Skyrim Name Generator

Skyrim's Nords are named the way Bethesda imagines Old Norse settlers would be: short, hard given names built on Scandinavian roots (Ulfric, Ralof, Sigrid, Torvar, Gerdur, Hjorunn), followed either by nothing at all or by a hyphenated epithet surname. Those epithets are what make Skyrim names instantly recognisable. Some are inherited clan names that function like Nordic dynasties, notably Battle-Born, Gray-Mane, Silver-Blood, Snow-Shod, Shatter-Shield and Black-Briar. Others are earned personal descriptors: Kodlak Whitemane, Galmar Stone-Fist, Farengar Secret-Fire, Uthgerd the Unbroken, Bujold the Unworthy.

A good Skyrim name therefore has two layers. The given name should sound like it could appear in an Icelandic saga, with plenty of hard k, g and r sounds and vowels like o, u and a. The epithet, if you use one, should say something specific about the character: a physical trait (Red-Arm, Iron-Fur), a deed (Free-Winter, Death-Brand) or a temperament (Cruel-Sea, Wild-Blood). Skip a surname entirely for farmers, guards and hunters, which is what most of Skyrim's population does.

The list mixes the game's most recognisable characters with obscure NPCs from every hold and a set of new Nord names built on the same rules, so you can name a Dragonborn, a Companion or a whole village.