School House Name Generator

Names for the houses a school sorts students into

Academia, Science & Knowledge1,000 names

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Generate names for the houses of a school house system, from the boarding houses of a British-style school to the teams that chase points on sports day: Nightingale, Kestrel, Tudor, Rowan, St Aidan's and Founder's House, with families that give a matching set such as Oak, Ash, Elm and Beech.

About school house names

A school house is a group of students before it is a building. In a house system every student belongs to one house for their whole time there, earns points for it and competes for it on sports day. The idea comes from British boarding schools, where a house was first the place a group of pupils lived, and day schools around the world borrowed it for competitions, assemblies and pastoral care.

Schools draw house names from a few wells, and this list of 1,000 follows them: surnames of founders and benefactors (Ashcombe, Wetherby), saints (St Aidan's, St Hilda's), scientists, writers and reformers as plain surnames (Newton, Austen, Nightingale), trees and flowers (Oak, Rowan, Bluebell), birds and heraldic beasts (Kestrel, Griffin), rivers, hills and islands (Thames, Snowdon, Iona), dynasties, castles and cathedral cities (Tudor, Warwick, Durham), virtues and Latin words (Fortitude, Veritas), and colors, gems and constellations (Scarlet, Emerald, Orion). A minority carry a suffix, such as Founder's House or The Grange, as boarding houses often do.

Most schools want a set, usually of four, that belongs together: Oak, Ash, Elm and Beech, or Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Reroll until one name fits, then look through the A to Z list for partners from the same family, equal in weight so that no house sounds like the lesser one.

How to choose school house names

  • Choose the whole set at once. Four names from one family, such as Thames, Severn, Tyne and Trent, read as a system, and names of similar length keep any house from sounding like an afterthought.
  • Give every house its own first letter and its own color. Tudor, Stuart, Windsor and York shorten cleanly on a scoreboard, while Warwick and Windsor would both be W.
  • Shout the name the way it will be shouted on sports day. Two-syllable names like Kestrel and Rowan carry across a field, while Plantagenet looks grand on a shield and is hard to chant.
  • Read up on any person before you name a house after them. Schools have had to rename houses when a namesake's record came to light, so choose figures who are long dead and widely admired, such as Curie, Seacole, Turing and Brunel.
  • A local name often beats a famous one. Use the rivers, hills and founders here as a model, then swap in the stream behind your playing field or the family that gave the school its first building.

Frequently asked questions

What is a school house system?

A house system divides a school's students into a few named groups that cut across the year levels. Students usually stay in one house throughout, earn points for it through work, sport and service, and compete for a house cup or shield. In a boarding school the house is also where a student lives.

What are school houses usually named after?

The common sources are founders and benefactors, saints, admired historical figures, trees, birds, nearby rivers and hills, and royal dynasties. This list holds all of them, from Wetherby and St Cuthbert's to Faraday, Hawthorn, Osprey, Severn and Plantagenet.

How many houses should a school have, and what makes a good set?

Four is the most common number, and larger schools often run six or eight so that each house stays small enough to know its members. A good set shares one theme and one shape: Oak, Ash, Elm and Beech, or Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Most themes in this list hold enough names to draw four, six or eight from the same family.

Can we use these names for a real school?

Yes. They are ordinary words, place names and surnames, and the list is meant for real schools as much as for stories and games. It is not the house list of any particular school and this site has no tie to any school. Before you settle on a set, read about any person you plan to honor and ask whether a neighboring school already uses the same names.

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All 1,000 school house 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: 64 names

  • Abbey House
  • Abbotsford
  • Ad Astra
  • Addams
  • Aequitas
  • Air
  • Albion
  • Alcott
  • Alcuin
  • Alder
  • Aldersey House
  • Aldous
  • Alfred
  • Alleyne
  • Alnwick
  • Alpha
  • Amber
  • Amethyst
  • Amity
  • Amory
  • Ampère
  • Amundsen
  • Andrew
  • Andromeda
  • Anglesey
  • Anjou
  • Anning
  • Anthony
  • Aoraki
  • Apollo
  • Aquila
  • Aquinas

A, continued

  • Archers
  • Archimedes
  • Arcturus
  • Arden
  • Argent
  • Argos
  • Aristotle
  • Arkwright
  • Arnold
  • Arran
  • Artemis
  • Arun
  • Arundel
  • Ash
  • Ashcombe
  • Ashdown
  • Aspen
  • Aspire
  • Assisi
  • Athelstan
  • Athena
  • Athenians
  • Athens
  • Atlas
  • Audax
  • Aurora
  • Austen
  • Avalon
  • Avocet
  • Avon
  • Ayrton
  • Azure

