This bard name generator pairs a first name with an invented surname, then adds a real kind of poet-singer, from a skald to a griot, and an early instrument, from a crwth to a hurdy-gurdy.
Read the full guide
Name one bard or a whole troupe
Press New bard name. Tap a part to lock it, then press again. Lock the kind on troubadour and every press names another member of one troupe. Lock the surname for a family of players.
The kinds and the instruments are real
A skald was a poet of the Old Norse courts. A griot is a West African praise singer and storyteller. The list under the tool explains every kind and every instrument, such as the crwth, a bowed lyre from Wales. The surnames are made up.
Tips
Say the whole line aloud, the way a herald would announce the act.
For a rival, keep the instrument and press for a new name.
Questions and answers
What is a good name for a bard?
One that is easy to say aloud and hints at music. This page joins a first name such as Linnet to a surname built on a songbird, a tune or an instrument, such as Larkwell or Wrenlow.
What is the difference between a bard, a skald and a troubadour?
A bard was a poet and singer who served a patron among the Celts. A skald composed Old Norse poetry, traditionally to honor kings. A troubadour composed and performed Old Occitan lyric poetry in the High Middle Ages.
What instrument does a bard play?
On this page, an early one: a lute, a vielle, a rebec, a psaltery or a hurdy-gurdy, among others. The list under the tool says what each instrument is.
Are these bard names from a game or a book?
No. The surnames were written for this page, and each was searched in Wikipedia titles and on fantasy fan wikis; matches were cut. The first names are real given names. The kinds and the instruments are real.
How this list was compiled: Our own pick of 54 given names for a bard, made on 2026-10-02: names that are also a word of music or the name of a songbird, and old names. A script looked up each in English Wiktionary that day and kept only names with an English given-name entry. No name of a bard of legend or history was chosen on purpose. One more name came off on the day the page went live, because a name list of this site holds it and would otherwise pass its limit of 40 shared names in 100. 11 candidates were cut (9 other reasons; 2 a name from published fiction, or one letter from it), among them Florian, Rosalind, Emrys, Osric, Gwilym, Lorcan, Wystan, Alys. Licence: own work
Surname: all 85 surnames
A 1
Altamere
B 3
Balladeen
Brevelle
Brightnote
Show all 85 surnames (81 more)
C 10
Cadenby
Cantilane
Canzoney
Carillane
Carolwyn
Chaconby
Chimeford
Chordwain
Clefton
Coldharp
D 3
Dawnchorus
Dronewell
Drumlea
E 1
Echohurst
F 3
Fiddleby
Fifewell
Fluteley
G 4
Gavotton
Gitternell
Gleewood
Greenreed
H 7
Halfnote
Harpstead
Harpwick
Hollowreed
Honeyvoice
Hummelow
Humwell
J 1
Jigwell
K 1
Keywood
L 8
Larkwell
Laudamere
Lilthaven
Linnetford
Longbreath
Lowhum
Lyreham
Lyrewell
M 6
Madrigan
Mandorey
Matinsby
Merlesong
Merrywhistle
Minimwell
N 2
Ninestring
Noelwyn
O 2
Odeling
Oldfiddle
P 1
Psalterwick
Q 2
Quaverly
Quickfinger
R 7
Rebecksby
Reelby
Refrayne
Rimewell
Rondeley
Roundelle
Roundsong
S 8
Saltarel
Sarabanne
Shawmley
Songhollow
Songmere
Sorrelsong
Strumwell
Sweetwhistle
T 9
Tabormoor
Taleweaver
Tamborel
Tenorly
Thrushcombe
Tollerby
Trebleton
Tremolane
Tunewright
V 4
Versey
Vesperwell
Vielleby
Voltamere
W 2
Whistlewick
Wrenlow
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 85 invented surnames, written on 2026-10-02, each built on a songbird, a tune, a dance or an instrument. Every one was screened that day by script: an English dictionary and two lists of real names; GeoNames places of 500 people and up with their alternate names (https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/, CC BY 4.0); every list on this site; a rude-word list, read inside the name and across the space after each first name (https://github.com/LDNOOBW/List-of-Dirty-Naughty-Obscene-and-Otherwise-Bad-Words); a list of well-known names from fantasy books and games; every word of every page title of 16 fantasy fan wikis; English Wikipedia page titles; entries of English Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org), in any language; and exact page titles on 12 fantasy fan wikis (lotr.fandom.com, forgottenrealms.fandom.com, elderscrolls.fandom.com, witcher.fandom.com, dragonage.fandom.com, gameofthrones.fandom.com, wot.fandom.com, harrypotter.fandom.com, wowpedia.fandom.com, pathfinder.fandom.com, criticalrole.fandom.com, zelda.fandom.com). 21 candidates were cut (9 a dictionary word, five of them found in Wiktionary; 5 a Wikipedia page title; 3 a rude word inside or across the join; 1 a real place on the map; 1 on another list of this site; 1 a name from published fiction, or one letter from it; 1 a fan wiki page title), among them Quillon, Reedmere, Windsong, Descanter, Passamere, Lullaby, Catchpenny, Chorister, Dulcimore, Pavanne. No list of fiction or of real surnames is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Licence: own work
Kind of bard: all 16 kinds of poet-singer
A 2
aoidosA classical Greek singer. Scholars use the word for a skilled oral epic poet.
aqynAn improvising poet and singer of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz cultures.
