Pirate Captain Name Generator

Fearsome names for the captain of your crew

Professions & Roles500 names

0 of 500 seen

This or that?

7 picks, 1 winner

Tap the name you like more.

Tap a name to copy it. The arrows swap one name.

Or browse all 500 names, A to Z

Generate pirate captain names with real Golden Age swagger: formal names for the ship's log, cutthroat nicknames for the wanted poster, and full epithets like Captain Silas "Two-Knives" Brennan. Ideal for Sea of Thieves, D&D, novels and Halloween.

About pirate captain names

A pirate captain’s name did two jobs at once: it was what the crew shouted across the deck, and it was what the Admiralty printed on the wanted notice. That is why the Golden Age names that stuck are really two names stacked together. Edward Teach was a plain Bristol sailor’s name; Blackbeard was the brand. John Rackham became Calico Jack because of his clothes, Bartholomew Roberts became Black Bart, and Anne Bonny and Mary Read kept their own names and let the reputation do the work. The formula is a real-sounding given name and surname from a seafaring nation plus an epithet earned from appearance, temper, a wound or a home port.

That gives you four reliable styles. The formal log entry: Captain Obadiah Crane, Captain Morwenna Tregarth. The quoted nickname tucked in the middle: Captain Silas “Two-Knives” Brennan. The epithet first, the way sailors actually spoke: Black Davey Lunn, Half-Hanged Jory Trask, Madras Mary Hobbs. And the legend form, Garrick the Gull or Morwenna the Merciless, which is how a captain is remembered twenty years after the hanging.

Whatever style you pick, the name should be easy to shout in a storm and slightly unsettling in print: a surname with a hard consonant, one vivid image in the nickname, and more weight than any name in the crew.

How to choose pirate captain names

  • Match the nickname to a story the crew could tell: "Two-Knives" means something happened with two knives, "Half-Hanged" means the rope broke. A name with a backstory beats a name with an adjective.
  • Use a real surname from a seafaring region (Cornish names like Tregarth, Penrose and Polglase; Irish, Welsh, Dutch and Breton names too) so the captain sounds like a person before they sound like a pirate.
  • Women captains work best without softening: Bloody Bess Talbot, Captain Meg "Saltwater" Harrow and Madame Lin Shao all read as in charge because the epithet does not change for gender.
  • Save "Captain" for how the crew addresses them and let enemies use the nickname; writing both versions tells the reader who respects the captain and who fears them.
  • For Sea of Thieves or a D&D campaign, pick a name that shortens cleanly (Captain Bartholomew Quayle becomes Quayle) so players can yell it in a fight.

Frequently asked questions

How did real pirate captains get their nicknames?

Usually from the crew or the newspapers, not from themselves. Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was named for his beard, Calico Jack (John Rackham) for his striped clothes, Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) for his dark complexion and temper. Most epithets described appearance, a wound, a home port or a famous act of cruelty, which is why invented nicknames like "Nine-Fingers" or "Half-Hanged" sound authentic.

What makes a good female pirate captain name?

The same thing that makes a good male one: a real-sounding full name plus an earned epithet. Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Grace O'Malley and Ching Shih were all known by ordinary names and terrifying reputations. Examples here include Bloody Bess Talbot, Captain Isabeau Ravensworth and Hurricane Hattie Crome.

Should I put "Captain" in the name?

Use it as a title, not a first name. In fiction and games it helps to have a formal version (Captain Cornelius Flint) for the ship's log and a shorter, harsher version (Flint, or Old Flint) for dialogue. Many captains in this generator are listed without the title so you can add it where it fits.

Can I use these names in Sea of Thieves, a novel or a published game?

Yes. The names here are original or built from common surnames and period epithets, so they are free to use. The only ones to avoid in commercial work are the handful of real historical pirates mentioned in the intro, and those are not in the list itself.

Related generators

More like this

Browse category

All 500 pirate captain names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 18 names

  • Admiral-of-the-Black Ignatius Wren
  • Adrienne Voclain
  • Agnieszka Wolska
  • Alaric Fathomsend
  • Aldous Wintringham
  • Ali Reis Kadir
  • Alonso de Vargas
  • Amara Osei
  • Amaru Quispe

A, continued

  • Amédée Fortunat
  • Amélie Durocher
  • Anders Kjeldsen
  • Anneliese Kroon
  • Anselm Reefborn
  • Anselm the Unhanged
  • Anya Petrovna
  • Aoife Ní Bhriain
  • Aurelie Stormwell