B: 76 names

  • Babbage
  • Bach
  • Badger
  • Balliol
  • Balmoral
  • Bamburgh
  • Banksia
  • Bann
  • Banneker
  • Bards
  • Bardsey
  • Barton
  • Bay
  • Beagle
  • Beale
  • Bear
  • Beaver
  • Becket
  • Beech
  • Beechwood
  • Beethoven
  • Bell
  • Benefactors
  • Beowulf
  • Bernadette
  • Beryl
  • Beta
  • Bexley
  • Birch
  • Bird
  • Bishopsgate
  • Bison
  • Blackthorn
  • Blackwell
  • Blake
  • Blakeney
  • Blencathra
  • Blériot

B, continued

  • Blue
  • Bluebell
  • Boar
  • Bodiam
  • Bodmin
  • Bohr
  • Booth
  • Boreas
  • Boudica
  • Boyle
  • Boyne
  • Bracken
  • Brackley
  • Bragg
  • Braille
  • Bramble
  • Brecon
  • Brendan
  • Brian Boru
  • Briar
  • Briarwood
  • Bridge House
  • Britannia
  • Britons
  • Broadlands
  • Brockhurst House
  • Brontë
  • Bronze
  • Brookside
  • Browning
  • Bruce
  • Brunel
  • Burns
  • Bursar's
  • Buss
  • Buttermere
  • Buzzard
  • Byrd

C: 88 names

  • Cadair Idris
  • Caedmon
  • Caernarfon
  • Cairngorm
  • Calder
  • Caledonia
  • Cam
  • Cambria
  • Camelot
  • Campion
  • Cannon
  • Canterbury
  • Canute
  • Cardinal
  • Caribou
  • Caritas
  • Carlisle
  • Carpe Diem
  • Carrickfergus
  • Carrow
  • Carver
  • Cassiopeia
  • Cavell
  • Caxton
  • Cedar
  • Cedarcroft
  • Celandine
  • Celts
  • Centaur
  • Centurions
  • Cerulean
  • Cézanne
  • Chaffinch
  • Chamois
  • Chapel House
  • Chaplain's
  • Charity
  • Chaucer
  • Cheetah
  • Cherwell
  • Chester
  • Chestnut
  • Cheviot
  • Chiltern

C, continued

  • Chisholm
  • Cholmeley
  • Ciaran
  • Clarkson
  • Cloister House
  • Clover
  • Clutha
  • Clyde
  • Cobalt
  • Cockatrice
  • Coleridge
  • Colet
  • Columbanus
  • Columbia
  • Columbine
  • Comet
  • Compassion
  • Concord
  • Concordia
  • Coniston
  • Constable
  • Constantia
  • Conwy
  • Copernicus
  • Coral
  • Corfe
  • Corinth
  • Corinthians
  • Cornflower
  • Corvus
  • Cotswold
  • Cottonwood
  • Cougar
  • Courage
  • Cowslip
  • Crimson
  • Crocus
  • Cuchulainn
  • Cuillin
  • Curie
  • Curiosity
  • Curlew
  • Cygnus
  • Cypress

D: 36 names

  • Da Vinci
  • Daffodil
  • Dalriada
  • Dalton
  • Dante
  • Dart
  • Dartmoor
  • Darwin
  • Daubeny
  • David
  • Davy
  • Dean's
  • Dee
  • Defoe
  • Delphi
  • Delta
  • Dering
  • Derwent
  • Diamond
  • Diana
  • Dickens
  • Dickinson
  • Diligence
  • Dipper
  • Dirac
  • Discovery
  • Dogwood
  • Dolphin
  • Donne
  • Douglass
  • Dover
  • Dragon
  • Dunmore
  • Dunnottar
  • Durham
  • Dyfed

E: 37 names

  • Eagle
  • Earhart
  • Earth
  • Eastfield
  • Eastgate
  • Edelweiss
  • Eden
  • Egerton
  • Eilean Donan
  • Einstein
  • Elder
  • Elgar
  • Eliot
  • Elk
  • Ellacott
  • Elm
  • Elmet
  • Elmhurst
  • Ely
  • Ember
  • Emerald
  • Emerson
  • Endeavor
  • Endurance
  • Equiano
  • Ethelfleda
  • Euclid
  • Euler
  • Eurus
  • Evening Star
  • Everard
  • Everest
  • Excalibur
  • Excelsior
  • Exeter
  • Exmoor
  • Explorers

