Gladiator Name Generator
Roman arena names for fighters and gladiatrices
Generate Roman gladiator names the way the ludus did: one-word Latin stage names like Flamma, Spiculus and Ferox, Greek hero names, animal and origin names, full arena titles such as Verus of Pompeii, and gladiatrix names like Achillia and Amazonia. Built for novels, tabletop arenas, game characters and costume nights.
About gladiator names
Real gladiators almost never fought under their birth names. When a slave or prisoner entered a ludus, the lanista gave him a single stage name, and the surviving graffiti and tombstones from Pompeii and Rome show the patterns clearly. Some names were weapons or fire (Spiculus means 'little spear,' Flamma means 'flame'), some were qualities (Ferox, Celer, Audax, Pugnax), some were animals (Leo, Ursus, Tigris, Aquila), and a great many were borrowed from Greek myth because the crowd liked seeing Hercules, Ajax or Achilles walk out of the gate. Origin names like Thrax, Gallus, Syrus and Dacus marked where a man came from, and free volunteers who signed on (auctorati) kept their Roman names, like the famous Marcus Attilius of Pompeii.
A name was rarely spoken alone. Posters and fan scratchings added the fighter's school, armor class or record, so you get Celadus the Thracian, Verus of Pompeii or Tetraites the Unbeaten, and a champion earned the title primus palus, first pole of his ludus. Women fought too, usually under heroic Greek names; a relief from Halicarnassus records Achillia and Amazon.
This list mixes attested names with originals built on the same rules. For a retiarius pick something quick and sharp, for a murmillo something heavy and blunt, and give the crowd favorite an epithet they can chant.
How to choose gladiator names
- Match the name to the fighting style: short, sharp names (Celer, Sagitta, Spiculus) suit a retiarius or thraex, while heavy names (Ursus, Taurus, Saxum) fit a murmillo or secutor carrying a big shield.
- Add an origin or armor epithet for a poster-ready title: 'Ferox of Nuceria' or 'Draco the Hoplomachus' sounds like it came off a Pompeii wall.
- Use Greek hero names for your crowd favorites and prodigies; the Romans did exactly that, and Hercules or Achilles in the lineup told the audience who to cheer for.
- For a gladiatrix, go heroic rather than cute: Achillia, Amazonia, Penthesilea and Leaena were the kind of names actually used, and they read as fighters, not mascots.
- Signal rank with a second word: a raw recruit is a tiro, a veteran who won his wooden sword is a rudiarius, and the school's best fighter is the primus palus.
Frequently asked questions
What names did real Roman gladiators use?
Most fought under a single Latin or Greek stage name given by their school. Attested examples include Spiculus, Flamma, Priscus, Verus, Tetraites, Crescens, Celadus, Hilarus and Carpophorus, plus famous rebels like Spartacus, Crixus and Oenomaus. Free citizens who volunteered kept their full names, such as Marcus Attilius.
Were there female gladiators, and what were they called?
Yes. Women fought in the arena until Septimius Severus banned it around AD 200. A marble relief from Halicarnassus names two as Achillia and Amazon, and Juvenal mocks a noblewoman called Mevia who hunted boars in the arena. Heroic Greek names were the norm.
What do names like Spiculus and Flamma mean?
They are Latin words chosen for arena effect. Spiculus is 'little spear,' Flamma is 'flame,' Ferox is 'fierce,' Celer is 'swift,' Pugnax is 'combative' and Tigris is 'tiger.' A good invented gladiator name follows the same trick: one vivid Latin noun or adjective.
What are murmillo, retiarius and thraex in the epithets?
They are armor classes. A murmillo fought with a large shield and short sword, a retiarius used a net and trident, a thraex carried a small shield and curved sica, a secutor chased the retiarius, and a hoplomachus fought with a spear. Romans often tacked the class onto a name, as in 'Columbus the Secutor.'