B: 24 names

  • Barbados Bill Drury
  • Barbary Ben Ruttle
  • Barefoot Bess Quennell
  • Barnaby the Bold
  • Bastiaan Roos
  • Bastian Wrecksmith
  • Bellowing Bill Mundy
  • Benedito Alves
  • Beppo the Brute
  • Bjarni Thorkell
  • Black Annie Gower
  • Black Davey Lunn

B, continued

  • Black Kate Ashdown
  • Black Molly Whitcombe
  • Black Sal Verity
  • Bloodaxe Brigid Nolan
  • Bloody Bess Talbot
  • Bonny Anne Dunleavy
  • Bonny Kate Rafferty
  • Bosun Mary Lyle
  • Bottle-Nose Ben Hake
  • Brannoc Ironkeel
  • Brielle Stormcliff
  • Brimstone Barney Lusk

C: 205 names

  • Caetano Vidal
  • Calico Moll Danvers
  • Callum Wrackmoor
  • Cannonball Kate Lowry
  • Captain Abe "Tarheel" Wicks
  • Captain Abner Ghent
  • Captain Absalom Wray
  • Captain Ada "Sea-Witch" Kerrigan
  • Captain Adela Cormorant
  • Captain Agatha Ruddock
  • Captain Ambrose Kell
  • Captain Amos "Ghostlight" Teal
  • Captain Amos Gallowglass
  • Captain Anne "Blackheart" Tolliver

C, continued

  • Captain Anneke de Wit
  • Captain Augustin Ferrol
  • Captain Barnaby Tull
  • Captain Bart "Widowmaker" Crowe
  • Captain Bartholomew Quayle
  • Captain Bartram Lusk
  • Captain Bea "Barnacle" Hurst
  • Captain Beatrix Hollowell
  • Captain Ben "Blackpowder" Noakes
  • Captain Bess "Powderkeg" Tallow
  • Captain Bram "Low-Tide" Jessop
  • Captain Bridget Coyle
  • Captain Cal "Cannonball" Rourke
  • Captain Caspian Greaves
  • Captain Cassius Ward

C, continued

  • Captain Clementine Sorrow
  • Captain Constance Pelham
  • Captain Cordelia Blackwood
  • Captain Cornelius Flint
  • Captain Crispin Vale
  • Captain Cyrus Blackwater
  • Captain Dame Brigid Kellow
  • Captain Davey "Gullet" Pryor
  • Captain Delphine Marchetti
  • Captain Dick "Bloody" Hask
  • Captain Dinah "Cold-Iron" Vail
  • Captain Doc Abner Pilling
  • Captain Dorothea Rake
  • Captain Dot "Dead-Reckoning" Clancy

C, continued

  • Captain Eleanora Drake
  • Captain Elias Crowther
  • Captain Emmett Corwin
  • Captain Erasmus Knell
  • Captain Etta "Gunwale" Slade
  • Captain Evangeline Dusk
  • Captain Everard Lynch
  • Captain Ezekiel "Saltbone" Marlow
  • Captain Ezra "Deadeye" Lomax
  • Captain Ezra Brightwater
  • Captain Fenella Bray
  • Captain Finn "Grapeshot" Tierney
  • Captain Genevieve Lacroix
  • Captain Gideon Sparrowhawk
  • Captain Gil "Sawbones" Haddock

C, continued

  • Captain Greer Lockhart
  • Captain Gus "Rumrunner" Whitlock
  • Captain Hal "Nine-Fingers" Dunn
  • Captain Harriet Scully
  • Captain Hester Vane
  • Captain Hezekiah Vance
  • Captain Hob "Bonecutter" Strachan
  • Captain Honora Bligh
  • Captain Horatio Blunt
  • Captain Hugo Salterne
  • Captain Ichabod Kestrel
  • Captain Ignatius Fell
  • Captain Ike "Squall" Pennock
  • Captain Imogen Fairlie
  • Captain Ines Salgado

C, continued

  • Captain Ingrid Sollander
  • Captain Isabeau Ravensworth
  • Captain Ivy "Stinger" Gallant
  • Captain Jack "Halfhand" Mercer
  • Captain Jedediah Strand
  • Captain Jem "Leadfoot" Pryce
  • Captain Jo "Hellfire" Brannigan
  • Captain Jonah Blackthorne
  • Captain Josef Brandt
  • Captain Josiah Redfern
  • Captain Joss "Grinning" Fenwick
  • Captain Jude "Longshot" Tanner
  • Captain Juniper Shaw
  • Captain Kate "Crow's Nest" Doyle

