Historical Name Generator
Period-accurate names from Rome to the Roaring Twenties
Generate historical names that fit their era: Roman tria nomina, Anglo-Saxon and Viking patronymics, Norman and Tudor gentry, Puritan virtue names, Regency and Victorian families, plus Byzantine, Andalusian, Heian, Ottoman and Mughal names for fiction, games and reenactment.
About historical names
A historical name only works if its parts come from the same time and place. A Roman citizen carried a praenomen, nomen and cognomen (Gaius Aurelius Varro), while his sister was known by the feminine form of the family name. Anglo-Saxon and Norse names were built from meaningful elements and patronymics; Normans were known by their estates (Geoffroi de Mandeville); Tudor gentry used a small pool of saints' names with surnames from trades and places. Puritan colonists turned virtues into given names like Thankful and Deliverance, and Regency and Victorian parents favoured Latinate choices such as Augustus, Horatio and Lavinia.
This generator follows those conventions era by era, mixing documented figures with names assembled from period-correct given names and surnames so a Byzantine official, Heian court lady or Gilded Age industrialist each sound like they belong. If you need a different first name, swap in one from the same century and region rather than a modern favourite.
The biggest anachronism to avoid is spelling. Medieval English had no standardised spellings, Viking names lose their flavour without the -son and -dottir endings, and a Victorian 'Percival' would have been odd in 1700. When in doubt, check a parish register, census or saga from your chosen decade and copy the shape of the names you find there.
How to choose historical names
- Pick the decade first, then the region. An English name from 1590 (Thomasine, Everard) sounds very different from one in 1890 (Florence, Archibald), and both differ from their French or German contemporaries.
- Keep the naming structure consistent within one story or campaign: Roman three-part names, Norse patronymics, Norman 'de' place-names, or Puritan virtue names, but do not mix them on one family tree.
- Match social class. Rulers and gentry used Latinate or dynastic names, while farmers and servants in the same parish used a short list of saints' names like John, Margaret, Thomas and Agnes.
- For reenactment or genealogy-style realism, use surnames drawn from trades, places and fathers' names (Fletcher, Ashby, Dawson) rather than invented ones.
- Verify dates before using a documented figure: a real name can be perfect for flavour, but double-check that the person's lifetime overlaps the year your scene is set.
Frequently asked questions
Which historical eras does this generator cover?
Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt; Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman Britain; medieval France and Germany; Renaissance Italy and Spain; Tudor and Stuart England; Puritan and colonial America; Georgian, Regency and Victorian Britain; the Gilded Age and the 1920s; plus Byzantine, Andalusian, Heian Japanese, Tang-era Chinese, Ottoman, Mughal, Aztec, Inca and West African names.
Are these real people from history?
Some are documented figures included for authentic flavour, such as Anglo-Saxon ealdormen, Icelandic saga characters and Renaissance patrons. Many others are period-correct combinations of recorded given names and surnames, so you can use them freely for original characters.
How do I make a historical name sound right for my story?
Copy the structure of the era: Roman names need three parts, Norse names need a patronymic, Norman names use 'de' plus a place, and Puritan names often use a virtue word. Then check that both the given name and the surname were actually in use in that century and region.
Can I use these names for a novel, game or reenactment persona?
Yes. The names are free to use. For living-history personas, pair the name with a trade or rank appropriate to the period, and avoid claiming the identity of a specific documented figure unless that is the point of the portrayal.
