Tyranid Name Generator

Hive fleets, bioforms and named horrors

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Generate Tyranid names for Warhammer 40,000 armies and stories: hive fleets named for mythic monsters like Hive Fleet Scylla and Hive Fleet Nidhogg, splinter fleets and tendrils, bioform designations like Ossifex and Venomgaunt, and trooper nicknames like Old Broken Tusk and The Pale Widow.

About Tyranid names

Tyranids have no personal names. A swarm is one mind in countless bodies, so everything a player or writer names is a label given from outside, by the Imperium that fights it. That is why this list is built from four kinds of label rather than from alien-sounding given names.

Hive fleets come first and make up the largest share. The setting names them after monsters of myth and the deep sea, as with Behemoth, Kraken and Leviathan, so the rest here follow that rule with creatures from many traditions: Hive Fleet Scylla, Hive Fleet Nidhogg, Hive Fleet Bakunawa, Hive Fleet Taotie. Splinter fleets and tendrils, the smaller forces that break away from a parent fleet, use the same stock or a plain descriptive tag such as The Severed Tendril.

Bioform designations are coinages on the setting's familiar suffixes: -fex, -gaunt, -thrope, -vore and -cyte, as in Ossifex, Scythegaunt and Ferrovore. The rest are the grim nicknames soldiers give one creature that keeps coming back, in the manner of Old One Eye, plus swarm and brood names for a single army, like The Chittering Tide. A few of the setting's own names appear as anchors. The others are fan-made, though a monster name may happen to match a minor fleet somewhere in the lore.

How to choose Tyranid names

  • Pick the monster for what your fleet does. A burrowing, ambushing army suits a serpent or worm such as Hive Fleet Tatzelwurm; a fleet that swallows ships whole suits a sea devourer such as Charybdis or Hafgufa.
  • Give a splinter fleet a link to its parent. Heirs of Behemoth or Talon of Nidhogg tells an opponent at a glance where your swarm came from and why its colors differ.
  • Use a bioform designation for a converted or kitbashed model. A name like Lacerifex or Umbrathrope sounds like an Imperial field classification without borrowing the name of an existing unit.
  • Save the nicknames for one model with a history. Old Ironhide or The Thief of Sentries works best on the monster that survived three games, not on a whole brood.
  • Read up on the mythic creature before you paint its name on a banner. The legend often hands you a color scheme and a backstory, and it lets you confirm the spelling you prefer.

Frequently asked questions

What are good Tyranid hive fleet names?

The setting names its fleets after legendary monsters, so the strongest new names do the same. From this list, Hive Fleet Scylla, Hive Fleet Nidhogg, Hive Fleet Bakunawa and Hive Fleet Mishipeshu all follow the pattern. Each one comes with a legend you can mine for a color scheme and a story.

Do individual Tyranids have names?

No. The creatures are extensions of a single Hive Mind and do not name themselves. Named horrors in the setting carry nicknames given by the people who fought them, which is the style of entries such as Old Broken Tusk, Gravejaw and The Whisperer Below.

Are these official Warhammer 40,000 names?

A small number of well-known names from the setting, such as Hive Fleet Leviathan and Old One Eye, are included as style anchors. The rest were written in the same manner for your own fleet. Because the setting names its own fleets after mythic monsters, a few may coincide with minor fleets in the lore. They are fan-made ideas, not official Games Workshop material.

What do endings like -fex and -vore mean?

They are the kind of endings the setting uses for its bioform classifications, borrowed from Latin and Greek roots: -fex suggests a maker, -vore an eater and -cyte a cell. Coinages such as Ossifex, Ferrovore and Necrocyte use them to sound like an Imperial label for a new or converted creature.