C, continued

  • Captain Keziah Blakeney
  • Captain Kit "Gallows" Brody
  • Captain Lady Rosamond Ashe
  • Captain Lark "Wildfire" Doheny
  • Captain Lazarus Burke
  • Captain Leander Quill
  • Captain Levi "Sixgun" Harrod
  • Captain Liesl Varga
  • Captain Liza "Keelhaul" Brant
  • Captain Lorelei Vance
  • Captain Lou "Lockjaw" Fairbairn
  • Captain Lucinda Wrath
  • Captain Lucius Drake
  • Captain Luke "Greywake" Hennessy
  • Captain Lysander Pyke

C, continued

  • Captain Maeve Rourke
  • Captain Malachi Penrose
  • Captain Marisol Arango
  • Captain Matthias Grave
  • Captain Maura Teague
  • Captain Meg "Mad-Dog" Purcell
  • Captain Meg "Saltwater" Harrow
  • Captain Mercy Caldwell
  • Captain Moll "Hellcat" Sutter
  • Captain Morwenna Tregarth
  • Captain Moss "Undertow" Feeney
  • Captain Mother Jennet Haskard
  • Captain Nan "Hangman's" Reilly
  • Captain Nathaniel Pike
  • Captain Ned "Ironjaw" Hollis

C, continued

  • Captain Ned "Stormcrow" Plummer
  • Captain Nell Godwin
  • Captain Nora "Red-Sky" Maddox
  • Captain Obadiah Crane
  • Captain Ophelia Stark
  • Captain Oren "Doldrums" Baskerville
  • Captain Orla Finnegan
  • Captain Ottilie Marsh
  • Captain Parson Caleb Tuck
  • Captain Peg "One-Shot" Lacy
  • Captain Percival Snook
  • Captain Philippa Dunmore
  • Captain Phineas Loring
  • Captain Pip "Lantern" Sayer

C, continued

  • Captain Quentin Mallory
  • Captain Quincy Ashmole
  • Captain Rafe "Nightwake" Colley
  • Captain Rafe Wintour
  • Captain Ramona Vasquez
  • Captain Reuben Storrow
  • Captain Reverend Nahum Pyle
  • Captain Rhiannon Voss
  • Captain Rob "Redwater" Gaskell
  • Captain Roderick Mace
  • Captain Rory "Blackflag" Maguire
  • Captain Rosa "Quickblade" Ortiz
  • Captain Rosalind Ashby
  • Captain Rue "Foxglove" Marlin
  • Captain Ruth "Bilgewater" Spence

C, continued

  • Captain Sabine Rouvier
  • Captain Sal "Cutlass" Moreno
  • Captain Sam "Scuppers" Ogden
  • Captain Saul "Dreadwind" Cobb
  • Captain Septimus Gaunt
  • Captain Seraphina Wolde
  • Captain Silas "Two-Knives" Brennan
  • Captain Sir Humphrey Tallis
  • Captain Solomon Reeve
  • Captain Squire Hollis Dane
  • Captain Sybil Fairweather
  • Captain Tabitha Mould
  • Captain Tam "Bloodmoon" Kerr
  • Captain Tamsin Gale
  • Captain Tess "Thunderclap" Rowan

C, continued

  • Captain Thaddeus Moray
  • Captain the Honourable Ferris Blaine
  • Captain Thorne Ellery
  • Captain Tiberius Hook
  • Captain Tobias Hallam
  • Captain Tom "Brimstone" Cutler
  • Captain Ulysses Pim
  • Captain Uriah Tregunna
  • Captain Ursula Grimm
  • Captain Vaughn Cardew
  • Captain Verity Cole
  • Captain Virgil Saltmarsh
  • Captain Wilhelmina Stoep
  • Captain Will "Shark-Tooth" Gant

C, continued

  • Captain Winifred Tarr
  • Captain Wren "Sharkbait" Lusk
  • Captain Wynter Kells
  • Captain Xanthe Lorimer
  • Captain Xavier Delacroix
  • Captain Ymir Haugen
  • Captain Yolanda Serrano
  • Captain Ysolde Merrick
  • Captain Zachariah Holt
  • Captain Zadok Pember
  • Captain Zeke "Broadside" Corrigan
  • Captain Zelda Pasco
  • Captain-General Lupe Ferrara
  • Carolina Jack Ludlow
  • Cartagena Carlos Ybarra

C, continued

  • Casimir Rakewater
  • Catrin the Cold
  • Célestine Baudin
  • Cerys Wavewright
  • Chen Wuyi
  • Commodore Vashti Lear
  • Corbin Longreach
  • Cormac O'Driscoll
  • Cornish Jack Trewin
  • Corvus Nightgale
  • Corwin the Cruel
  • Crooked Hugh Sinnett
  • Cross-Eyed Cal Kennet
  • Cutlass Kate O'Mara
  • Cutthroat Jem Faraday

