This military name generator names a made-up unit for a story or a game: a number and an invented home, a real kind of unit and a nickname, such as The 3rd Stonewick Regiment, 'the Winter Hares'.
Read the full guide
A military unit name generator in three parts
Press New unit name. Lock the home and press for every unit of one place, from a squad to a division. The nicknames are the homely kind soldiers give themselves: the Old Umbrellas, the Wet Boots.
How big each unit is
The kinds are real. A platoon is typically 20 to 50 troops, a company 100 to 250 soldiers and a battalion up to 1,000. A Roman cohort was generally 480 soldiers. The list under the tool has a line for each.
Questions and answers
Can I use it as a militia name generator?
Yes. Lock the kind on Militia, a force of civilian members as opposed to a professional standing army, and press for a home and a nickname, such as The Gullmoor Militia, 'the Early Larks'.
Is it an army name generator too?
It names the units inside an army. For the largest, lock the kind on Division, usually between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers, or on Corps or Legion.
Does it work as a private military name generator?
For a story, lock the kind on Free Company. In history a free company was an army of mercenaries recruited by private employers between the 12th and 14th centuries.
Are these real units?
No. The homes and nicknames are invented, and each was looked up on Wikipedia and in its lists of regiment nicknames; none was found there. No country or service is named. Only the kinds of unit and their sizes are real.
How this list was compiled: 36 first parts for a unit name, written on 2026-10-02: a made-up home place, half of them with a number in front. A bare number with a kind of unit (the 3rd Battalion) is how many real armies label their units, so no number stands alone. Each place name was screened by script that day against GeoNames places (towns of the world, and every name in the tables for the United Kingdom and the United States; https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/, CC BY 4.0), an English dictionary, lists of real first names and surnames, every list on this site, the page titles of 16 fantasy fan wikis, English Wikipedia page titles and a full-text search of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). 44 candidates were cut (21 on another list of this site; 10 found in the text of English Wikipedia; 5 a name from published fiction, or one letter from it; 2 other reasons; 2 a real place; 1 a real first name or surname; 1 a dictionary word; 1 a rude word inside or across the join; 1 a Wikipedia page title), among them Saltfen, 2nd Harrowmere, Dunmarrow, 4th Brackenhall, Emberlea, 5th Fallowmere. The home places were looked up again as English Wikipedia page titles on 2026-10-03: none is a title. Licence: own work
Kind of unit: all 24 kinds of unit
B 2
BattalionTypically up to 1,000 soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant colonel and split into several companies.
BrigadeA formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements.
C 4
CenturyA Roman unit that began as 100 men. For most of the imperial era its standard size was 80 soldiers.
CohortA tactical unit of a Roman legion, generally of 480 soldiers.
CompanyTypically 100 to 250 soldiers, usually commanded by a major or a captain.
CorpsA formation of two to five divisions. Napoleon introduced it in 1800.
Show all 24 kinds of unit (18 more)
D 2
DetachmentA unit detached from a larger unit for a specific function.
DivisionA large unit, usually of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers.
F 2
Free CompanyAn army of mercenaries of the 12th to 14th centuries, recruited by private employers and free of any government.
FyrdAn early Anglo-Saxon army, mobilized from freemen to defend their shire.
G 1
GarrisonA body of troops stationed in one place, originally to guard it.
H 1
HirdIn Scandinavian history, at first an informal retinue of personal armed companions.
L 1
LegionThe largest unit of the Roman army. In late Republican times it had 5,200 men in 10 cohorts.
M 2
ManipleA tactical unit of the armies of the Roman Republic. The name means "a handful".
MilitiaA force of civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army.
P 2
PhalanxA rectangular mass formation, usually of heavy infantry with spears or pikes packed tightly together.
PlatoonTypically two to four squads, 20 to 50 troops, usually led by a junior officer.
R 1
RegimentA military unit whose role and size vary markedly from country to country.
