Fantasy Horse Names

Five names for a knight's or a traveler's mount a press, from this fantasy horse name generator.

Fantasy Horse Names

HrothmarA northern name for a horse with feathered heels.
Velvet PaceA long road feels shorter on this back.
Wayside WimStops at every milestone to look around.
BrackenflightThrough the ferns and over the wall.
MoorflashA streak across the heather.

Next step Name the rider Draw a real breed to picture the mount

How it works

These fantasy horse names are sorted by the real medieval kinds of horse: the destrier for war, the courser for speed, the palfrey for the road, the everyday rouncey and the draft horse. Press for five.

Read the full guide

Pick the kind of horse first

Open the list under the button and choose a kind. In the Middle Ages horses were told apart by use more than by breed, Wikipedia's Horses in the Middle Ages says. A destrier was the knight's great war horse, prized and not common. A courser was light, fast and strong, and also went hunting.

Mounts for the road and the farm

A palfrey was the prized riding horse, with a smooth gait for long distances. A rouncey was the ordinary, all-purpose horse of a squire or a poorer knight. Cart horses pulled wagons for trade and on farms.

Questions and answers

What are good fantasy horse names?

Match the name to the job. Oathhoof and Red Bastion suit a war horse, Windcleave and Fleetfen a fast courser, Silkstep a noble's palfrey, and Second Best a squire's hard-working rouncey.

What is a destrier?

The destrier is the best-known war horse of the Middle Ages. It carried knights in battles, tournaments and jousts, and sources of the time called it the Great Horse. It was highly prized and not very common.

What is the difference between a courser and a palfrey?

A courser was a swift, strong horse ridden to war and sometimes to the hunt. A palfrey was a riding horse with a smooth, ambling gait, popular with nobles for travel and ceremony, and it could cost as much as a destrier.

Are these the names of horses from books or games?

No. Every name was made up for this page, and the list was compared with well-known horses of books, films, games and myth. Chanfron and Crinet are real pieces of horse armor, explained under each name.

All 130 horse names

Destrier, the war horse 26

Aldrusk Dark bay, heavy neck, eyes like a judge.
Ashbanner Gray as a flag left out in smoke.
Bellmarch His harness bells are the first thing the far gate hears.
Brannoch the Bulwark Wide in the chest and slow to turn aside.
Caparison A caparison is the cloth cover a war horse wore, sometimes from nose to tail.
Chanfron The chanfron is the armor made to protect a war horse's face.
Crinet The crinet is the set of plates that protected a war horse's neck.
Durnhal Stoneshoulder He leans into a charge like a door closing.
Flanchard Flanchards were armor used to protect a horse's flank.
Garrowmere Black to the fetlocks and patient under armor.
Gonfalon A gonfalon is a banner hung from a crosspiece on a pole.
Greatsaddle Needs a saddle built to order.
Highmarch Thane Bred on the border and proud of it.
Hrothmar A northern name for a horse with feathered heels.
Ironmane Valdric A tall gray who stands still while the trumpets sound.
Kaldemar A name with a drumbeat in it, for a horse who marches.
Knightsweight Carries a rider in full plate and does not complain.
Listwarden Stands at the rail and watches every pass.
Morrowkeep Stands watch at dawn without being asked.
Oathhoof Carries a knight who has sworn something difficult.
Old Thunderfoot Past his best years and still the loudest on the field.
Ostrand Named for the eastern shore his line came from.
Red Bastion A chestnut the size of a small wall.
Tiltyard King Happiest with a fence on one side and a crowd on the other.
Torvane the Unturned Has never once shied at a lance.
Vauntcourier He goes first so the rest will follow.

Courser, fast and light 26

Arrowmere Runs as straight as the name says.
Brackenflight Through the ferns and over the wall.
Dawnharrier Out with the hunt before the frost has lifted.
Elowar Swiftfetlock White socks that blur at a gallop.
Emberheel Sparks on the cobbles when he leaves the yard.
Farsound You hear the hooves long after you lose sight.
Fleetfen Raised on marsh ground and never once bogged.
Galeheel The wind is always a length behind.
Halloo A shout used in hunting to urge the chase on.
Hartchaser Named for the red deer he was bred to follow.
Hawkwake Follows the falcon across open country.
Longreach Corin All leg, and every stride is a fence length.
Merewind Comes in off the lake at a run.
Moorflash A streak across the heather.
Quarrelshot A quarrel is a bolt for a crossbow. He leaves the line like one.
Quickthorn Lass A lean mare who does not wait to be asked twice.
Ravenstride Vey Black, narrow and very hard to catch.
Sennet A sennet is a run of trumpet notes that signals an entrance. He makes one.
Silvervane Turns as fast as a weathercock in a storm.
Skirlwind Skirl is a shrill sound, as of bagpipes, and of this one going by.
Swallowdart Low, quick and never in a straight line.
Tassarin An elvish-sounding name for a horse who barely touches the ground.
Thistlerun Does not slow down for rough ground.
Vesperdash Fastest in the last light of the day.
Windcleave Light, fast and gone before the horn finishes.
Yrsa Lightgirth A slim mare who carries messages between two keeps.