F: 37 names

  • Fairbairn
  • Fairfield
  • Fairlawn
  • Faith
  • Falcon
  • Fanshawe
  • Faraday
  • Fawcett
  • Felicitas
  • Fern
  • Ferndale
  • Fidelis
  • Fides
  • Field House
  • Fieldfare
  • Finbar
  • Finn
  • Fire
  • Fisher
  • Fleming
  • Flint
  • Forest House
  • Foresters
  • Forth
  • Fortis
  • Fortiter
  • Fortitude
  • Founder's House
  • Fowey
  • Fox
  • Foxglove
  • Framlingham
  • Franklin
  • Froebel
  • Frost
  • Fry
  • Fulmar

G: 41 names

  • Gagarin
  • Gainsborough
  • Galahad
  • Galileo
  • Gamma
  • Gannet
  • Garden House
  • Garnet
  • Garrett Anderson
  • Garrick
  • Gaskell
  • Gate House
  • Gauss
  • Gawain
  • Gazelle
  • Gentian
  • George
  • Germain
  • Girton
  • Glamis
  • Glanville
  • Glendalough
  • Gloria
  • Gloucester
  • Glyndŵr
  • Gold
  • Goldfinch
  • Gorse
  • Goshawk
  • Grace
  • Granite
  • Grasmere
  • Gratia
  • Green
  • Greenfield
  • Gresham
  • Greyfriars
  • Griffin
  • Guardians
  • Gules
  • Gwynedd

H: 63 names

  • Hallam
  • Halley
  • Hampton
  • Handel
  • Hanover
  • Harcourt
  • Hardy
  • Hare
  • Harebell
  • Harlech
  • Harmony
  • Harrier
  • Harris
  • Harrison
  • Hart
  • Hartwell
  • Harvest Moon
  • Harvey
  • Hawk
  • Hawthorn
  • Haydn
  • Hazel
  • Hazeldene
  • Heather
  • Heatherdene
  • Heathlands
  • Helvellyn
  • Heneage
  • Heralds
  • Hercules
  • Hereford

H, continued

  • Hereward
  • Herm
  • Hermes
  • Heron
  • Herschel
  • Hibernia
  • Hickory
  • Highfield
  • Highlanders
  • Hill House
  • Hillside
  • Hodgkin
  • Hogarth
  • Hokusai
  • Holbrook
  • Holly
  • Hollybank
  • Holst
  • Holyrood
  • Homer
  • Honeysuckle
  • Honor
  • Hooke
  • Hope
  • Hopkins
  • Horizon
  • Hornbeam
  • Hudson
  • Humanitas
  • Humber
  • Hurricane
  • Hypatia

I: 15 names

  • Ibbotson
  • Ibex
  • Indigo
  • Industria
  • Ingleborough
  • Ingram
  • Integrity
  • Invicta
  • Iona
  • Iris
  • Islanders
  • Islay
  • Itchen
  • Ithaca
  • Ivy

J: 16 names

  • Jacaranda
  • Jade
  • Jaguar
  • Jarrah
  • Jasper
  • Jenner
  • Jermyn
  • Jessop
  • Jet
  • John
  • Johnson
  • Julian
  • Juniper
  • Jupiter
  • Jura
  • Justice

K: 29 names

  • Kangaroo
  • Karri
  • Kauri
  • Kea
  • Keats
  • Keller
  • Kelvin
  • Kemble
  • Kendrick
  • Kenilworth
  • Kennet
  • Kensington
  • Kent
  • Kepler
  • Kererū
  • Kestrel
  • Kinder
  • Kindness
  • Kingfisher
  • Kingsley
  • Kingsmead
  • Kite
  • Kittiwake
  • Kiwi
  • Knights
  • Kookaburra
  • Kosciuszko
  • Kōwhai
  • Kynaston

L: 46 names

  • Lagan
  • Lake House
  • Lakeside
  • Lancaster
  • Lancelot
  • Langdale
  • Lapwing
  • Larch
  • Larchfield
  • Larkspur
  • Laurel
  • Lavender
  • Lavoisier
  • Leavitt
  • Leopard
  • Liberty
  • Lichfield
  • Liffey
  • Lime
  • Lincoln
  • Linden
  • Lindenlea
  • Lindisfarne
  • Linnet
  • Lion
  • Lister
  • Llywelyn
  • Lomond
  • Longfellow
  • Lonsdale
  • Lorikeet
  • Lothian
  • Lovelace
  • Lower House
  • Loxley
  • Loyalty
  • Loyola
  • Ludlow
  • Luke
  • Lundy
  • Lupin
  • Lux
  • Lynx
  • Lyonesse
  • Lyra
  • Lyttelton