B 1
bardA poet and singer serving a patron among the ancient Celts and in the medieval Celtic-speaking world.
Show all 16 kinds of poet-singer (13 more)
F 1
filiOne of an elite class of poets in Ireland, and later Scotland, up until the Renaissance.
G 3
gleemanA wandering minstrel or strolling poet of medieval Europe.
goliardOne of the young clergy of 12th- and 13th-century Europe who wrote satirical Latin poetry.
griotA West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and musician.
M 3
makarA Scottish word for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet.
minnesingerA singer of Minnesang, the German love song of the 12th to 14th centuries.
minstrelAn entertainer of medieval Europe; from the sixteenth century, one who sang songs and played instruments.
R 1
rhapsodeA professional performer of epic poetry in classical Greece, in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.
S 3
scopA poet as shown in Old English poetry, the counterpart of the Old Norse skald.
skaldA named poet of the Old Norse courts. Skaldic poems were traditionally composed to honor kings.
skomorokhA medieval East Slavic actor who could also sing, dance and play musical instruments.
T 2
troubadourA composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry in the High Middle Ages, 1100 to 1350.
trouvèreA poet-composer of northern France. The word is the northern French form of troubadour.
How this list was compiled: 16 real words for a poet-singer. Each line follows the opening of the English Wikipedia article on that kind, read on 2026-10-02; a script checked that the words behind each line are in that opening. The lines are ours. Kinds tied to one instrument (the kitharode, the kobzar, the lirnyk) were left out, because the instrument on this page is dealt separately. Licence: own work
Instrument: all 44 instruments
Plucked strings 15
bandoraA large long-necked plucked instrument that can be regarded as a bass cittern.
citoleA string instrument commonly used from 1200 to 1350.
citternA stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance.
gitternA small gut-strung, round-backed instrument first seen in Western Europe in the 13th century.
Show all 44 instruments (40 more)
Plucked strings, continued
gusliThe oldest East Slavic plucked instrument with many strings, of the zither family.
kanteleA traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument.
kitharaAn ancient Greek instrument of seven strings, the professional version of the lyre.
langeleikA Norwegian droned zither.
luteA plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back.
lyreA stringed instrument that organology classes as a yoke lute.
mandoreA small, teardrop-shaped member of the lute family.
orpharionA plucked Renaissance instrument of the cittern family, with metal strings.
psalteryA box zither with no fretboard.
scheitholtA traditional German drone zither, an ancestor of the modern zither.
theorboA plucked instrument of the lute family with an extended neck that holds a second pegbox.
Bowed strings and wheel fiddles 10
crwthA bowed lyre associated particularly with Welsh music.
gadulkaA traditional Bulgarian bowed string instrument.
hurdy-gurdyA string instrument sounded by a hand-cranked wheel that rubs against the strings.
lira da braccioA bowed Renaissance instrument that Italian poet-musicians played at court.
lironeThe bass member of the lira family, bowed, with between 9 and 16 gut strings.
organistrumAn early form of hurdy-gurdy with a soundbox shaped like an 8.
rebecA bowed string instrument of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.
talharpaA bowed lyre of two to four strings from northern Europe.
tromba marinaA triangular bowed string instrument, also called the marine trumpet.
vielleA European bowed string instrument of the medieval period, like a violin with a longer and deeper body.
Wind 15
albokaA Basque single-reed woodwind with two melody pipes and a bell of animal horn.
aulosAn ancient Greek wind instrument, often translated as flute or double flute.
bladder pipeA simple medieval bagpipe: a blow pipe, a bladder and a chanter.
bukkehornAn old Scandinavian instrument made from the horn of a goat or a ram.
cornamuseA Renaissance double reed instrument with a windcap over the reed.
cornettA lip-reed wind instrument popular from 1500 to 1650.
crumhornA double reed woodwind most commonly used during the Renaissance.
dulcianA Renaissance woodwind with a double reed and a folded conical bore.
flageoletA woodwind of the duct flute family, which includes recorders and tin whistles.
gemshornAn instrument of the ocarina family, historically made from the horn of a chamois or goat.
kortholtA Renaissance woodwind. Its Low Saxon name means a short piece of wood.
rackettA Renaissance double reed wind instrument, also called the sausage bassoon.
rauschpfeifeA capped reed woodwind used in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.
sackbutAn early form of the trombone, used during the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
shawmA double-reed woodwind with a conical bore, made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century.
Drums and small organs 4
bodhránA frame drum used in Irish music.
portative organA small pipe organ with one rank of flue pipes.
regalA small portable organ with beating reeds and two bellows.
taborA portable drum with two skins, typically played with a single stick.
How this list was compiled: 44 real instruments of ancient, medieval and Renaissance music and of old folk traditions. Each line follows the opening of the English Wikipedia article on that instrument, read on 2026-10-02; a script checked that the words behind each line are in that opening. The lines are ours. Licence: own work