This rogue name generator names the thief of a fantasy party in one line: a short first name, a street alias, a made-up surname and a real old word for the trade, such as Nell "Soft Shoes" Lackpenny, a cutpurse.
Read the full guide
A thief name generator in four parts
Press New rogue name. Lock the trade and keep pressing to name a whole crew of one kind. The aliases are small coins, habits and things from a night on the roofs: Half-Penny, Gutter-Lark, Lamp-Shy.
The trades are real old words
A cutpurse stole from purses and pockets in public. A footpad robbed travelers on foot, where a highwayman rode. An owler smuggled sheep or wool. The list under the tool gives the meaning of each word, and nothing about how it was done.
Questions and answers
What are good fantasy rogue names?
A short first name, an alias the streets gave and a surname that sounds like a back alley, such as Bess "Soft-Tread" Fenwhistle. The alias does most of the work: it hints at a habit without saying it.
Can I use it as a smuggler name generator?
Yes. Lock the trade on smuggler, or on owler, a dated word for a smuggler of sheep or wool, and press for names.
Is it a bandit name generator too?
Yes. Bandit, brigand, outlaw, highwayman and footpad are all on the trade list. A bandit is one who robs others in a lawless area, especially as part of a group.
Does the page explain how thieves worked?
No. It gives names and the dictionary meaning of old words, for stories and tabletop games. Nothing on it says how to do anything.
How this list was compiled: Our own choice of 58 short first names and old pet forms of names, made on 2026-10-02. Checked by script against a rude-word list and for its share of every other name list on this site. 4 candidates were cut (3 a name from published fiction, or one letter from it; 1 a rude word inside or across the join), among them Hal, Vin, Perkin, Dickon. Licence: own work
Alias: all 70 aliases
A 1
Attic-Stair
B 5
Back-Gate
Bell-Rope
Bent-Pin
Borrowed Hat
Bread-and-Dripping
C 3
Cat-on-the-Tiles
Coal-Hole
Cold-Hands
Show all 70 aliases (61 more)
D 2
Drain-Cover
Dry-Boots
E 2
Eel-Pie
Elbow Room
F 3
Farthing-Wise
Fog-Coat
Fourpence
G 4
Gable-End
Gone-by-Morning
Gray-Gloves
Gutter-Lark
H 5
Ha'penny Candle
Half-a-Crown
Half-Penny
Hay-Loft
Hedge-Gap
I 1
Ink-Thumb
L 9
Lamp-Black
Lamp-Shy
Lantern-Jaw
Last Lamp
Ledge-Wise
Left Glove
Loose Slate
Lost-Button
Low-Whistle
M 3
Marsh-Light
Moth-Wing
Mud-Hem
N 3
Never-Seen
Night-Latch
Nobody's Nephew
O 2
Old Coin
Owl-Light
P 3
Paper-Step
Penny-Short
Puddle-Step
Q 1
Quick-Latch
R 3
Rain-Gutter
Roof-Sparrow
Roofwise
S 11
Second Shadow
Short Change
Sill-Sitter
Slate-Foot
Soft Shoes
Soft-Tread
Soot-Sleeve
Stair-Creak
Stile-Jumper
Stray-Glove
Sunday Coat
T 6
Tallow-Thumb
Ten-Thumbs
Thimble-Quick
Three Farthings
Thumb-and-Finger
Tile-Hopper
W 3
Wash-Line
Wax-Thumb
Wet-Cobbles
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 70 street aliases, written on 2026-10-02: a small coin, a habit or something from a night on the roofs. Checked by script against every list on this site and the page titles of 16 fantasy fan wikis. 27 candidates were cut (25 on another list of this site; 2 a real first name or surname), among them Loose Change, Odd Sock, Tin-Ear, Quiet-Hinge, Oil-Can, Market-Day. Read again on 2026-10-03 against every list of this site and its sister sites: 9 aliases that stood on another list were cut and 21 new ones written. Licence: own work
Surname: all 44 surnames
A 3
Alderlatch
Alleywick
Ashlatch
B 1
Barrowlatch
C 2
Cinderwick
Crookshaw
D 3
Dovelatch
Dripwell
Dunlatch
Show all 44 surnames (35 more)
E 2
Eavesby
Emberlatch
F 1
Fenwhistle
G 2
Garretby
Glimmerby
H 4
Hatchmoor
Hingewell
Hookley
Hushford
J 2
Jackdawe
Jettywick
L 2
Lackpenny
Loftwell
N 4
Nettlelatch
Nimblewick
Nookby
Notchby
O 3
Oarwick
Owlgate
Oxbarrow
Q 2
Quaywick
Quiltby
R 2
Raftwick
Rushlatch
S 1
Slipshaw
T 1
Tannerby
U 1
Umbergate
V 2
Vatwell
Vauxmoor
W 3
Wharfby
Wicketby
Wickfen
Y 3
Yardlatch
Yarnwell
Yewlatch