M: 49 names

  • Magdalen
  • Malvern
  • Maple
  • Maplecroft
  • Marathon
  • Marble
  • Marchmont
  • Mariners
  • Mark
  • Marlowe
  • Mars
  • Marten
  • Mary Rose
  • Master's Lodge
  • Matthew
  • Maxwell
  • Mayflower
  • Meadow House
  • Meadowlark
  • Meadowsweet
  • Medway
  • Meitner
  • Mendel
  • Mendip
  • Mercia
  • Mercury
  • Mercy
  • Merlin
  • Mersey
  • Merton
  • Meteor
  • Mill House
  • Milton
  • Minerva
  • Minstrels
  • Mitchell
  • Monet
  • Monkton House
  • Montague
  • Montessori
  • Morning Star
  • Morris
  • Mowbray
  • Mozart
  • Mulberry
  • Mull
  • Murray
  • Mustang
  • Myrtle

N: 20 names

  • Nansen
  • Navigators
  • Neptune
  • Netherby
  • Neville
  • Nevis
  • Newnham
  • Newton
  • Nightingale
  • Nobilitas
  • Noether
  • Normandy
  • Normans
  • Northcote
  • Northern Lights
  • Northgate
  • Northumbria
  • Norwich
  • Notus
  • Nuthatch

O: 26 names

  • Oak
  • Oakeshott
  • Oaklands
  • Ochre
  • Oisin
  • Old Hall
  • Olive
  • Olympia
  • Olympians
  • Olympus
  • Omega
  • Onyx
  • Opal
  • Orca
  • Orchard House
  • Oriel
  • Orion
  • Orkney
  • Orme
  • Orwell
  • Osborne
  • Osprey
  • Otter
  • Ouse
  • Owen
  • Owl

P: 51 names

  • Paget
  • Paladins
  • Pankhurst
  • Panther
  • Park House
  • Parklands
  • Parry
  • Pasteur
  • Paterson
  • Pathfinders
  • Patience
  • Patrick
  • Patrons
  • Pax
  • Pearl
  • Pegasus
  • Pemberton
  • Pembroke
  • Pendle
  • Pendragon
  • Pennine
  • Per Ardua
  • Percival
  • Peregrine
  • Perseus
  • Perseverance
  • Peterhouse
  • Petrel
  • Phoenix
  • Pietas
  • Pilgrims
  • Pine
  • Pioneers
  • Planck
  • Plantagenet
  • Pōhutukawa
  • Polaris
  • Pole Star
  • Poplar
  • Powys
  • Poyntz
  • Primrose
  • Priorsfield
  • Priory Close
  • Protea
  • Provost's
  • Prudence
  • Puffin
  • Puma
  • Purcell
  • Pythagoras

Q: 5 names

  • Quantock
  • Quarrington
  • Quarry House
  • Queensgate
  • Quennell

R: 33 names

  • Radcliffe
  • Raglan
  • Rainsford
  • Rangers
  • Raphael
  • Raven
  • Rector's
  • Red
  • Redwing
  • Redwood
  • Rembrandt
  • Resolution
  • Resolve
  • Rheged
  • Ribble
  • Richmond
  • Rimu
  • Ripon
  • Riverside
  • Rochester
  • Romans
  • Rose
  • Rosella
  • Rossetti
  • Rowan
  • Rowanmoor House
  • Rowntree
  • Ruby
  • Runnymede
  • Ruskin
  • Russet
  • Rutherford
  • Rydal

S: 128 names

  • Sable
  • Sackville
  • Saffron
  • Sage
  • Salamander
  • Salisbury
  • Salmon
  • Sandringham
  • Sapientia
  • Sapphire
  • Sappho
  • Sark
  • Saturn
  • Saxons
  • Scafell
  • Scarlet
  • Schiehallion
  • Scholars
  • School House
  • Schubert
  • Scientia
  • Scott
  • Sea Lion
  • Seacole
  • Seahorse
  • Selwyn
  • Sentinels
  • Service
  • Severn
  • Shackleton
  • Shaftesbury
  • Shakespeare
  • Shannon
  • Sharp
  • Shearwater
  • Shelley
  • Sheppard
  • Sherwood
  • Shetland
  • Sigma
  • Silver
  • Sirius