Related generators
Ancient Name Generator
Names from the ancient world's great civilizations
Medieval Name Generator
Period-accurate names for knights, peasants and nobles
1800s Name Generator
Authentic full names from the 19th century
1700s Name Generator
Authentic full names from the 18th century
Ancient Roman Name Generator
Authentic Roman names from Republic to Empire
Old English Name Generator
Names from Anglo-Saxon England to the Victorian parish register
Regency Name Generator
Authentic names for the ballrooms of 1811 to 1820
Renaissance Name Generator
Period-correct names from Florence to Elizabethan London
More like this
Historical Event Name Generator
Riots, coups, councils and omens for your timeline
Historical Fiction Book Name Generator
Novel titles from ancient Rome to the home front
Old Fashioned Name Generator
Vintage, old-timey names from the 1850s to 1940s
Old Person Name Generator
Believable names for elderly characters, grandparents and retirees
Ming Dynasty Name Generator
Chinese names from the Ming era, 1368 to 1644
Ancient Chinese Name Generator
Historical names from the Zhou to the Song dynasty
All 500 historical names
A: 55 names
- Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan
- Absalom Fairbanks
- Abul Fazl ibn Mubarak
- Adelaide Winterbourne
- Adelheid von Vohburg
- Adriaen Brouwer
- Aelfric of Eynsham
- Aelfthryth Ordgarsdohtor
- Aethelwold Cynesige
- Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin
- Agesilaos Archidamou
- Agnes Block
- Agnes Paston
- Agnes von Staufen
- Agnolo Pandolfini
- Ahhotep Tjuyu
- Aisha bint Ahmad al-Qurtubiyya
- Al-Hakam ibn Abd al-Rahman
- Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad
- Alessandra Strozzi
- Alfred Dunstable
- Algernon Bluett
- Alice Spencer
- Alkibiades Kleiniou
- Ambrose Tuttle
- Ambrose Whitcombe
- Amenemhat Sa-Ptah
A, continued
- Amina of Zazzau
- Amos Bramble
- Andronikos Palaiologos
- Anna Dalassene
- Anna Maria van Schurman
- Anna Mons
- Anne Mortimer
- Anne Stanhope
- Anthony Denny
- Antigonos Monophthalmos
- Antonia Minor
- Appius Claudius Caecus
- Arabella Fermor
- Archibald Pemberton
- Arete of Cyrene
- Ariwara no Narihira
- Arnkel Godi
- Artamon Matveyev
- Asdis Bardardottir
- Askia Muhammad Toure
- Astrid Olafsdottir
- Aubrey de Vere
- Aud Ketilsdottir
- Augustus Egerton
- Augustus Pelham
- Avdotya Istomina
- Avice de Clare
- Axiothea of Phlius
B: 26 names
- Bairam Khan
- Ban Chao
- Ban Zhao
- Barbaros Hayreddin
- Barnabas Coffin
- Barnabas Oglethorpe
- Bartholomeus van der Helst
- Bartholomew Burghersh
- Bartolomeo Colleoni
- Basileios Lekapenos
- Bathsheba Bowers
- Baudouin de Boulogne
- Be Binn inion Urchadh
- Beatrice Faraday
- Beatriz de Bobadilla
- Bentreshyt
- Beorhtric Cynewulfson
- Berenike Magas
- Bernardo Rucellai
- Bersi Skald-Torfuson
- Berthold von Regensburg
- Bess Throckmorton
- Bianca Maria Visconti
- Bjorn Breidvikingakappi
- Blanche Parry
- Boris Sheremetev
