This undead name generator makes up an undead character for a story or a game: an invented name, a kind from folklore or fiction, such as a draugr or a jiangshi, and the small thing that keeps it from resting.
Read the full guide
Name it, then pick its kind
Press New undead name. Tap a part to lock it, then press again. Lock the kind on revenant and press for a whole crypt of them, or keep a name and change what keeps it up: an overdue library book, a pot left on the stove.
Where the kinds come from
The draugr comes from Nordic folklore and the early medieval Icelandic sagas. The jiangshi comes from Chinese legends and is also known as a hopping vampire. The word zombie comes from Haitian folklore. The list under the tool explains every kind in one line.
Questions and answers
What does undead mean?
The undead are beings in mythology, legend or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. They may be incorporeal, like ghosts, or corporeal, like mummies and skeletons.
What is a revenant?
In folklore, a revenant is one believed to have come back to haunt the living. The word is Old French for returning. A draugr is an old Nordic term for a revenant, and gjenganger is another.
What are good names for an undead character?
This page deals invented ones that sound dusty and tired, such as Dustwick, Spiderlow and Stillpendulum. Tap a name to lock it, then press until the kind and the reason fit.
Are these undead from a game?
No. The names are invented and were searched on Wikipedia and on fantasy fan wikis. The kinds follow folklore and plain fiction, not the monsters, peoples or rules of any game.
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 111 invented names, written on 2026-10-03. Screened by script that day against an English dictionary and two lists of real names; 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). 23 candidates were cut (11 on another list of this site; 7 found in the text of English Wikipedia; 2 a name from published fiction, or one letter from it; 2 a rude word inside or across the join; 1 a dictionary word), among them Ashmantle, Gloamwick, Murkwell, Mothwick, Fogmantle, Groanby. No list of names is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Licence: own work
Kind of undead: all 18 kinds of undead
B 1
bansheeA wailing female spirit of Irish folklore; the name means woman of the fairy mound.
D 1
draugrFrom Nordic folklore: an old term for a revenant, described in early medieval Icelandic sagas.
G 3
ghostIn folklore, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that some believe can appear to the living.
ghoulFrom the Arabic ghul: in folklore, a being often associated with graveyards.
gjengangerFrom Nordic folklore: a revenant or ghost; the name means someone who goes again.
Show all 18 kinds of undead (13 more)
H 1
headless horsemanA mythical figure in the folklore of Europe since the Middle Ages: a rider on horseback who is missing his head.
J 1
jiangshiFrom Chinese legends and folklore; also known as a Chinese hopping vampire.
L 1
lichIn fantasy fiction, a type of undead creature with magical powers.
M 1
mummyIn stories, an undead creature wrapped in bandages.
P 1
poltergeistFrom German folklore: a rumbling ghost or noisy spirit that makes loud noises and moves objects.
R 1
revenantIn folklore, one that has come back to haunt the living; the word is Old French for returning.
S 3
shadeIn poetry and literature, the spirit or ghost of a dead person, residing in the underworld.
skeletonA physically manifested undead, found in fantasy and gothic fiction as well as mythology and folklore.
strigoiIn Romanian mythology, troubled spirits said to have risen from the grave.
W 2
wightAn old word that meant any being or thing; in modern fantasy, wights are often undead.
wraithOne of several traditional terms for a ghost or spirit.
Y 1
yureiFigures of Japanese folklore, analogous to the Western idea of ghosts.
Z 1
zombieThe term comes from Haitian folklore, where a sorcerer called a bokor raises a zombie through magic.
How this list was compiled: 18 kinds of undead from folklore and fiction. Each line says only what the opening of its English Wikipedia article says (read on 2026-10-03, CC BY-SA 4.0; a script checked the words behind each line). What undead means, as the page says it, follows the opening of the Undead article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undead). Own selection: kinds that belong to a living faith are left out, and so is the harsher part of each tale. Licence: own selection and wording; facts from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kept from rest by: all 47 reasons
A 44
a bell that rings at the wrong hour
a bridge it never finished building
a cat that still expects dinner
a clock it never wound
a creaking stair it meant to fix
a crossword with one square left
a dance it never learned
a debt of three copper coins
Show all 47 reasons (39 more)
A, continued
a deep dislike of being told to rest
a dispute about the height of a tower
a door it forgot to lock
a duty to wind the town clock
a fear of missing something
a grudge against a weathervane
a hat blown off in a gale
a kettle that never quite boiled
a king's seal it still carries
a knot it cannot untie
a library nobody else will dust
a lighthouse lamp that must stay lit
a loaf left in the oven
a long wait for a coach that never came
a loose roof tile
a map folded the wrong way
a message it has not yet delivered
a name it cannot remember
a painting with one corner unfinished
a pot left on the stove
a quarrel with the moon
a riddle it never solved
a secret it is desperate to tell
a sneeze that never came
a squeaky hinge
a sum that will not add up
a throne it refuses to give up
a tune it cannot quite whistle
a vow to see one more harvest moon
a watch it was never relieved from
an apology it owes a neighbor
an argument it almost won
an itch it cannot scratch
an oath to guard a bridge
an overdue library book
an unfinished game of chess
C 1
curiosity about how the story ends
N 1
the neighbors' music
O 1
one last look at the sea
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 47 reasons, written on 2026-10-03 to read after the words "kept from rest by". Comic and small: no line says how anyone died. Checked by script against every list on this site for repeats. 15 candidates were cut (15 on another list of this site), among them a draft under the door, the smell of fresh bread, a promise to water the plants, a word on the tip of its tongue, a missing left boot, a song stuck in its head. Licence: own work