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All 500 gladiator names
A: 68 names
- Acer
- Achilles
- Achilles the Andabata
- Achillia
- Achillia of Halicarnassus
- Acutus
- Adamas
- Aegyptus
- Aella
- Aemilia Saeva
- Aemilius Thrax
- Aeneas
- Afer
- Agathon
- Agrestis
- Ajax
- Ajax the Scissor
- Akontios
- Albanus
- Albanus the Left-Hander
- Albius Ursio
- Albus
- Alcippe
- Alkides
- Alkimos
- Amandus
- Amazonia
- Ambiorix
- Ampliatus
- Andromache
- Anicetus
- Antiope
- Antiope of Pontus
- Aper
A, continued
- Apollo
- Apollo of Alexandria
- Appius Claudius Audax
- Aprinus
- Aquila
- Aquila the Provocator
- Aquilina
- Aquilina the Netwoman
- Aquillius Bato
- Aquilo
- Aquilonius
- Ardens
- Ares
- Aries
- Artemidorus
- Asper
- Astacius
- Asteropaeus the Thracian
- Astyanax
- Astyanax the Secutor
- Atalanta
- Atalanta the Sagittaria
- Ater
- Atlas
- Atlas the Bestiarius
- Atrox
- Atticus of Ravenna
- Audacia
- Audacia of Tarentum
- Audax
- Audax the Thraex
- Aulus Plautius Fortis
- Aurelia
- Auster
B: 19 names
- Ballista
- Barbatus
- Batavus
- Bato
- Bato the Illyrian
- Bellator
- Bellatrix
- Bellona
- Bellona the Provocatrix
- Bestia
- Bestius
- Boiorix
- Boreas
- Brennus
- Briareus
- Britannicus
- Brixus the Gaul
- Bruttius Praesens Ignis
- Brutus
C: 43 names
- Caeso Fabius Rapax
- Calamus
- Calvus
- Camilla
- Camilla of the Volsci
- Camillus
- Candidus
- Cappadox
- Carnifex
- Carpophorus
- Cassius Severus Aquila
- Castor
- Castor the Veles
- Castus
- Celadus
- Celadus the Thracian
- Celer
- Celer the Retiarius
- Celeris
- Celeris the Swift
- Celtus
- Cethegus of Tarraco
- Cilix
- Cinis
- Clades
- Claudia Amazonica
- Colossus
- Columbus
- Columbus the Secutor
- Cornelia Ferox
- Corvinus
- Corvus
- Crescens the Netman
- Crescentius the Thraex
- Cresces
- Crispina
- Crispinus
- Crispus
- Crixus
- Curtius
- Cuspis
- Cyclops
- Cyrenius
D: 17 names
- Dacus
- Daedalus
- Decimus
- Decimus Valerius Ursus
- Deianira
- Dentatus
- Diodorus
- Diomedes
- Dirus
- Domitia
- Draco
- Draco of Antioch
- Draconia
- Draconius
- Dromeus
- Dromon
- Durus
E: 11 names
- Enceladus
- Eros
- Eumolpus
- Eunus
- Eurus
- Euryale the Provocatrix
- Euryalus
- Eurybia
- Eutychos
- Evander
- Exitium
F: 31 names
- Fabius Batavus
- Falx
- Faustus
- Felix
- Felix the Twice-Freed
- Ferinus
- Ferocia
- Ferocia the Thraex
- Ferox
- Ferox of Nuceria
- Ferreus
- Ferrum
- Ferus
- Fidelis
- Firmus
- Flamma
- Flamma the Syrian
- Flammifer
- Flammula
- Flavus
- Fluvius
- Fortis
- Fortis the Hoplomachus
- Fortuna
- Fortunatus
- Fulgur
- Fulgur the Equites
- Fulmen
- Fulvia
- Furor
- Fuscus
G: 11 names
- Gaius Lucilius Aper
- Gaius Sempronius Ferox
- Gallus
- Gannicus
- Germanus
- Gigas
- Gladius
- Glaucinus
- Glaucus
- Gnaeus Domitius Fulgur
- Gratus the Unbroken
H: 21 names
- Harmothoe
- Hasta
- Hector
- Hector of Sarmatia
- Helios
- Hercules
- Hermeros
- Hermes
- Hermes the Samnite
- Hilarus
- Hilarus of the Neronian School
- Hippodamia
- Hippolyta
- Hippolyta the Dimachaera
- Hippolytus
- Hispanus
- Horatius
- Hostilia
- Hyacinthus
- Hyperion
- Hyperion of Thrace
I: 13 names
- Iber
- Icarus
- Ictus
- Ignea
- Ignea of Syracuse
- Ignifer
- Ignis
- Illyricus
- Impetus
- Incus
- Invicta
- Invictus
- Invictus of the Ludus Magnus
J: 3 names
- Jovinus
- Julius Germanus
- Junia Thressa
K: 6 names
- Kalendio
- Kalendio the Netman
- Kallinikos
- Kopis
- Kratinos
- Kratos
L: 29 names
- Labeo
- Lampedo
- Lanius
- Leaena
