Island Name Generator

Real islands are named by the people who first sailed past them, and the names reflect that: a bird seen on the cliffs (Gannet Rock, Puffin Island), the danger it posed (Wreckers' Island, Broken Tooth), the saint of the day it was sighted (Île Sainte-Claire, Isla San Cristóbal), or a settler's family name (Isle of Havelock). Norse sailors left -holm and -ey (Grimsholm, Fenholm), Gaelic ones left Skellig and Skerry for sea rocks, and Spanish and Portuguese charts gave the tropics Isla and Ilha. The word for the island itself changes the mood: Isle sounds old and Atlantic, Cay and Key sound low and Caribbean, Rock and Skerry mean something barren, and Atoll means a ring of coral around a lagoon.

A good island name works at two scales. On a map it needs to be short and readable, so 'Kestrel Cay' beats 'The Sun-Kissed Island of Golden Dreams'. In a story it needs to hint at what the island is like: Coldharbour Island promises shelter, Sorrow Rock promises a shipwreck, and Isle of Ember promises a volcano.

This list mixes English Isle of- names, Norse holms, Spanish and Portuguese islas and ilhas, French îles, and pirate-chart names for rocks and cays. Use them for a fantasy archipelago, a survival or sailing game, a pirate campaign, or a mystery set where the ferry runs twice a week.