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All 500 Tyranid 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: 9 names

  • Abyssaloc
  • Acidgaunt
  • Acidifex
  • Acidocrine
  • Acidovore
  • Aerocyte
  • Aerovore
  • Algothrope
  • Auntie Scythe

B: 13 names

  • Big Red Mercy
  • Bilegaunt
  • Bloatgaunt
  • Bombardocyte
  • Bonewake
  • Brood of the Broken Moon
  • Brood of the Drowned Hive
  • Brood of the Long Winter
  • Brood of the Ninth Spire
  • Brood of the Red Marsh
  • Bulkhead Bess
  • Bunker Knocker
  • Burrowgaunt

C: 14 names

  • Cerebrothrope
  • Children of Tiamet
  • Chitinofex
  • Cinerifex
  • Clawgaunt
  • Claws in the Dark
  • Claws of the Devourer
  • Cook's Nightmare
  • Corrofex
  • Cruorfex
  • Cruorspex
  • Cryovore
  • Cryptocyte
  • Cryptothrope

D: 5 names

  • Dead Man's Echo
  • Deathleaper
  • Dolorfex
  • Dreadgaunt
  • Driftgaunt

E: 2 names

  • Echothrope
  • Electrovore

F: 7 names

  • Fang of Apep
  • Fanggaunt
  • Ferrocyte
  • Ferrovore
  • First Brood of the Maw
  • Fulgurfex
  • Fumethrope

G: 5 names

  • Grandfather Gnaw
  • Gravejaw
  • Gravicyte
  • Gravithrope
  • Gutter Queen

H: 168 names

  • Harvest of the Outer Rim
  • Heirs of Behemoth
  • Hemovore
  • Hive Fleet Abaia
  • Hive Fleet Adaro
  • Hive Fleet Afanc
  • Hive Fleet Ahuizotl
  • Hive Fleet Aitvaras
  • Hive Fleet Ajatar
  • Hive Fleet Akhlut
  • Hive Fleet Akkorokamui
  • Hive Fleet Alcyoneus
  • Hive Fleet Alecto
  • Hive Fleet Amarok
  • Hive Fleet Amaru
  • Hive Fleet Ammit
  • Hive Fleet Amphisbaena
  • Hive Fleet Anzu
  • Hive Fleet Apep
  • Hive Fleet Asag
  • Hive Fleet Aspidochelone
  • Hive Fleet Azhi Dahaka
  • Hive Fleet Bahamut
  • Hive Fleet Bakasura
  • Hive Fleet Bakekujira
  • Hive Fleet Bakunawa
  • Hive Fleet Balaur
  • Hive Fleet Balor
  • Hive Fleet Barghest
  • Hive Fleet Bashe
  • Hive Fleet Bashmu
  • Hive Fleet Behemoth
  • Hive Fleet Briareus

H, continued

  • Hive Fleet Bulgasari
  • Hive Fleet Bunyip
  • Hive Fleet Cabrakan
  • Hive Fleet Caicai
  • Hive Fleet Camazotz
  • Hive Fleet Catoblepas
  • Hive Fleet Celaeno
  • Hive Fleet Cerastes
  • Hive Fleet Cetus
  • Hive Fleet Charybdis
  • Hive Fleet Cherufe
  • Hive Fleet Cipactli
  • Hive Fleet Dagon
  • Hive Fleet Delphyne
  • Hive Fleet Dobhar-chu
  • Hive Fleet Echidna
  • Hive Fleet Empusa
  • Hive Fleet Euryale
  • Hive Fleet Fafnir
  • Hive Fleet Falak
  • Hive Fleet Fastitocalon
  • Hive Fleet Gandareva
  • Hive Fleet Gashadokuro
  • Hive Fleet Geryon
  • Hive Fleet Gorgon
  • Hive Fleet Gorynych
  • Hive Fleet Grendel
  • Hive Fleet Grootslang
  • Hive Fleet Hafgufa
  • Hive Fleet Hati
  • Hive Fleet Hraesvelgr
  • Hive Fleet Humbaba
  • Hive Fleet Hundun
  • Hive Fleet Hydra

