Sword Name Generator

Named swords are older than fantasy fiction. Roland carried Durendal, Charlemagne swore on Joyeuse, El Cid wielded Tizona and Colada, Sigurd forged Gram from the shards of his father's blade, and Beowulf borrowed Hrunting before it failed him. In the sagas, a sword's name usually came from what it did or who it belonged to: Legbiter, Quern-biter, Skofnung. That tradition shaped every fantasy blade since, from Tolkien's Glamdring and Anduril to Martin's Longclaw and Sanderson's Nightblood.

Most good sword names fall into a handful of structures. Compound English names pair a noun with an action word: Dawnbringer, Oathkeeper, Widowmaker, Wyrmtooth. Old-language names sound like they were forged somewhere real, whether borrowed from Norse, Welsh, Japanese and Persian legend (Tyrfing, Dyrnwyn, Muramasa, Zulfiqar) or invented to sound like them (Aethelwyn, Vaelric). Titled relics carry a definite article and a story, such as The Widow's Lament or The Last Argument. Single abstract words such as Requiem, Absolution or Ruin work best for a blade with a personality of its own, and the phrase form Blade of X or Sword of X marks a weapon defined by an owner, a place or a purpose.

The list above deliberately mixes real legendary swords, famous fictional ones and original names in each of those styles. When choosing, think about who named the blade. A smith names for the material or the commission, a hero names for a deed, and enemies name it out of fear, and each of those produces a different kind of name.