S, continued

  • Siskin
  • Skiddaw
  • Skipton
  • Skye
  • Skylark
  • Slate
  • Slieve Donard
  • Snowdon
  • Snowdrop
  • Solstice
  • Somerville
  • Southern Cross
  • Southfield
  • Southgate
  • Sparta
  • Spartans
  • Speedwell
  • Spenser
  • Spes
  • Spey
  • Sphinx
  • Spindle
  • Spitfire
  • Springbok
  • Springfield
  • St Agnes'
  • St Aidan's
  • St Alban's
  • St Aldhelm's
  • St Ambrose's
  • St Anselm's
  • St Augustine's
  • St Bede's
  • St Benedict's
  • St Boniface's
  • St Botolph's
  • St Brigid's
  • St Catherine's
  • St Cecilia's
  • St Chad's
  • St Christopher's
  • St Clare's
  • St Columba's

S, continued

  • St Cuthbert's
  • St Dunstan's
  • St Edmund's
  • St Etheldreda's
  • St Francis'
  • St Frideswide's
  • St Giles'
  • St Gregory's
  • St Hilda's
  • St Hugh's
  • St Illtyd's
  • St Jerome's
  • St Kentigern's
  • St Margaret's
  • St Martin's
  • St Monica's
  • St Nicholas'
  • St Ninian's
  • St Oswald's
  • St Petroc's
  • St Piran's
  • St Swithun's
  • St Teilo's
  • St Teresa's
  • St Werburgh's
  • St Wilfrid's
  • St Winifred's
  • Staffa
  • Stag
  • Stallion
  • Stephenson
  • Stevenson
  • Stewards
  • Stirling
  • Stour
  • Stuart
  • Sudeley
  • Sullivan
  • Swale
  • Swallow
  • Swan
  • Swift
  • Sycamore

T: 54 names

  • Takahē
  • Tallis
  • Tamar
  • Tavistock
  • Tay
  • Tees
  • Teifi
  • Telford
  • Temperance
  • Tempest
  • Tenacity
  • Tennyson
  • Tern
  • Terra Nova
  • Thames
  • The Grange
  • The Lodge
  • The Manor
  • The Old Vicarage
  • The Priory
  • The Rectory
  • Thebes
  • Thistle
  • Thomson
  • Thoreau
  • Thornbury
  • Thornfield
  • Thorold
  • Tiger
  • Tintagel
  • Topaz
  • Tōtara
  • Tower House
  • Towy
  • Trailblazers
  • Trent
  • Tresco
  • Trinity
  • Tristan
  • Trojans
  • Troy
  • Truro
  • Truth
  • Tryfan
  • Tubman
  • Tudor
  • Tūī
  • Turing
  • Turner
  • Turquoise
  • Twain
  • Tweed
  • Tyndale
  • Tyne

U: 7 names

  • Ullswater
  • Underhill
  • Unicorn
  • Unity
  • Upcott
  • Uplands
  • Upper House

V: 20 names

  • Valor
  • Vaudrey
  • Vega
  • Venables
  • Venus
  • Veritas
  • Vermeer
  • Vermilion
  • Vert
  • Victoria
  • Victory
  • Vigilantia
  • Vikings
  • Violet
  • Virgil
  • Viridian
  • Virtus
  • Volta
  • Voyagers
  • Vulcan

W: 47 names

  • Waikato
  • Wakeham
  • Wallaby
  • Wallace
  • Waratah
  • Warden's
  • Warwick
  • Water
  • Wattle
  • Waveney
  • Wayfarers
  • Welland
  • Wells
  • Wessex
  • Westfield
  • Westgate
  • Wetheral House
  • Wetherby
  • Wharfe
  • Whernside
  • Whimbrel
  • White Hart
  • Whitebeam
  • Whitefriars
  • Whitlock
  • Whitman
  • Wilberforce
  • Willow
  • Willowmere
  • Winchester
  • Windermere
  • Windsor
  • Winterbourne
  • Wisdom
  • Wolf
  • Wollstonecraft
  • Woodlands
  • Woodlark
  • Woodside
  • Woolf
  • Worcester
  • Wordsworth
  • Wrekin
  • Wren
  • Wright
  • Wye
  • Wyvern

X: 1 name

  • Xavier

Y: 8 names

  • Yardley
  • Yarra
  • Yeats
  • Yellow
  • Yelverton
  • Yew
  • Yewtree House
  • York

Z: 3 names

  • Zambezi
  • Zenith
  • Zephyr