Phoenician Name Generator

Phoenician names are almost all theophoric: a god's name joined to a short word that says what the god did or what the bearer is to the god. Abd- means servant of (Abdmelqart, Abdeshmun, Abdosir), Bod- means in the hand of (Bodashtart, Bodmelqart), Ger- means client of (Gerashtart, Gersakkun), and the suffix -yaton means has given (Baalyaton, Milkyaton). Hannibal is Hanni-baal, Baal is gracious; Hasdrubal is Azru-baal, Baal helps; Hamilcar and Himilco both honor Melqart, the god of Tyre. The commonest gods are Baal, Melqart, Eshmun, Astarte (Ashtart), Tanit, Milk, Sid, Reshef, and Sakkun.

There were no surnames. A person was X son of Y, often with a grandfather added, and sometimes a city or office: Eshmunazar son of Tabnit, king of the Sidonians. Because Greek and Latin writers recorded most of the famous names, many survive in Hellenized forms — Himilco for Himilkat, Bostar for Bodashtart, Bomilcar for Bodmelqart — and this list gives both. Women's names follow the same logic with Amat- (maidservant of), Bat- (daughter of), and Umm- (mother is), plus famous individuals like Elissa (Dido), Jezebel, and Sophonisba.

For fiction, pick a theophoric given name, add son of or daughter of and a father's name, and if you want a title use Hellenized forms for Carthage and Semitic forms for the Levantine cities.