Palfrey, the smooth riding horse 26

Amaryne Soft-eyed, dapple gray and fond of apples.
Ambergait Golden, even and unhurried.
Belisaunt A court name for a mare with a ribboned bridle.
Canticle Rose A gentle roan who belongs to the abbey.
Chatelaine A chatelaine is the mistress of a castle.
Coronet Gray Walks as if she were wearing one.
Damask Bell A patterned coat and a silver bell on the breastband.
Dovecote Lily White, calm and always home by dusk.
Ermine Queen White as the winter fur she is named for.
Evenpace The same speed uphill, downhill and through the market.
Gentle Reeve Steady enough for a rider who has never ridden.
Lady Amblewyn Named for the amble, the easy gait a palfrey was prized for.
Lutesong Moves in time to music nobody else can hear.
Maygarland Flowers woven in the mane on the first of May.
Meadowsilk The color of long grass in June.
Orielle of the Long Road Has carried three generations of the same house.
Pearlmane Isaunt A cream mare for processions and feast days.
Samite Samite is a rich silk cloth prized in the Middle Ages.
Satinfoot Sets each hoof down as if the floor were polished.
Silkstep So smooth a rider can read in the saddle.
Softmarch Covers the miles without shaking the rider.
Velvet Pace A long road feels shorter on this back.
Vespertine Best ridden at evening, when the road is quiet.
Wayfarer's Ease Hired out for the long road to the shrine.
Whisperwalk You hear the harness and not the hooves.
Ysmeine Carries the duchess to the spring fair every year.

Rouncey, the everyday horse 26

Bramblefoot Knows every shortcut and none of them are clear.
Brindlecloak A streaky coat that looks like a patched blanket.
Burrtail Comes back from every hedge wearing some of it.
Cobblethwaite A long name for a short horse.
Crossroads Meg Always certain which way is home.
Everyday Aldous An ordinary, all-purpose horse, as every rouncey was.
Fairday Moll Knows the way to town with her eyes shut.
Faithful Wat Waits outside every inn without being tied.
Fenwick Brown An ordinary brown horse with an ordinary brown name.
Good Enough What the horse trader said, and he was right.
Halfpenny Tam Small change, big heart.
Hobnail Tough, plain and good on stones.
Longway Round He has seen all of it at a walk.
Mudlark Jory Finds the only puddle on a dry road.
Nettleshy Learned what not to eat the hard way.
Oatsworth Works for his supper and counts it.
Packsaddle Pim A rouncey could carry packs as well as a rider.
Patchcoat Three colors and none of them planned.
Potmender's Friend Used to the clank of pots on both sides.
Ragwort Scruffy, yellow-maned and impossible to get rid of.
Scrip A scrip is a small medieval bag for food and money. He carries yours.
Second Best The destrier gets the oats. This one gets the work.
Sorebones Named by his first rider, who meant it.
Squire's Luck The first horse a young squire can call his own.
Tuppence Wort Cost very little and worth a great deal more.
Wayside Wim Stops at every milestone to look around.

Draft horse, for cart and farm 26

Barleyback Broad enough to sit on sideways.
Bess of the Mill Carries the flour sacks to the baker's door.
Broadbeam Built like the roof timbers of a hall.
Carter's Bell Wears a bell so the lane knows the wagon is coming.
Drayman's Daughter A dray is a low horse-drawn cart for heavy loads.
Furrowmaker Leaves a straight line from hedge to hedge.
Granary Tom Smells of oats and warm straw.
Grindle Named for the noise the cart wheels make.
Haywain Hob A wain is a wagon for hauling loads, and his is piled with hay.
Heavy Hal Not tall, but nothing moves him.
Loamfoot Mud to the knee by breakfast.
Millstone Mab Round, gray and turns the same circle all day.
Oakhaul Brings the felled trees out of the forest.
Oxbrother Shares the yoke with the oxen and matches their pace.
Plowshare Dunn A dun horse named for the blade he pulls.
Quarryman's Joss Gray with dust by noon.
Sheafbearer Carries the last load of the harvest home.
Slow Thunder You feel him coming through the ground.
Steadfoot One pace, all day, in any weather.
Stonesledge Drags the quarry blocks down to the river.
Stubblegold Pale gold, like the cut ends of the wheat.
Timberdrag Chains, logs and a slow walk downhill.
Tithebarn Named for the barn where the tithes were stored in the Middle Ages.
Wagoner's Pride The best puller in the carter's yard.
Winnow To winnow is to part grain from chaff in a current of air.
Yokemate Works best with another beside him.

How this list was compiled

Own list of invented names for a mount in a story or a game, written for this page on 2026-10-02; none is copied from a book, a game or a site, and the line under each name is ours. The five groups are the kinds of horse that English Wikipedia's Horses in the Middle Ages names (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_the_Middle_Ages, read 2026-10-02, text under CC BY-SA 4.0): the destrier, the courser, the palfrey, the rouncey and the cart or draft horse. What each kind was used for also follows Wikipedia's articles Destrier, Courser (horse), Palfrey and Rouncey, read the same day. The pieces of horse armor behind four names (chanfron, crinet, flanchard, caparison) follow Wikipedia's Barding, and the old words explained under some names (gonfalon, quarrel, skirl, halloo, sennet, samite, scrip, wain, tithe barn, winnow, dray, chatelaine, ermine) follow English Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), read the same day. The list was compared with a hand-kept list of well-known horses of books, films, games, myth and history, and with this site's other name lists, and none matches. A horse somewhere may still share a name. Licence: Own work