H, continued

  • Hive Fleet Iku-Turso
  • Hive Fleet Imugi
  • Hive Fleet Inkanyamba
  • Hive Fleet Isonade
  • Hive Fleet Jaculus
  • Hive Fleet Jormungandr
  • Hive Fleet Kabandha
  • Hive Fleet Kampe
  • Hive Fleet Karkadann
  • Hive Fleet Karkinos
  • Hive Fleet Kingu
  • Hive Fleet Kongamato
  • Hive Fleet Koschei
  • Hive Fleet Kraken
  • Hive Fleet Kronos
  • Hive Fleet Kumbhakarna
  • Hive Fleet Kun
  • Hive Fleet Labbu
  • Hive Fleet Ladon
  • Hive Fleet Lamashtu
  • Hive Fleet Lamia
  • Hive Fleet Leucrota
  • Hive Fleet Leviathan
  • Hive Fleet Likho
  • Hive Fleet Lindworm
  • Hive Fleet Lotan
  • Hive Fleet Lusca
  • Hive Fleet Lyngbakr
  • Hive Fleet Makara
  • Hive Fleet Mamlambo
  • Hive Fleet Manananggal
  • Hive Fleet Mapinguari
  • Hive Fleet Megaera

H, continued

  • Hive Fleet Minokawa
  • Hive Fleet Mishipeshu
  • Hive Fleet Mokele-mbembe
  • Hive Fleet Morgawr
  • Hive Fleet Muldjewangk
  • Hive Fleet Mushussu
  • Hive Fleet Myrmecoleon
  • Hive Fleet Naga
  • Hive Fleet Namazu
  • Hive Fleet Nehebkau
  • Hive Fleet Nian
  • Hive Fleet Nidhogg
  • Hive Fleet Ninki Nanka
  • Hive Fleet Nuckelavee
  • Hive Fleet Nue
  • Hive Fleet Ocypete
  • Hive Fleet Omukade
  • Hive Fleet Orochi
  • Hive Fleet Orthrus
  • Hive Fleet Pazuzu
  • Hive Fleet Peluda
  • Hive Fleet Piasa
  • Hive Fleet Polyphemus
  • Hive Fleet Porphyrion
  • Hive Fleet Qalupalik
  • Hive Fleet Qiongqi
  • Hive Fleet Rahab
  • Hive Fleet Rakshasa
  • Hive Fleet Rangda
  • Hive Fleet Sasabonsam
  • Hive Fleet Scylla
  • Hive Fleet Sisiutl
  • Hive Fleet Skoll
  • Hive Fleet Stheno

H, continued

  • Hive Fleet Stoor Worm
  • Hive Fleet Taniwha
  • Hive Fleet Tannin
  • Hive Fleet Taotie
  • Hive Fleet Taowu
  • Hive Fleet Tarasque
  • Hive Fleet Tatzelwurm
  • Hive Fleet Tehom
  • Hive Fleet Teju Jagua
  • Hive Fleet Tiamet
  • Hive Fleet Timingila
  • Hive Fleet Tisiphone
  • Hive Fleet Tizheruk
  • Hive Fleet Tsuchigumo
  • Hive Fleet Tzitzimitl
  • Hive Fleet Uktena
  • Hive Fleet Umibozu
  • Hive Fleet Unhcegila
  • Hive Fleet Ushi-oni
  • Hive Fleet Vetala
  • Hive Fleet Vritra
  • Hive Fleet Wendigo
  • Hive Fleet Xiangliu
  • Hive Fleet Yacumama
  • Hive Fleet Ymir
  • Hive Fleet Zaratan
  • Hive Fleet Zhulong
  • Hive Fleet Zipacna
  • Hive Fleet Ziz
  • Hookgaunt
  • Host of the Spore Mist
  • Hullbreaker
  • Hydrovore
  • Hypnothrope

I: 1 name

  • Ironback

J: 1 name

  • Jaws of Ammit

K: 1 name

  • King of the Spore Fields

L: 11 names

  • Lacerifex
  • Lacerocyte
  • Laniafex
  • Larvacyte
  • Lascutter
  • Leapgaunt
  • Lithovore
  • Longclaw
  • Lord of the Feeding Pits
  • Lucky Thirteen
  • Lumivore

