Caravan Name Generator

One press names a trade caravan and gives its size, its cargo, its road and who leads it.

Caravan Name Generator: 20 caravans

The Evening Fire Caravan: two hundred people on foot, carrying saffron powder along the forest edge, never inside it. Led by the caravan dog, in practice.

Padlock: keep a part. Arrows: change only that part.

NameEvening Fire
Sizetwo hundred people on foot
Cargosaffron powder
Routethe forest edge, never inside it
Led bythe caravan dog, in practice

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Caravan of the day

The Evening Fire Caravan: two hundred people on foot, carrying saffron powder along the forest edge, never inside it. Led by the caravan dog, in practice.
The Lucky Knot Caravan: forty camels and one cook, carrying paper along the Kite Hills. Led by a tax collector's runaway clerk.
The Three Drums Caravan: a dozen pack mules, carrying perfumes along the Ochre Cliffs road. Led by a farmer who meant to go only to the next village.
The Spare Wheel Caravan: fifteen horses and a goat, carrying ostrich feathers along the shadow side of the canyon. Led by the caravan dog, in practice.
The Walking Market Caravan: six wagons and a spare wheel, carrying perfumes along the Whistling Gap. Led by a ferryman far from any river.
The Borrowed Star Caravan: five families and their carts, carrying black pepper along the Camel's Ladder. Led by a grandfather and the granddaughter he is training.
The Bitter Water Caravan: five families and their carts, carrying frankincense along the Windward Pass. Led by an innkeeper who sold the inn to see the road.
The Unfinished Map Caravan: four elephants and a great many mules, carrying cowry shells along the Old Queen's Mile. Led by a grandmother who has made the crossing forty times.
The Slow Mile Caravan: thirty sledges, since it is winter, carrying frankincense along the Brine Steps. Led by an astronomer who walks only at night.
The Weathered Map Caravan: thirty sledges, since it is winter, carrying beeswax along the paved road older than any town on it. Led by a former court poet paying off a debt.
The Unfinished Map Caravan: sixty donkeys, most of them willing, carrying bolts of silk along the high road above the clouds. Led by a midwife who joined at the third well and led by the fifth.
The Open Ledger Caravan: seven carts and a string of spare horses, carrying gold along the Dust Mile. Led by a grandmother who has made the crossing forty times.
The Double Moon Caravan: a dozen pack mules, carrying kola nuts along the Hundred Hairpins. Led by an innkeeper who sold the inn to see the road.
The Salt-and-Honey Caravan: fifteen horses and a goat, carrying bolts of silk along the Moonrise Track, walked only at night. Led by a star-reader who refuses to travel on cloudy nights.
The Patient Ox Caravan: a mile of wagons, nose to tail, carrying pearls along the dry bed of a river with no name. Led by a locksmith guarding a single small chest.
The Night Kettle Caravan: two hundred people on foot, carrying black pepper along the Saltmarsh Causeway. Led by a guide who navigates by smell.
The Thousand Steps Caravan: a mile of wagons, nose to tail, carrying black pepper along the winter track over the ice. Led by a grandfather and the granddaughter he is training.
The Fifth Camel Caravan: nine ox carts, slowly, carrying glass bottles along the Ochre Cliffs road. Led by a stern accountant on a very small donkey.
The Winding Thread Caravan: twenty yaks and two dogs, carrying saffron powder along the Five Aunts wells. Led by a pilgrim who agreed to lead only as far as the shrine.
The Old Promise Caravan: three hundred camels in four strings, carrying cardamom along the high road above the clouds. Led by a horse trader who never sells the lead animal.

Next step Roll what it meets on the road Name the city it is bound for

How it works

This caravan name generator builds a trade caravan for a game table or a story: a name, a size, a cargo, a route and a leader. The cargoes are real goods of the old caravan roads, each with its road.

Read the full guide

Name a caravan in one press

Press New caravan. Lock the cargo on slabs of salt and reroll until the caravan fits your map.

The cargoes are real

Salt from the mines of Taoudenni crossed the Sahara by camel, and kola nuts went north the same way. Arabian frankincense and myrrh traveled the Incense Route toward the Mediterranean. Tea went to Tibet on the Tea Horse Road in exchange for horses, and amber came south on the Amber Road. The routes dealt here are invented.

Lock the route and deal three caravans: they will meet on the road.

Questions and answers

What is a caravan?

A caravan is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Wikipedia says caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in a group helped in defense against bandits.

What did caravans carry?

On the roads this page draws from: salt, gold and kola nuts across the Sahara; frankincense and myrrh from Arabia; silk, jade, porcelain and saffron powder on the Silk Road; tea to Tibet; and amber to the Mediterranean.

How big was a caravan?

