Dwarven Name Generator

'Dwarven' names, as opposed to plain dwarf names, tend to carry the weight of the clan hall: titles, lineages, ancestor-gods and grudges. The raw material is still Old Norse (Alvíss, Andvari, Regin, Sindri and Eitri are all dwarves of the Eddas), but the fantasy tradition has layered on Khuzdul roots from Tolkien (baruk for axe, zirak for spike, uzbad for lord), Warhammer's rank-and-clan style (Runelord Thorek Ironbrow, Thorgrim Grudgebearer), and the great houses of Warcraft and Dragon Age (Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, Aeducan, Harrowmont).

Structurally, a full dwarven name has up to three parts: an optional title or rank (Thane, Runesmith, Longbeard, Slayer), a short given name with hard consonants, and either a patronymic (Gurnisson, Ranulfsson) or a clan name. Clan names are compounds of stone, metal, fire and body parts, and the very oldest are epithets earned by an ancestor and inherited by the line: Grudgebearer, Doomseeker, Trollbane. Female dwarven names follow the same rules, usually with -a, -is, -run or -hild endings.

When naming an important dwarf, lead with the rank, keep the given name to two syllables, and let the surname tell a story you can explain in one sentence. Kings and ancestor-gods can carry a longer honorific (Grungni Craftfather, Durin the Deathless); everyone else should sound like they could be shouted down a mine.