C: 26 names
- Caecilia Attica
- Cai Wenji
- Caleb Hartwell
- Calpurnia Pisonis
- Catalina de Erauso
- Chabrias of Aixone
- Charity Warren
- Clarice Orsini
- Claudia Pulchra
- Clementine Ashworth
- Constance Frobisher
- Constance Fuller
- Cormac mac Cuilennain
- Cornelia Metella
- Cornelis de Witt
- Cornelius Brannigan
- Cornelius Hobday
- Cornelius Lowndes
- Cornelius Vanderholt
- Cotton Stoughton
- Cuauhtemoc Tlatoani
- Cuthbert Larkin
- Cuthred Ealdorman
- Cynethryth Offawif
- Cyril Montgomery
- Cyrus Beauchamp
D: 14 names
- Decimus Junius Silanus
- Deliverance Howland
- Demetrios of Phaleron
- Derbforgaill ingen Murchada
- Desire Minter
- Diarmait Mac Murchada
- Diego de Almagro
- Dietrich von Bern
- Domitia Longina
- Donnchad mac Crinain
- Dorcas Hallowell
- Dorcas Lane
- Dorothy Devereux
- Drusilla Fairbanks
E: 33 names
- Eadgyth Aelfgarsdohtor
- Eadric Streona
- Ealdgyth Aelfhelmsdohtor
- Eanflaed Edwinsdohtor
- Ebenezer Mather
- Edgecumbe Pinckney
- Ela of Salisbury
- Eleanor Cruickshank
- Eliphalet Sewall
- Eliphalet Strong
- Elisabeth von Thuringen
- Elisabeth Wolff
- Elizabeth de Burgh
- Elizabeth Talbot
- Emma de Gael
- Enguerrand de Coucy
- Enoch Threlkeld
- Epaminondas of Thebes
- Ephraim Brevard
- Erasmus Wheelwright
- Erastus Fenwick
- Ermengarde de Beaumont
- Ethelbert Cadwallader
- Eudokia Makrembolitissa
- Eumenes of Kardia
- Eustache de Boulogne
- Everard Greville
- Experience Mitchell
- Eyjolf the Grey
- Eystein Glumra
- Ezekiel Bulstrode
- Ezekiel Hollister
- Ezra Blackwood
F: 17 names
- Feodosia Morozova
- Fergus of Galloway
- Filippo Strozzi
- Fitzgerald Ormsby
- Fitzwilliam Carrick
- Flann Sinna
- Flavia Domitilla
- Florence Pettigrew
- Flosi Thordarson
- Foulques d'Anjou
- Francis Bryan
- Freydis Eiriksdottir
- Friedrich von Hausen
- Fujiwara no Michinaga
- Fulke Greville
- Fulvia Flacca
- Fyodor Apraksin
G: 29 names
- Gaius Aurelius Varro
- Gaspara Stampa
- Geirmund Heljarskinn
- Geoffroi de Mandeville
- Georgiana Dawson
- Georgiana Lisle
- Georgios Maniakes
- Gertrud von Hackeborn
- Gervase Thornbury
- Gianfrancesco Gonzaga
- Gilbert de Clare
- Giles Swynford
- Ginevra de' Benci
- Gisli Sursson
- Giuliano Gondi
- Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus
- Godgifu Leofricwif
- Godwin Wulfnothing
- Gonzalo Pizarro
- Gormflaith ingen Murchada
- Grettir Asmundarson
- Gruoch ingen Boite
- Gudrun Osvifrsdottir
- Guillaume de Tancarville
- Gulbadan Begum
- Gundrada de Warenne
- Gunnar Hamundarson
- Guthrum of East Anglia
- Guy Ashburnham
H: 34 names
- Habakkuk Wiggin
- Hafsa bint al-Hajj
- Halfdan Bjornsson
- Hallgerd Hoskuldsdottir
- Hamelin de Warenne
- Hans Waldmann
- Hartmann von Aue
- Hawise of Gloucester
- Hector Pargeter
- Hedyle of Samos
- Heinrich von Plauen
- Helena Dragases
- Henry Percy
- Henuttawy Sitre
- Hercules Langrishe
- Hezekiah Haynes
- Hezekiah Tolliver
- Hipparchia of Maroneia
- Hojo Masako
- Honor Winthrop
- Honoria Waldegrave