It varied widely. Wikipedia's article on the azalai, the salt caravans of the Sahara, reports caravans with up to 10,000 camels. The sizes dealt here are small and made up for a game table.

Does this name a camping caravan?

No. In British English a caravan is also a trailer to sleep in; this page names a trade caravan of animals and wagons. For a vehicle, try the car name generator.

Name: all 69 names

B 4

Bitter Water
Blue Tassel
Borrowed Star
Borrowed Tent

C 2

Counting Stones
Crooked Scale

D 3

Double Moon
Dune Fox
Dusty Lantern

Show all 69 names (60 more)

E 1

Evening Fire

F 3

Fair Wind
Far Wells
Fifth Camel

G 2

Golden Bridle
Gray Mare

H 4

High Pass
Honest Scale
Humming Rope
Hundred Bells

I 1

Indigo Banner

J 1

Jangling Harness

L 8

Lantern Line
Laughing Mule
Lone Palm
Long Detour
Long Thirst
Low Road
Lowing Ox
Lucky Knot

M 2

Mended Wheel
Morning Bell

N 2

Night Kettle
Nine Bells

O 2

Old Promise
Open Ledger

P 3

Painted Wheel
Patient Camel
Patient Ox

Q 1

Quiet Hoof

R 1

Rolling Bazaar

S 15

Saffron Banner
Salt-and-Honey
Sand Sparrow
Seven Tents
Seventh Well
Singing Axle
Singing Dune
Slow Mile
Spare Wheel
Spice Wind
Steady Pace
Stone Flower
Striped Blanket
Sweet Water
Swift Courier

T 6

Tallow Lamp
Thirsty Crow
Thorn Tree
Thousand Steps
Three Drums
Twelve Shadows

U 1

Unfinished Map

W 6

Walking Market
Wandering Loom
Weathered Map
White Camel
Wide Sky
Winding Thread

Y 1

Yellow Dust

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 69 names, written on 2026-10-03 to stand between "The" and "Caravan". 26 of 95 candidates were cut: 24 because the words already stood on another list of this site or of its sister sites, and two because, with "The", they are the titles of published works set in a desert. Each full name, with and without "The", was searched as a page title on English Wikipedia and on sixteen fantasy fan wikis the same day; none was found. Trade marks were not searched, so search a name before you publish it. Licence: own work

Size: all 20 sizes

A 4

a dozen pack mules
a hundred camels and a hired drummer
a mile of wagons, nose to tail
a single string of eleven camels

E 1

eighty porters with shoulder poles

F 4

fifteen horses and a goat
five families and their carts
forty camels and one cook
four elephants and a great many mules

Show all 20 sizes (11 more)

N 1

nine ox carts, slowly

O 1

one enormous wagon pulled by sixteen oxen

S 3

seven carts and a string of spare horses
six wagons and a spare wheel
sixty donkeys, most of them willing

T 6

thirty sledges, since it is winter
three hundred camels in four strings
twenty yaks and two dogs
twenty-two llamas wearing bells
two hundred people on foot
two wagons and far too many passengers

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 20 sizes, written on 2026-10-03 for a game table: animals, wagons and people, with no claim about any real caravan. Licence: own work

Cargo: all 32 cargoes

Across the Sahara 8

beads West Africa received salt, cloth, beads and metal goods across the Sahara.
bolts of cloth West Africa received salt, cloth, beads and metal goods across the Sahara.
cowry shells Carried south across the Sahara for use as currency.
gold West African gold went north across the Sahara.

Show all 32 cargoes (28 more)

Across the Sahara, continued

gum arabic One of the goods of the Darb El Arba'īn, a desert road of Egypt.
kola nuts Carried north across the Sahara from the lands to the south.
ostrich feathers One of the goods of the Darb El Arba'īn, a desert road of Egypt.
slabs of salt Salt from the mines of Taoudenni crossed the Sahara by camel.

The incense routes 5

ebony One of the Indian goods traded along the incense routes.
frankincense Arabian frankincense traveled the Incense Route toward the Mediterranean.
myrrh Arabian myrrh traveled the Incense Route toward the Mediterranean.
pearls One of the Indian goods traded along the incense routes.
rare woods Carried along the incense routes from the Horn of Africa.

The Silk Road 13

bolts of silk The cloth the Silk Road is named for.
dates Brought to China from Persia on the northern Silk Road.
dyes One of the lucrative goods sent west from the East on the Silk Road.
glass bottles Brought to China from Egypt on the northern Silk Road.
honey One of the Western exports on the Silk Road, with horses and camels.
jade Carried from Khotan to eastern China on roads that were used for jade before silk.
lapis lazuli A deep-blue stone from the mines of Badakhshan.
paper One of the goods that spread along the Silk Road.
perfumes One of the lucrative goods sent west from the East on the Silk Road.
pistachio nuts Brought to China from Persia on the northern Silk Road.
porcelain One of the lucrative goods sent west from the East on the Silk Road.
saffron powder Brought to China from Persia on the northern Silk Road.
sandalwood Brought to China from India on the northern Silk Road.

