Egyptian Name Generator

Ancient Egyptian names were sentences. Most are built from a god's name plus a short statement about that god or the child: Amenhotep means 'Amun is content', Thutmose 'born of Thoth', Ramesses 'Ra has fashioned him', Nefertari 'the most beautiful'. Learn a handful of building blocks and the whole list becomes readable: nefer (beautiful, good), hotep (at peace), mery (beloved of), ankh (life), nakht (strong), user (powerful), men (enduring), kha (appearing), sa and sat (son or daughter of), and the prefixes pa- and ta- ('the one of', common in later periods, as in Pashedu and Tamyt).

Egyptians had no surnames. A person was identified by their given name, their parent (Amenhotep son of Hapu) and their job (Sennedjem, Servant in the Place of Truth), which is why so many names here come with an office attached. Kings added a throne name at accession, a second sentence-name honouring Ra such as Nebmaatre or Menkheperre, which is what their subjects actually called them.

The names below are drawn from tomb inscriptions, papyri and king lists across three thousand years, from Old Kingdom viziers like Kagemni to the priestly families of the Late Period. A final set of original names is assembled from the same elements, so you can use them for fantasy characters without borrowing a real pharaoh.