Guard Name Generator

Guards are the most common NPCs in any fantasy game, and the best guard names sound like ordinary people rather than heroes. A gate sentry in a medieval-style city should have a plain, working-class name, the kind English records are full of: Wat Tanner, Hob Miller, Dickon Fletcher, Maud Fairley. Names like these signal that the character is a townsman on a shift, not a chosen one, and they make the occasional Ironshield or Blackstone stand out as a captain or a noble-born officer.

Rank and post do a lot of the work. Historical city watches used ranks such as Watchman, Constable, Sergeant, and Captain of the Watch; castles had Gatekeepers, Wall Captains, and Tower Wardens; prisons had Gaolers and Turnkeys. Royal households named their elite units, from the Praetorian Guard and Varangian Guard to Housecarls, Janissaries, and Yeoman Warders, and those names carry instant prestige when attached to a character. Off duty, guards get the same nicknames as anyone else: Old Piers of the East Gate, One-Eyed Fenwick, Fat Wilfred.

The list also includes modern security names, from night guards and corrections officers to bodyguards and bouncers, for contemporary fiction and games.