Orphan Name Generator

An orphan's name carries a story about who named them. Children raised by relatives keep a family surname, but foundlings left at a church door or a hospital gate were named by whoever took them in. Real foundling hospitals in London, Paris and Florence handed out surnames from the day of the week (Friday, Monday), the place the child was found (Bridge, Temple, Stepney), the feast on the calendar (Easter, Christmas) or a blunt label: the Italian Esposito means "exposed", Trovato means "found", the Spanish Expósito and French Trouvé mean the same, and German foundlings became Findling. Governors also favored virtue names such as Mercy, Patience and Thankful.

Street orphans named themselves or were named by the gang. Those names are short, physical and often a nickname that stuck: Pip, Nib, Scraps, Tuppence, Sooty, Mouse. In fantasy settings the same logic applies, only the foundling is named for a bird, a plant or the guild that took them in, giving you Wren Ashfall, Bramble Tovey or Quill Ashbury.

Modern orphan and foster characters usually have perfectly ordinary names, and that is the point: the contrast between an unremarkable name and a difficult history reads as realistic. This generator mixes all four registers so you can match the name to the era and the tone of your story.