Japanese Dragon Name Generator

Japanese dragons are water spirits first. Ryujin rules the sea from his coral palace Ryugu-jo, Kuraokami and Takaokami are the rain kami born when Izanagi slew the fire god, and the mizuchi of rivers and mountain pools had to be placated before a bridge could be built. Even the monsters fit: Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed serpent Susanoo killed, was the flooding Hii River in snake form, and the nine-headed Kuzuryu of Hakone and Togakushi was tamed into a lake guardian. So these names lean on sea, rain, cloud, thunder and lake vocabulary rather than fire and gold.

There are two native words for dragon. Ryu is the Sino-Japanese reading used in compounds like Seiryu (azure dragon), Hakuryu (white dragon), Kinryu (golden dragon) and Tenryu (heaven dragon); tatsu is the older Japanese word found in tatsumaki (tornado, literally dragon-roll) and in given names such as Tatsuya and Tatsumi. Ryu is also a normal element in personal names, which is why Ryunosuke, Ryusei and Ryuko sound both human and draconic.

The list mixes three registers: canonical beings from myth and shrine tradition (Ryujin, Zennyo Ryuo, Kuzuryu Daigongen), descriptive titles in the X no Ryu pattern (Arashi no Tatsu, Fuchi no Nushi), and modern two-element names like Kagero, Shiranui and Raiden that suit dragon characters in anime, games and fiction.