Priest Name Generator

Priest names are really title plus name, and the title tells you the tradition. Catholic secular priests are Father followed by a first name, surname or both (Father Dominic Reilly); Italian and Spanish clergy use Don and Padre; French use Père; German use Pfarrer. Monks and friars drop surnames and go by Brother, often taking a saint's name at their vows, which is why Brother Anselm and Brother Columba sound right and Brother Kevin does not. Higher up the hierarchy come Monsignor, Bishop, Archbishop and Cardinal, and Anglican parishes add Vicar, Rector, Canon, Dean and Archdeacon. Eastern Orthodox clergy use Father with Greek or Slavic names, plus Archpriest, Hieromonk, Archimandrite and Metropolitan.

Surnames do a lot of atmospheric work. Irish, Italian, Polish and Filipino surnames reflect the real makeup of Catholic clergy in the English-speaking world; old English surnames like Fairfax, Grantly and Hardcastle evoke Trollope-style cathedral politics; Latin or saint-derived names like Bonaventure, Callixtus and Fidelis signal a religious order. Literature supplies many models, from Bishop Myriel and Father Zosima to Brother Cadfael and Reverend John Ames.

For fantasy settings the list adds ancient high priests (Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, Mesopotamian) and invented temple priests with virtue-and-light surnames such as Dawnbringer, Candlemere and Truebell, which suit D&D clerics, Warhammer priests and video game NPCs.