How it works
This barbarian name generator names a barbarian hero for a story or a game: a short given name, a deed name won in a hunt or a storm, and a homeland at the edge of the map.
Read the full guide
Name one hero or a whole people
Press New barbarian name. Tap a part to lock it, then press again. Lock the homeland and each press names another member of one people. Lock a given name and press for the deed that suits it.
Where the word comes from
A barbarian was at first simply a foreigner. The ancient Greeks used the word for people who did not speak Greek, whose speech, Greek writers said, sounded like bar bar. The Romans applied it to peoples outside their empire, such as the Thracians and the Sarmatians.
Tips
- Fantasy barbarian names read best when the deed is small and proud: one river, one elk, one storm.
- Say the whole name in one breath, the way a herald would shout it.
Questions and answers
What does the word barbarian mean?
By origin, a foreigner: someone whose language and customs differ from the speaker's. In ancient Greece the term meant non-Greeks. In modern English it has come to mean a rude, wild or uncivilized person.
Who did the Romans call barbarians?
Peoples who lived outside the Roman world, among them the Thracians, Illyrians, Sarmatians and Helvetii. After the reign of Augustus the word became a common term among Romans for all foreigners.
How do you name a barbarian character?
Give a short given name, then a second name earned by a deed, such as Elk-Runner or Thunder-Shouter, and say where the character comes from. The deed tells a reader more than a family name would.
Are these names from a game or a film?
No. The names are our own and were searched in name files, on Wikipedia and on fantasy fan wikis; those that turned up were cut. No real people, living or ancient, is named in the rows.