W: 28 names

  • Wall of a Thousand Nests
  • Wall of the First Kings
  • Watchman's Ledge
  • Wavehead
  • Wenlock Edge
  • Westering Head
  • Western Escarpment
  • Wether Crag
  • Whalewatch Head
  • Whisper Ledge
  • White Cliffs of Dover
  • White Scar
  • Whitecliff
  • Whitesheet Cliffs
  • Whitestone Scar
  • Windbrink
  • Windcrag
  • Windgap Escarpment
  • Windlord's Seat
  • Windscour Cliffs
  • Windy Brow
  • Wolf Creek Breaks
  • Wolf's Leap
  • Wolfscar
  • Worldsend Precipice
  • Wrecker's Head
  • Wyrm's Back Cliffs
  • Wyvern Heights

Z: 2 names

  • Zawn Head
  • Zuytdorp Cliffs