DnD NPC Name Generator

The moment players ask the stable boy his name is the moment every Dungeon Master needs a list like this. Good NPC names do two jobs at once: they tell the table what kind of person is standing there, and they are easy enough to say that you will still remember them three sessions later. That is why the names here follow the conventions of published D&D settings rather than sounding like player characters. Human commoners get short, grounded names (Hob Tanner, Maddick Thorne), nobles get a little more length and polish (Lady Vivienne Moncrieff), and clergy, guards and tradesfolk often go by title plus name, which is how a village would actually refer to them.

Each ancestry keeps its own sound. Dwarves carry blunt clan names like Coalbeard and Deepwell, elves use flowing Elvish surnames, halflings lean cozy (Goodbarrel, Tealeaf), gnomes are chirpy, half-orcs are guttural, tieflings use infernal names or virtue names like Solace and Temperance, dragonborn put the clan first and long, and goliaths pair a short given name with a nature nickname.

Mix in a few epithet names (One-Eyed Garrow, Granny Thistle) for the characters players will meet once and talk about forever. Jot down who got which name, because someone will absolutely come back looking for Two-Coin Lottie.