- Leaena the Lioness of Ravenna
- Lentulus the Secutor
- Leo
- Leo of Carthage
- Leonidas
- Leonius
- Leontios
- Leopardus
- Libycus
- Livilla
- Lucanus the Provocator
- Lucifuga
- Lucius Antonius Spiculus
- Lucius Raecius Felix
- Luctator
- Lupa
- Lupercus
- Lupina the Retiaria
- Lupus
- Lupus the Dimachaerus
- Lydus
- Lykos
- Lynceus
- Lynx
- Lysandros
M: 34 names
- Macer the Hoplomachus
- Machaon
- Machates
- Magnus
- Magnus the Secutor
- Malleus
- Marcia Invicta
- Marcus Aemilius Pugnax
- Marcus Attilius of Pompeii
- Marinus
- Marpesia
- Mars
- Mars the Unconquered
- Martia of Ravenna
- Martialis
- Maurus
- Maximianus
- Maximus
- Melanippe
- Meleager
- Memnon
- Mercurius
- Meridius
- Mevia
- Mevia the Huntress
- Mezentius
- Minax
- Moesus
- Molpadia
- Montanus
- Mucro
- Murranus
- Murranus the Veles
- Myrine
N: 20 names
- Narcissus
- Narcissus the Strangler
- Naso
- Neoptolemus
- Nepos of Beneventum
- Neptunalis
- Nereus
- Niger
- Nikandros
- Nikephoros
- Nikias
- Nikon
- Nisus
- Nobilior the Hoplomachus
- Noctifer
- Noricus
- Nox
- Nubius
- Numerius Naevius Draco
- Numida
O: 10 names
- Oceanus
- Oceanus the Murmillo
- Octavia Leaena
- Oenomaus
- Omphale
- Orestes
- Oriens
- Orithyia
- Orpheus
- Orpheus the Sagittarius
P: 38 names
- Paetus
- Pallas
- Pannonius
- Pantariste
- Pantera
- Panthera
- Pardus
- Parthus
- Patroclus
- Paulinus of Aquileia
- Pelagius
- Peleus
- Penthesilea
- Percussor
- Perseus
- Perseus of Thessaly
- Pertinax
- Phoebus
- Phryx
- Plutonius
- Pollux
- Pollux the Laquearius
- Polyphemus
- Poppaea Velox
- Primus
- Priscus
- Priscus the Celt
- Procella
- Prothoe
- Proximo
- Prudes
- Publius Cornelius Leo
- Pugil
- Pugnator
- Pugnax
- Pugnax the Retiarius
- Pylades
- Pyrrhus
Q: 2 names
- Quintus
- Quintus Vettius Gracilis
R: 10 names
- Rapax
- Rapidus
- Ravus
- Rhaetus
- Robustus
- Rufinus
- Rufus
- Rufus of Capua
- Rusticus
- Rutilus the Murmillo
S: 36 names
- Sabina Pugnax
- Sabinus of Tibur
- Saevus
- Sagitta
- Sagitta of Ostia
- Sagittifer
- Sarissa
- Sarmaticus
- Sarpedon
- Saturninus
- Saxum
- Scaeva
- Scaevola
- Scorpio
- Scyleia
- Scytha
- Secundus
- Sempronius Scytha
- Septentrio
- Serenus the Laquearius
- Servilia
- Servius Sulpicius Invictus
- Severina
- Severus the Dacian
- Sextus Pompeius Taurus
- Sica
- Silex
- Silvanus
- Sol
- Spartacus
- Spiculus
- Spiculus of Capua
- Spurius Larcius Niger
- Stephanus
- Strabo
- Syrus
T: 36 names
- Tanaquil
- Taurinus
- Taurus
- Telamon
- Tempestas
- Tempestas the Essedarius
- Tenax
- Tenebrio
- Tetraites
- Tetraites the Unbeaten
- Teutobod
- Thalestris
- Thallus
- Thelyphus
- Theseus
- Theseus the Crupellarius
- Thrax
- Tiberius Claudius Tigris
- Tigrina
- Tigrina of Cappadocia
- Tigris
- Tigris of Hyrcania
- Titanus
- Titus Flavius Celer
- Tonitrus
- Torquatus
- Torvus
- Toxaris
- Triarius
- Triton
- Triton the Retiarius
- Triumphus
- Tryphon
- Turbo
- Turnus
- Typhon
U: 10 names
- Ultimus
- Ultor
- Umbra
- Urbicus
- Ursa
- Ursa the Bestiaria
- Ursina
- Ursio
- Ursus
- Ursus of Germania
V: 27 names
- Valens
- Valentinus
- Valeria
- Valeria the Essedaria
- Valerius
- Validus
- Varro of Misenum
- Varus
- Velius Marcianus Corvus
- Velox
- Verus
- Verus of Pompeii
- Vesper
- Vibia Victrix
- Vibius Marius Torquatus
- Victor
- Victor of Puteoli
- Victoria
- Victorianus
- Victorinus
- Victrix
- Vincentius
- Vindex
- Vipera
- Vorax
- Vulcan of Cumae
- Vulcanus
X: 3 names
- Xanthe
- Xanthos
- Xiphos