- Hopestill Tilley
- Horace Sedley
- Horatio Gascoigne
- Hortensia Hortala
- Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson
- Hrafnkel Freysgodi
- Hrolf Ganger
- Huayna Capac
- Hugues de Lusignan
- Humility Cooper
- Humphrey de Bohun
- Huo Qubing
- Hurrem Haseki
I: 24 names
- Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi
- Ibn Tufayl al-Qaysi
- Ibn Zaydun al-Qurtubi
- Ichabod Wadsworth
- Idonea de Camville
- Idris Alooma
- Ignatius Trelawney
- Illugi Asmundarson
- Increase Hubbard
- Increase Lyman
- Ineni Hori
- Ines de Suarez
- Ingibjorg Haraldsdottir
- Ioannes Tzimiskes
- Iphikrates of Rhamnous
- Irene Doukaina
- Isabel de Vermandois
- Isabel Despenser
- Isambard Breck
- Iset Ta-Hemdjert
- Itimad al-Rumaykiyya
- Itzcoatl of Tenochtitlan
- Ivar Ketilsson
- Izumi Shikibu
J: 16 names
- Jabez Gorham
- Jabez Pickersgill
- Jacob van Campen
- Jahanara Begum
- Jasper Tuke
- Jedediah Crane
- Jedediah Strong
- Jeremiah Endecott
- Jerusha Whitney
- Jethro Boggs
- Joan Holland
- Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
- Jonas Pennyworth
- Josiah Coddington
- Juan de Grijalva
- Julius Fitzroy
K: 15 names
- Kallikrates of Samos
- Kamo no Chomei
- Kari Solmundarson
- Kassandros Antipatrou
- Katla of Holt
- Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer
- Keziah Boone
- Khaemweset
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Kjartan Olafsson
- Kleon of Halimous
- Konrad von Marburg
- Koprulu Fazil Ahmed
- Korinna of Tanagra
- Kosem Valide
L: 22 names
- Laura Battiferri
- Lavinia Crabtree
- Lavinia Whitlock
- Lemuel Fairfax
- Lemuel Pettibone
- Leofwaru of Bury
- Leon Sgouros
- Leonor de Guzman
- Leontion of Athens
- Letitia Landon
- Li Qingzhao
- Lionel Beaumaris
- Lubna of Cordoba
- Luca Pitti
- Lucius Cornelius Balbus
- Lucius Fortescue
- Lucius Pettengill
- Lucretia Tricipitina
- Lucrezia Tornabuoni
- Lulach mac Gille Comgain
- Lysandros of Sparta
- Lysimachos of Pella
M: 29 names
- Mael Sechnaill
- Magdalena Moons
- Maham Anga
- Mama Ocllo Coya
- Man Singh of Amber
- Manius Acilius Glabrio
- Mansa Musa Keita
- Manuel Kantakouzenos
- Marcus Tullius Priscus
- Maria de Toledo
- Maria Miloslavskaya
- Maria Tesselschade Visscher
- Marmaduke Wyvill
- Matilda de Senlis
- Matthias Quennell
- Maud de Braose
- Mechthild von Magdeburg
- Mehitable Winslow
- Mencia de Mendoza
- Meryre Djehutymose
- Merytre-Hatshepsut
- Mihrimah Hanim
- Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky
- Mildred Cooke
- Millicent Ashcombe
- Mimar Sinan
- Mor Muman
- Mutemwiya Nebetah
- Myrtis of Anthedon
N: 14 names
- Natalia Sheremeteva
- Nathaniel Saltonstall
- Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco
- Niall Glundub
- Niccolo Acciaiuoli
- Nicholas Carew
- Nicholas Dagworth
- Nikias Nikeratou
- Njall Thorgeirsson
- Numerius Fabius Pictor
- Nuno de Guzman
- Nur Jahan Begum
- Nurbanu Valide
- Nzinga Mbande
O: 6 names
- Oba Ewuare
- Obadiah Winthrop
- Octavia Fortescue
