How it works
This pulp name generator makes up a hero in the style of the 1930s adventure magazines: a title, a short first name, an invented hard surname and one habit, as in Doc Dan Flintmore, who never loses a hat.
Read the full guide
Use it as a pulp character name generator
Press New pulp name. Tap the title, the first name, the surname or the habit to keep it or change it, so Captain Kent Keelmore can try another habit without losing the name.
Three kinds of surname
Stone and iron (Flintmore), weather and wild country (Galeford), and ships, planes and machines (Keelmore). Each joins a hard word to an ending real surnames carry, and none is a real surname in the Census list.
Tips
- Read the result aloud in a radio announcer's voice. If the name takes more than one breath, change the surname.
Questions and answers
What were the pulp magazines?
Inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 until around 1955. The name comes from the cheap wood pulp paper they were printed on, Wikipedia's article on them says. Their adventure heroes are the model for the names here.
How is a pulp hero named?
On this page, with a title or nickname in front, a first name of one or two syllables and a surname that sounds like stone, weather or machinery. The habit after the name does the work of a whole first chapter.
Are these characters from real pulp magazines?
No. A script searched every title, first name and surname pairing in 17 Wikipedia pages on the pulps, their heroes and the adventure comic strips, and a match cost a word. Those pages do not name every character ever printed.
Can I use a name in my own story or game?
Yes. Every name is made up for stories, tabletop games and comics. Search the full name before you publish, since a pairing can match a character or a person we did not find.