Tea, horses and amber 3

amber Carried on the Amber Road from northern coasts to the Mediterranean.
beeswax Sent to the Romans along the Amber Road with fur and honey.
tea Carried to Tibet on the Tea Horse Road and exchanged for horses.

Spices 3

black pepper One of the spices traded across Asia since antiquity.
cardamom One of the spices traded across Asia since antiquity.
cinnamon One of the spices traded across Asia since antiquity.

How this list was compiled: 32 real goods of the old caravan and trade roads, each checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia (the articles Trans-Saharan trade, Azalai, Darb El Arba'īn, Incense trade route, Silk Road, Tea Horse Road, Amber Road and Spice trade; https://en.wikipedia.org/, text CC BY-SA 4.0). The line on each says which road carried it; the wording is ours. The same roads also carried enslaved people, which the articles record and this list leaves out, as it does ivory, wine and weapons. Licence: own work

Route: all 40 routes

Desert and dry country 12

the Black Sand shore
the Brine Steps
the Camel's Ladder
the dry bed of a river with no name
the Dust Mile
the Five Aunts wells
the Glass Flats
the Humming Dunes
the old road past the three wells
the Road of Cairns
the Thirsty Mile
the well road, one well a day

Show all 40 routes (28 more)

Hills and passes 12

the high road above the clouds
the Hundred Hairpins
the Juniper Steps
the Kite Hills
the long way round the Sleeping Hills
the ridge the shepherds call the Spine
the Rope Bridge shortcut
the shadow side of the canyon
the terraces above the river
the Whistling Gap
the Windward Pass
the winter track over the ice

Coast, plain and town 16

the Blue Gate road
the border of two quarreling towns
the coast road, tide permitting
the forest edge, never inside it
the Lamplit Road
the Looking-Glass Ponds
the Moonrise Track, walked only at night
the Ochre Cliffs road
the Old Queen's Mile
the Old Tax Road, avoiding the tax
the paved road older than any town on it
the Pilgrim's Elbow
the road of eleven fords
the Saltmarsh Causeway
the sunken lane between two walls
the Waving Plain

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 40 invented routes, written on 2026-10-03 to follow the word "along". None is a real road: ten first ideas were changed because the words matched a real place, a book title or a line on another list of this site. Licence: own work

Led by: all 51 caravan masters

Old hands 16

a bell ringer who wakes the camp before dawn
a cartwright who can mend a wheel in the dark
a grandfather and the granddaughter he is training
a grandmother who has made the crossing forty times
a guide who was lost only once, and tells the story nightly
a herder who whistles each animal's own tune

Show all 51 caravan masters (45 more)

Old hands, continued

a horse trader who never sells the lead animal
a merchant's widow with a ledger and a whistle
a quiet woman who knows every well by name
a retired mapmaker who trusts no map
a retired quartermaster who checks every knot twice
a scribe who writes down every bargain
a star-reader who refuses to travel on cloudy nights
a weather-watcher whose bad knee is always right
a woman known only as the Captain of Wells
an astronomer who walks only at night

New to the job 16

a boy of twelve who inherited the lead animal
a cook who was promoted by accident
a driver elected by drawing straws
a farmer who meant to go only to the next village
a ferryman far from any river
a former court poet paying off a debt
a juggler who took the job for one season, nine years ago
a messenger who is, strictly, still delivering a letter
a midwife who joined at the third well and led by the fifth
a nervous heir on a first crossing
a one-time acrobat who rides standing up
a pilgrim who agreed to lead only as far as the shrine
a schoolteacher on a long leave of absence
a tax collector's runaway clerk
a toll keeper who got tired of staying put
an innkeeper who sold the inn to see the road

Odd choices 19

a beekeeper carrying one hive for luck
a cheerful giant who carries the spare axle
a girl who keeps the water tally and is never wrong
a guide who navigates by smell
a locksmith guarding a single small chest
a pair of rival map sellers sharing one tent
a patient man with an impatient parrot
a silk grader with very clean hands
a singer who sets the pace with songs
a spice taster who has lost the sense of smell
a stern accountant on a very small donkey
a storyteller paid in suppers
a tailor who measures distance in thread
a woman who talks to the lead animal, and is answered
an animal doctor more loyal to patients than to cargo
the caravan dog, in practice
three cousins who vote on every turn
twin sisters who take turns sleeping
two brothers who have not spoken in a year

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 51 caravan masters, written on 2026-10-03 to follow the words "Led by". No name, no people and no faith is given, so each fits any world; nobody is cruel and nobody is a bandit. Licence: own work