M: 10 names

  • Maulgaunt
  • Maw of the Void
  • Miasmacyte
  • Miasmathrope
  • Mnemothrope
  • Morsiceptor
  • Morsifex
  • Mother of Rippers
  • Mycocyte
  • Myovore

N: 9 names

  • Necrocrine
  • Necrocyte
  • Necrofex
  • Necrovore
  • Nightcrawl
  • Nine Lives
  • No-Face
  • Noxthrope
  • Nullthrope

O: 16 names

  • Old Broken Tusk
  • Old Cinderback
  • Old Grey Mother
  • Old Halfskull
  • Old Hollow-Eye
  • Old Ironhide
  • Old Longshadow
  • Old Ninety Scars
  • Old One Eye
  • Old Patience
  • Old Rustjaw
  • Old Saw-Arm
  • Old Three Claws
  • Ossifex
  • Ossilictor
  • Osteovore

P: 7 names

  • Pestifex
  • Petrovore
  • Phantasmathrope
  • Plasmavore
  • Psychothrope
  • Psychovore
  • Pyrocyte

Q: 2 names

  • Queen of the Underhive
  • Quillgaunt

R: 5 names

  • Razorgaunt
  • Remnant of Gorgon
  • Rippermaw
  • Ruptifex
  • Rustfang

S: 53 names

  • Saint's Bane
  • Sanguifex
  • Sarcocyte
  • Scar-Mother
  • Scythegaunt
  • Second Sunrise
  • Sergeant's Ruin
  • Shadow of Leviathan
  • Shell Game
  • Shrikegaunt
  • Silicavore
  • Six-Limbs
  • Skygaunt
  • Skyreaver
  • Somnithrope
  • Spawn of Echidna
  • Spiculafex
  • Spinocyte
  • Spinophage
  • Splinter Fleet Boiuna
  • Splinter Fleet Bukavac
  • Splinter Fleet Caoranach
  • Splinter Fleet Cuelebre
  • Splinter Fleet Draugr
  • Splinter Fleet Each-uisge
  • Splinter Fleet Girtablilu

S, continued

  • Splinter Fleet Herensuge
  • Splinter Fleet Ikuchi
  • Splinter Fleet Jiuying
  • Splinter Fleet Jorogumo
  • Splinter Fleet Kelpie
  • Splinter Fleet Keres
  • Splinter Fleet Knucker
  • Splinter Fleet Mizuchi
  • Splinter Fleet Mormo
  • Splinter Fleet Penanggalan
  • Splinter Fleet Psoglav
  • Splinter Fleet Python
  • Splinter Fleet Shahmaran
  • Splinter Fleet Skolopendra
  • Splinter Fleet Surtr
  • Splinter Fleet Tiddalik
  • Splinter Fleet Vodyanoy
  • Splitface
  • Sporefall Brood
  • Sporegaunt
  • Sporovore
  • Stalkgaunt
  • Swarm of the Burning Sky
  • Swarm of the Hollow World
  • Swarm of the Ninth Feeding
  • Swarm of the Salt Flats
  • Synapthrope

T: 148 names

  • Talon of Nidhogg
  • Talons of the Deep Void
  • Talons of the Outer Dark
  • Tank Opener
  • Tendril Dandan
  • Tendril Hydrus
  • Tendril Impundulu
  • Tendril Kujata
  • Tendril Muirdris
  • Tendril Oniare
  • Tendril Peuchen
  • Tendril Physeter
  • Tendril Scitalis
  • Tendril Ugallu
  • Tendril Wani
  • Tendril Yayu
  • Tenebrothrope
  • Terraloc
  • The Ashen Tendril
  • The Ashfall Brood
  • The Bane of the 9th Cadian
  • The Barbed Tendril
  • The Beast of Kalder Ridge
  • The Biomass Reclaimers
  • The Black Glass Swarm
  • The Black Tide Mother
  • The Blind Sister
  • The Bone Orchardman
  • The Bone Reef Brood
  • The Bone-White Tide
  • The Breacher
  • The Burrowing Host
  • The Butcher of Trench Nine
  • The Carpet of Claws
  • The Carrion Brood
  • The Chitin Rain Swarm
  • The Chittering Tide

