How it works
This bugbear name generator joins a low, padding opening to an ending, adds a byname for a creature that creeps, and names one of the bugbear's kin from folklore, as in "Norbgo Cupboard-Lurker, kin to the barghest."
Read the full guide
Four parts, one line
Press New bugbear name. Tap a part to lock it, then press again: keep a name like Mudgelug and try bynames, or keep one kin and press for a whole band. Bynames say how it gets about the house: Candle-Pincher, Shadow-Folder.
The kin are real folklore
The last part is not made up. Boggart, bogle, barghest, hobgoblin and the rest are bogey figures, mostly of British and Irish folklore, and the list under the tool gives each a line from its Wikipedia article.
Questions and answers
What is a bugbear in folklore?
A legendary creature or type of hobgoblin, comparable to the bogeyman. Like other creatures of its kind, it was used in some cultures to frighten disobedient children, Wikipedia says.
Where does the word bugbear come from?
From an obsolete meaning of bug, "something terrifying", joined to bear, English Wiktionary says. The Middle English word was bugge, and the modern word bogey is related.
What is a good name for a bugbear?
This page gives short, low names such as Mudgelug, then a byname for how the creature gets about the house at night, such as Candle-Pincher or Shadow-Folder.
Are these bugbear names from a game?
No. The names are made up, checked against the page titles of fan wikis for well-known fantasy games and against the orc, goblin and troll names on this site; a match was cut.