Lich Name Generator

A lich is a wizard who traded death for eternity, hiding their soul in a phylactery and ruling from a tomb, tower, or forgotten library. Because a lich was once a scholar or king, the best lich names sound learned and ancient rather than merely monstrous. The genre's benchmarks are Vecna and Acererak (Dungeons & Dragons), Szass Tam and Larloch (Forgotten Realms), Azalin Rex (Ravenloft), Tar-Baphon the Whispering Tyrant (Pathfinder), Kel'Thuzad (Warcraft), and Nagash (Warhammer). Notice the pattern: two or three syllables, hard consonants (k, x, z, th), and often a title or epithet that describes what the lich has become: the Whispered One, the Devourer, the Undying.

There are three ways to build one. First, an invented arcane name with a harsh sound, such as Zaraketh, Xarvethis, or Kaerthos, sometimes with an apostrophe to hint at a dead language (Zul'karoth, Vhal'zerath). Second, the mortal name the lich still uses, which is often deliberately old-fashioned and human, like Aloysius Gravemantle or Elspeth Grimmauld, so players feel the tragedy of who they used to be. Third, a title in place of a name: the Bone Emperor, the Faceless Archivist, the Keeper of the Ninth Seal.

Many D&D groups combine two of these, giving a lich a mortal name that scholars remember and an epithet that peasants whisper. Names such as Settra, Khatep, or Nekaph borrow from Egyptian-flavored undeath for tomb-king variants.