Graveyard Name Generator

A graveyard, strictly speaking, is the burial ground around a church, and the oldest ones are named with that in mind: the saint of the parish (St. Kenelm's Churchyard), the building itself (Old Meeting House Burying Ground) or a blunt local landmark (Gallows Hill, Boot Hill, Potter's Acre). The vocabulary changes with geography. England and Wales say churchyard, Scotland says kirkyard, colonial New England said burying ground or burying point, the frontier West said boot hill, and Ireland keeps the Gaelic cill (church) in names like Cill Mhuire.

The most evocative graveyards are named for the dead they hold or the reason they exist. Paupers' Acre, Strangers' Plot, Cholera Field, Suicides' Corner and Seamen's Graveyard each carry a social history in two words, and for horror writing that built-in backstory is exactly what you want: a Plague Acre or Witchfinder's Field does not need explaining. Fantasy settings go bigger with barrows, cairns, necropolises and ossuaries tied to a dynasty or order, such as Tombs of the Drowned Kings or Ossuary of the Pale Monks.

The list mixes all of these: parish churchyards and kirkyards, occupational and paupers' grounds, American boot hills and bayou yards, Celtic and Welsh saints, atmospheric horror names, and fantasy barrow-fields for tabletop maps.