Pirate Port Name Generator

Real pirate ports were not named by pirates. Tortuga, Port Royal, Nassau, Île Sainte-Marie and Ocracoke were Spanish, English, French or native place names that happened to sit on weak colonial ground, so a convincing pirate port starts life as an ordinary harbour name in the language of whoever charted it first: Bahía, Puerto, Cayo and Isla for the Spanish Main, Anse, Baie and Havre for the French islands, Vrijhaven and Roverbaai for Dutch waters, and Roads, Hole, Bight and Careenage for English sailors. The pirate reputation comes afterwards, from the nickname crews give it.

That is why this generator mixes three registers. Colonial-sounding names (Port Carvell, Puerto Calavera, Anse des Pendus) are what appears on the Admiralty chart. Sailors' nicknames (Hangman's Shelf, The Careenage, Gulley's Gut, Coxen Hole) are what the crew actually calls the place. And a handful of real historical havens are included because they set the tone for everything else.

Think about what the port is for. A careening cove needs a sheltered beach, so names like Heaving Down Bay or Tarpaulin Cove fit. A market for stolen cargo wants a respectable front, so Port Mallory or Spanish Wells works better than anything with a skull in it. Save the gibbets and gallows for the navy-controlled harbours your pirates are trying to avoid.