S 3
SectionA unit of usually 6 to 20 personnel.
SquadAmong the smallest military units, led by a non-commissioned officer: typically a dozen soldiers or fewer.
SquadronHistorically a cavalry subunit, of company or battalion size.
T 3
TagmaA Byzantine unit of battalion or regiment size.
TroopOriginally a small formation of cavalry, under a squadron.
TurmaA cavalry unit in the Roman army.
How this list was compiled: 24 real kinds of military unit, modern and historical. Each line follows the opening of its English Wikipedia article, read on 2026-10-02 and again on 2026-10-03 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sizes differ from army to army and age to age; the lines give what the article gives. The wording is ours. Licence: own selection and wording; facts from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Nickname: all 86 nicknames
A 1
the Apple Carts
B 9
the Barley Mowers
the Blanket Rollers
the Blue Geese
the Boot Polishers
the Borrowed Boots
the Bramble Guard
the Bread Ovens
the Bridge Menders
the Burnt Porridge
Show all 86 nicknames (76 more)
C 6
the Candle Guard
the Clover Leaves
the Cold Porridge
the Cold Stoves
the Creaking Gate
the Crooked Pikes
D 5
the Damp Matches
the Ditch Jumpers
the Double Knots
the Drizzle Guard
the Dry Socks
E 1
the Early Larks
F 4
the Fen Runners
the Fog Lanterns
the Foot Draggers
the Footsore
G 7
the Gate Wardens
the Goose Herders
the Gorse Cutters
the Gravel Walkers
the Gray Geldings
the Gray Mittens
the Green Ferrymen
H 3
the Heather Bells
the Hill Sheep
the Honest Mules
L 3
the Long Spoons
the Long Walkers
the Loud Geese
M 8
the Marsh Larks
the Mended Drums
the Milk Carts
the Mill Geese
the Moor Ponies
the Mossy Stones
the Muddy Aprons
the Mustard Coats
N 4
the Nettle Pickers
the Never-Lates
the Nine Ladders
the Ninth Kettle
O 4
the Oat Sacks
the Old Umbrellas
the Onion Peelers
the Owl Watch
P 4
the Patchwork Banner
the Patient Mules
the Plow Horses
the Plum Coats
Q 2
the Quiet Bugles
the Quiet Trumpets
R 1
the Rain Counters
S 8
the Salt Spoons
the Seventh Ladle
the Slow Coaches
the Soft Drums
the Spoon Carvers
the Stone Sparrows
the Stray Hounds
the Stubborn Goats
T 6
the Tea Brewers
the Tent Menders
the Thatch Menders
the Thistle Guard
the Tinder Boxes
the Turnip Guard
W 9
the Wagon Menders
the Wet Boots
the Wet Sparrows
the Wheelbarrows
the Winter Hares
the Wooden Ladles
the Woodpile Guard
the Wool Caps
the Woolen Socks
Y 1
the Yawning Sentries
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 86 nicknames, written on 2026-10-02: homely and harmless, and none taken from a real unit as far as we could find. Each was looked for by script that day in the text of the English Wikipedia lists of nicknames of British Army regiments, of Canadian Forces regiments and of United States Army divisions, the list of regiments of the British Army and the list of United States Marine Corps battalions, as an English Wikipedia page title with and without "The", and against every list on this site. 21 candidates were cut (11 a Wikipedia page title; 9 on another list of this site; 1 a fan wiki page title), among them the Lamplighters, the Long Shadows, the Night Bakers, the Button Counters, the Barn Owls, the First Frost. No list of units is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Read again on 2026-10-03: 27 nicknames were cut (23 on, or one word from, a line of another list of this site or a sister site; 3 an English Wikipedia page title in the singular; 1 on a second reading) and 39 new ones written and put through the same lists and title look-ups; one candidate, the Rusty Buckles, was dropped because the list of nicknames of British Army regiments holds it. Licence: own work