Dwarf Name Generator

Fantasy dwarf names have a recognizable sound because almost all of them descend from one source: the Old Norse dwarf-list in the Völuspá that Tolkien raided for Thorin, Balin, Dwalin and company. That gives the archetype its shape. Given names are short, one or two syllables, front-loaded with hard consonants (Th-, D-, B-, G-, K-) and finished with -in, -ik, -ar, -ur or -grim. Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer, Warcraft and Dragon Age all riff on the same template, which is why Bruenor, Gotrek and Muradin feel like cousins.

Surnames are where settings diverge. Norse-flavored dwarves use patronymics (Gurnisson, Ranulfsson). Most tabletop settings use clan names built from two blunt nouns: a material or landform (Iron, Stone, Ash, Crag, Deep) plus a body part, tool or place (beard, helm, hammer, hold, delve). Female dwarves share the same clan names and use given names such as Helga, Vistra, Torbera or Eldeth, often with the same hard consonants and a slightly softer ending.

A good dwarf name is one you can bark across a mine shaft. Pick a first name that stops fast, add a clan name that says something about the family trade or their home, and resist the urge to pile on a third element. Thorin Ironbrand does the job; Thorin Ironbrand Stonehammer of the Deep does not.