D: 14 names

  • Dafydd Llewellyn
  • Dagmar the Dread
  • Dagon Saltcrest
  • Dancing Dan Quirke
  • Dead-Eye Dan Kilbride
  • Demelza Carne
  • Diego Sarmiento
  • Dimitrios Kanaris
  • Draven Ashwater
  • Dread Captain Annis Mortlake
  • Dread Captain Hollister Vey
  • Dread Captain Roan Sinclair
  • Duarte Pimentel
  • Dutch Annie Roels

E: 9 names

  • Eamon Blackreach
  • Elowen Seabright
  • Eoin Mac Carthaigh
  • Erik Bjørnsen
  • Esme the Eel
  • Esperanza Duarte
  • Étienne Lavelle
  • Evander Skerry
  • Evangeline the Eldritch

F: 6 names

  • Fat Sam Vickery
  • Fenwick Shoalborne
  • Fergus MacAlister
  • Fiddler Finn Dacre
  • Flintlock Frankie Delaney
  • Freya Skullhaven

G: 17 names

  • Gallows Jane Fennimore
  • Garrick the Gull
  • Geertruida Hartogh
  • Gentleman Jack Pell
  • Gerrit Hoefnagel
  • Ghost-Eyed Gwen Trevithick
  • Giacomo Savelli
  • Ginger Jack Keating

G, continued

  • Graveyard Gil Strang
  • Greybeard Hollis Pugh
  • Griffith Tarnwater
  • Grim Jack Tolley
  • Grizzled Gus Hadley
  • Gudrun Eriksdottir
  • Gulf Coast Gabe Thibodeaux
  • Gunpowder Gideon Crace
  • Gwendolyn Treloar

H: 17 names

  • Hadrian Coldharbour
  • Hakan Demirel
  • Half-Hanged Jory Trask
  • Hamid al-Basri
  • Hamish the Hangman
  • Handsome Harry Cavendish
  • Harlan Ebbshore
  • Hattie the Hook

H, continued

  • Havana Hank Ormond
  • Hedda Ravn
  • Hendrik Brouwer
  • Hepzibah Crouch
  • Hollow-Tooth Harry Glass
  • Honest Abe Fortescue
  • Honoré Lacombe
  • Hungry Jack Rudd
  • Hurricane Hattie Crome

I: 11 names

  • Ice-Eyed Ingrid Halvorsen
  • Idris Windlass
  • Increase Fothergill
  • Inés de Guzmán
  • Inigo Arrieta
  • Irish Nell Haggerty
  • Ironhand Bram Sutter
  • Ironside Isaac Mabbott
  • Isadora Grimwater
  • Isolde the Ironclad
  • Ivo Petrović

J: 9 names

  • Jacques Tremblay
  • Jago the Jackal
  • Jean-Baptiste Rochefort
  • Jebediah Thorne
  • Jeremiah Sloane
  • Joost van der Meer
  • Jorah Keelhaven
  • Jory Trembath
  • Josefina Ribeiro

K: 9 names

  • Kael Thornbury
  • Kaspar the Kraken-Caller
  • Katarzyna Mroz
  • Kestrel Ashford
  • Kingston Kate Sewell
  • Kirsty Bannerman
  • Klaus Wendt
  • Kofi Mensah
  • Kwame Asante

L: 19 names

  • Lachlan Drummond
  • Lady Huang Yue
  • Lady Vengeance Sorrel
  • Lantern Jack Emery
  • Laughing Joss Harker
  • Laurens Wijnand
  • Leoric Gullwing
  • Lirael Nightharbour
  • Lisbet the Lash

L, continued

  • Long Ned Hawkins
  • Lorcan the Leech
  • Lorenzo Moresco
  • Loveday Nankivell
  • Lucan Hollowmast
  • Lucan the Lucky
  • Lucía Reinoso
  • Lucky Lew Pascoe
  • Ludovic Perrault
  • Lyra Blackfathom

M: 25 names

  • Maarten Claesz
  • Mad Marguerite Dufresne
  • Mad Meg Threlkeld
  • Mad Tom Selby
  • Madagascar Meg Halloway
  • Madame Lin Shao
  • Madcap Mick Garrity
  • Madras Mary Hobbs
  • Magda the Mapless
  • Magdalena Storm
  • Malabar Molly Dace
  • Maren Saltvik