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 44 invented surnames, written on 2026-10-02. Screened by script that day against an English dictionary and two lists of real names (US Census 2020 surnames and the 103,564 first names in the Social Security baby-name files); GeoNames places of 500 people and up with their alternate names (https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/, CC BY 4.0); every list on this site; a rude-word list; a list of well-known names from fantasy books and games; every word of every page title of 16 fantasy fan wikis, and names one letter from the first word of one; English Wikipedia page titles and a full-text search of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0); and exact page titles on 12 fantasy fan wikis (lotr.fandom.com, forgottenrealms.fandom.com, elderscrolls.fandom.com, witcher.fandom.com, dragonage.fandom.com, gameofthrones.fandom.com, wot.fandom.com, harrypotter.fandom.com, wowpedia.fandom.com, pathfinder.fandom.com, criticalrole.fandom.com, zelda.fandom.com). 36 candidates were cut (9 on another list of this site; 9 found in the text of English Wikipedia; 6 a dictionary word; 4 a name from published fiction, or one letter from it; 4 a Wikipedia page title; 2 a real first name or surname; 2 a real place), among them Underbridge, Quickhatch, Sootwell, Eelmarsh, Inchmoor, Mossback. No list of names is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Looked up again as English Wikipedia page titles on 2026-10-03: no surname is a title. Licence: own work
Trade: all 34 trades
B 2
banditOne who robs others in a lawless area, especially as part of a group.
brigandAn outlaw or bandit.
C 7
cardsharpA professional cheater at card games.
cat burglarA particularly stealthy burglar, one who gets in unseen by being agile.
charlatanA trickster who deceives for profit; once, a traveling seller of medicines.
Show all 34 trades (29 more)
C, continued
coinerA person who makes coins, often counterfeit coins.
cozenerAn imposter, a swindler.
cracksmanAn old informal word for a burglar or safebreaker.
cutpurseA thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.
D 1
dragsmanA thief who cut the luggage from carriages; the word also meant a coach driver.
F 5
fenceSomeone who buys and sells stolen goods: the middleman.
filcherOne who filches; a thief.
fingersmithA pickpocket.
footpadAn old word for a thief on foot who robs travelers on the road.
forgerA person who makes forgeries, such as false documents.
H 2
highwaymanA person, usually on horseback, who robbed travelers on public roads.
housebreakerOne who breaks into another's house or premises to commit a crime.
K 1
knaveA dated word for a tricky, deceitful fellow.
M 3
magsmanAn old word for a con man who tries to deceive members of the public.
moss-trooperOne of a band of raiders of the Scottish borders in the 17th century.
mountebankOne who sells by deception; at first, a seller of dubious medicines.
O 2
outlawA fugitive from the law.
owlerA dated word for a smuggler of sheep or wool.
P 3
picklockOne who picks locks; a thief.
pickpocketOne who steals from the pocket of a passerby, usually by sleight of hand.
poacherA person who trespasses in order to take game illegally.
R 1
rustlerA cattle thief, or a thief of other livestock.
S 4
smugglerOne who smuggles things.
sneak thiefA thief who steals without being noticed and without using violence.
sneaksmanAn obsolete word for a thief who operates by stealth.
swindlerA person who swindles, cheats or defrauds.
T 2
thimbleriggerSomeone who cheats by sleight-of-hand tricks.
tobymanObsolete slang for a highway robber.
U 1
upright manIn old thieves' cant, the leader of a group of thieves or vagrants.
How this list was compiled: 34 real English words for a kind of thief or trickster, many of them old. Each line follows a sense given in its English Wiktionary entry, read on 2026-10-02, 2026-10-03 and 2026-10-05 (https://en.wiktionary.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). The wording is ours. They say what a word meant and nothing about how anything is done. Licence: own selection and wording; meanings from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)