King Name Generator

A king's name has three moving parts. The given name comes from a short pool a dynasty reuses for generations, so real history is full of Edwards, Louis and Haralds. The second part is either a regnal numeral or an epithet; numerals suggest a settled, long-running line, while epithets tell you what the realm thought of the man. The optional third part is a territory or house: King Theodric of Harrowmere, or Ewart Greyhelm, King of the Marches. Most fantasy settings borrow this structure from medieval Europe, so a king who follows it reads as legitimate without explanation.

Epithets are where the character lives, and the best ones are not flattering. Aethelred the Unready, Louis the Spider, Ivar the Boneless and Charles the Mad sound like real people because chroniclers, not the kings, chose them. The list mixes invented fantasy kings, regnal-numeral styles, high kings and overkings, real and legendary rulers from Arthurian Britain, Scandinavia, Byzantium, Persia, India, West Africa, China, Korea, Polynesia and the Aztec and Inca worlds, plus plain epithet-only names for the king players only hear about in taverns.

Match the title to the culture of your realm: a Shah, Negus, Khan or Tlatoani each implies a whole court and language, and a desert empire ruled by a King Godwin will feel wrong.