M, continued

  • Margery Stannard
  • Marguerite Saint-Cyr
  • Marlowe Gravetide
  • Mateo Carvajal
  • Mathilde Oyelaran
  • Mbeki Dlamini
  • Mirela Stormvane
  • Miroslav Bakić
  • Morgan Darkwater
  • Morgause Deepwater
  • Morwenna the Merciless
  • Mother Gallows Pruitt
  • Murat Bey of Salé

N: 8 names

  • Nassau Nell Scrope
  • Ndidi Okafor
  • Nerissa Wyndham
  • Niamh Stormbrook
  • Nicodemus Blount
  • Nils Arvidsson
  • No-Nose Nate Pilchard
  • Nyx the Knife

O: 10 names

  • Odessa Larkspur
  • Old Blue Walsh
  • Old Greaves of Nassau
  • Old Scratch Maddock
  • Olumide Bankole
  • One-Eyed Willem Stoop
  • Osric the Oarsman
  • Oswin Galehart
  • Ottavio Rospigli
  • Owain Penhallow

P: 7 names

  • Pascoe Tregenza
  • Peg-Leg Lottie Greer
  • Petra the Pitiless
  • Pieter Vosse
  • Pockmarked Piet Vermeulen
  • Pretty Polly Ashcombe
  • Prudence Gaskin

Q: 2 names

  • Quiet Jonas Hale
  • Quillon Marrow

R: 18 names

  • Rafael Montoya
  • Ragged Dick Penhallow
  • Ragnar Greyfathom
  • Ravenna Duskmoor
  • Red Hannah Strode
  • Red Rob Kilbane
  • Redbeard Anselm Trote
  • Redhanded Rory Lynam
  • Reginald Hawtrey

R, continued

  • Reynard the Red
  • Rhys ap Gruffudd
  • Rollo the Ravager
  • Rook Tallowgate
  • Rosalie the Reckless
  • Rosamund Fitzhugh
  • Rowena Gallowmere
  • Rutger Kamphuis
  • Ruthless Ruth Ballard

S: 31 names

  • Sable Moonharbour
  • Saltlick Sue Maddern
  • Saltpeter Sid Gorman
  • Sandor Vámos
  • Saoirse Wavebreaker
  • Sayyid Hamza
  • Scarface Rafe Ansell
  • Scuttle Sam Ferrier
  • Sebastian Lowther
  • Selim Karaca

S, continued

  • Selka Tidewell
  • Sharkskin Sally Prescott
  • Shotgun Susannah Rooke
  • Sietse Bakker
  • Sigrid Seahollow
  • Silent Sara Weatherby
  • Silver Sam Pollard
  • Slippery Sid Caddick
  • Sly Sim Padgett
  • Smoky Joe Wardell

S, continued

  • Sorcha the Storm-Born
  • Sorrel Mistwake
  • Spanish Jack Morrell
  • Squint-Eye Sol Tresize
  • Stormy Meg Cavanagh
  • Stout Jack Morrow
  • Sugar-Cane Sally Voss
  • Sulu Sam Tanaka
  • Sunburnt Sam Jagger
  • Svea Lindqvist
  • Swift Nan Corcoran

T: 16 names

  • Tamsin the Terrible
  • Tar-Black Tobias Dunne
  • Tariq Benali
  • Tattooed Tom Hennigan
  • Temperance Wyld
  • Thessaly Brine
  • Thorvald the Tideless
  • Three-Finger Fergus Doyle

T, continued

  • Tobias Cudlipp
  • Tobias the Tide-Taker
  • Torin Squallwick
  • Torsten Halvard
  • Tortuga Tom Wrigley
  • Tristan Polwhele
  • Tupac Huanca
  • Two-Gun Tessa Byrne

U: 1 name

  • Ulric the Unlucky

V: 6 names

  • Varick Stormhallow
  • Vasco Figueira
  • Velvet Jack Merriman
  • Veradis Blackspar
  • Vesna Driftwood
  • Virginia Vance Ormsby

W: 7 names

  • Welsh Davy Rhydderch
  • Whistling Walt Tamsin
  • Wicked Will Treadwell
  • Widow Hallam of Port Royal
  • Wilhelm the Wolf of Wexford
  • Wolf-Tooth Wat Keane
  • Wynne Saltmere

X: 1 name

  • Xabier Olarte

Y: 7 names

  • Yannis Psaros
  • Yellow Jack Dooley
  • Yevgeni Volkov
  • Ysolt Kilravock
  • Ysra Bloodtide
  • Yusuf ibn Tariq
  • Yvette the Viper

Z: 3 names

  • Zafira Redsail
  • Zainab al-Marsa
  • Zhang Baolin