- Octavia Thurina
- Ono no Komachi
- Osric Eadbaldsson
P: 27 names
- Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
- Paheri of Nekheb
- Parthenia Crane
- Patience Hopkins
- Pedro de Valdivia
- Pelham Fairweather
- Pelopidas Hippoklou
- Percival Brocklehurst
- Peregrine Fitzwilliam
- Permelia Hatch
- Petronilla de Grandmesnil
- Philippa de Roet
- Philippa Ravenscroft
- Philomena Tolliver
- Philon of Larissa
- Phokion Phokou
- Phryne of Thespiae
- Piero Soderini
- Piri Reis
- Plautia Urgulanilla
- Pompeia Magna
- Priscilla Wakefield
- Prudence Ashburnham
- Prudence Marchbanks
- Ptolemaios Lagou
- Publius Valerius Laevinus
- Pyotr Tolstoy
Q: 1 name
- Quintus Fabius Rullus
R: 15 names
- Ragnhild Eiriksdottir
- Raja Todar Mal
- Ralph Basset
- Ralph Sadler
- Reginald Cobham
- Rekhmire Neferweben
- Renaud de Chatillon
- Reuben Crabtree
- Reuben Haworth
- Richard fitz Gilbert
- Richardis von Stade
- Robert Carey
- Robert de Beaumont
- Rodrigo de Bastidas
- Rohese Giffard
S: 30 names
- Sempronia Gracchia
- Senenmut of Armant
- Septimus Thorne
- Servilia Caepionis
- Servius Sulpicius Galba
- Sextus Pompeius Macer
- Shangguan Wan'er
- Sigismondo Malatesta
- Sigrid Storrada
- Sigtrygg Silkbeard
- Sigvat Thordarson
- Silas Cartwright
- Silas Marnock
- Silas Ruskin
- Silence Chilton
- Simonetta Vespucci
- Skarphedinn Njalsson
- Snorri Godi
- Snorri Thorgrimsson
- Sokollu Mehmed Pasha
- Somerled of Argyll
- Sophia Palaiologina
- Spurius Cassius Vecellinus
- Steinthor of Eyr
- Stratonike Demetriou
- Subh al-Bashkunsiyya
- Sugawara no Michizane
- Sundiata Keita
- Sunni Ali Ber
- Sweyn Haraldsson
T: 34 names
- Tabitha Billington
- Tabitha Larkin
- Taira no Tokuko
- Tecuichpoch Ixcaxochitzin
- Telesilla of Argos
- Temperance Brewster
- Terentia Varrona
- Teresa de Cartagena
- Thaddeus Fenwick
- Thankful Bradstreet
- Theano of Croton
- Theodora Porphyrogenita
- Theodoros Laskaris
- Theophano Martinakia
- Theophilus Ashby
- Theophrastos of Eresos
- Thibaut de Blois
- Thomas Audley
- Thomasine Bonaventure
- Thorfinn Karlsefni
- Thorgerd Egilsdottir
- Thorgunna of the Hebrides
- Thorolf Mostrarskegg
- Thorstein Kuggason
- Thyra Danebod
- Tiberius Sempronius Longus
- Timoleon of Corinth
- Titus Flavius Sabinus
- Tiye Yuya
- Tobias Crumpton
- Tobias Heathcote
- Tommaso Portinari
- Tullia d'Aragona
- Tupac Yupanqui
U: 4 names
- Ubba Ragnarsson
- Ulf Hreda
- Unn the Deep-Minded
- Userhat Pawah
V: 5 names
- Valentine Chilcott
- Vasily Golitsyn
- Vermund the Slender
- Veronica Gambara
- Vipsania Agrippina
W: 13 names
- Wallada bint al-Mustakfi
- Walter de Manny
- Walter Devereux
- Walter Giffard
- Wei Qing
- Wigmund Eorcenberht
- Wilberforce Hardcastle
- Willem Usselincx
- William Brereton
- William de Warenne
- William Paulet
- Wulfrun of Tamworth
- Wulfstan Aethelhelming
X: 2 names
- Xenokrates of Chalcedon
- Xue Tao
Y: 4 names
- Yaa Asantewaa
- Yevdokia Lopukhina
- Yngvild Fair-Cheek
- Yu Xuanji