T, continued

  • The Coiling Tendril
  • The Coils of Jormungandr
  • The Colonel's Shadow
  • The Crawling Horizon
  • The Creeping Maw
  • The Crimson Thresher
  • The Devouring Dawn
  • The Devouring of Tessa Minoris
  • The Digestion Line
  • The Doom of Malan'tai
  • The Drowner of Saint Orla's Lock
  • The Drowning Tendril
  • The Eclipse Swarm
  • The Emerald Scythe Brood
  • The Emperor's Sorrow
  • The Endless Horde
  • The Fall of Harrow Secundus
  • The Feast of Ash
  • The Feast of Meridian
  • The First Wave
  • The Flenser
  • The Gallows Bird
  • The Ghost of the Ashline
  • The Gnashing Brood
  • The Great Devourer
  • The Great Feeding
  • The Grey Reaper
  • The Horror of Hab Block Seven
  • The Hunger of Meridian Gate
  • The Hungering Tide
  • The Lamplighter
  • The Last Harvest
  • The Last Thing You Hear
  • The Laughing Scythe
  • The Leaping Horde
  • The Living Avalanche
  • The Locust Sun Swarm

T, continued

  • The Long Dark Mile
  • The Long Night of Sable Station
  • The Long Tendril
  • The Marrow Swarm
  • The Maw of Cetus
  • The Night Harvester
  • The Ninth Tendril
  • The Ninth Wave
  • The Open Maw
  • The Pale Tendril
  • The Pale Widow
  • The Parasite of Mortrex
  • The Patient One
  • The Quiet Death
  • The Quiet Tendril
  • The Rattler in the Vents
  • The Ravening Swarm
  • The Razor Brood
  • The Reach of Hydra
  • The Reason We Left
  • The Red Harvest
  • The Red Terror
  • The Scourge of Listening Post Delta
  • The Scouring of Vantine
  • The Scuttling Swarm
  • The Scything Host
  • The Severed Tendril
  • The Shadow in the Warp
  • The Shadow on the Wire
  • The Silence over Orrin's Reach
  • The Silent Vanguard
  • The Skinning Wave
  • The Skittering Front
  • The Sky of Wings
  • The Skyblight Brood
  • The Sleepless Jaw
  • The Southern Tendril

T, continued

  • The Spore Front
  • The Stalker of Vessel Row
  • The Starving Tendril
  • The Stripping of Kessel's World
  • The Sump Swarm
  • The Sundered Tendril
  • The Swarmlord
  • The Teeth Beneath
  • The Thief of Sentries
  • The Thing in Sump Nine
  • The Thornback Swarm
  • The Thousand Talons
  • The Thousand-Yard Shriek
  • The Tide of Talons
  • The Tithe Collector
  • The Tunnel Brood
  • The Tunneler of Station Hesk
  • The Twice-Killed
  • The Unburnt
  • The Underdark Horde
  • The Underhull Brood
  • The Vanguard of Teeth
  • The Violet Carapace Swarm
  • The Wake of Kraken
  • The Wall-Eater
  • The Wave That Does Not Break
  • The Whisperer Below
  • The White Maw
  • The Widowmaker of Fort Carrow
  • The Winged Host
  • Thermovore
  • Thorngaunt
  • Tide of the Second Wave
  • Toxicyte
  • Toxithrope
  • Tremorfex
  • Trenchfiller

U: 5 names

  • Umbracyte
  • Umbrafex
  • Umbralictor
  • Umbrathrope
  • Umbravore

V: 8 names

  • Vanguard of the Shadow
  • Vastofex
  • Venocyte
  • Venomgaunt
  • Venospex
  • Voidthrope
  • Vorafex
  • Vorocyte