This volcano name generator makes up a volcano for a story, a map or a school project: a name such as Mount Furnacecrown, one of eight real kinds of volcano, and whether it is active, dormant or extinct.
Read the full guide
Name the volcano, then pick its kind
Press New volcano name. Keep the name and press again to change its kind. The list below explains each kind: a shield volcano is broad and built by runny lava, and a cinder cone is a steep hill of hardened lava bits around one vent.
Active, dormant or extinct
An active volcano shows signs of unrest, such as swarms of small earthquakes. A dormant volcano shows none now but could become active again. An extinct volcano is thought unlikely to erupt again, because it has no magma supply left. The years in a result are made up.
Questions and answers
What kinds of volcano are there?
This page uses eight from the US Geological Survey glossary: shield volcano, composite volcano (also called stratovolcano), cinder cone, spatter cone, caldera, lava dome, fissure vent and submarine volcano. The list under the tool explains each one.
What is the difference between an active, a dormant and an extinct volcano?
An active volcano shows signs of unrest. A dormant one shows none but could become active again. An extinct one is thought unlikely to erupt again. Scientists do not all define the three words the same way.
What is a good name for a volcano in a story?
One that sounds like fire and rock and is easy to say, such as Mount Charcrest or Mount Searfang. Each name here joins a fire or ash word to a word for the shape of a peak.
Are these real volcanoes?
No. Every name is made up. Each was checked against the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program's lists of volcano names and against Wikipedia, and a name that matched was dropped.
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 110 made-up names, each a fire or ash word joined to a word for the shape of a peak, joined by script on 2026-10-03. Screened by script that day against the volcano names of the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (its lists of Holocene and Pleistocene volcanoes, https://volcano.si.edu/), an English dictionary, 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 read across the join, the page titles of 30 fan wikis of games, books and shows, and the page titles and full text of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). 41 of the 768 joins tried were cut, among them Ashbrow, Ashcrest, Ashtor, Ashfell, Cinderhorn. GeoNames mountains and other landforms were not searched, and no list of names is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Licence: own work
Kind of volcano: all 8 kinds
C 3
calderaA large basin-shaped hollow, many times wider than the vents inside it. It may be 2 to 50 km (1 to 30 miles) across.
cinder coneA cone-shaped hill, often steep, made of bits of hardened lava that fell around the vent of a single eruption.
composite volcanoA steep cone built of thick lava flows, ash and rock, usually over tens to hundreds of thousands of years. Also called a stratovolcano.
Show all 8 kinds (5 more)
F 1
fissure ventA long crack at the surface from which lava erupts.
L 1
lava domeA steep-sided mass of thick, often blocky lava pushed out of a vent.
S 3
shield volcanoA broad, shield-shaped volcano built up by eruption after eruption of runny, low-silica lava.
spatter coneA steep-sided cone built of blobs of lava stuck together at a vent. Most are small, typically 10 m (about 33 feet) high or less.
submarine volcanoA volcano below sea level on the ocean floor, commonly made of basalt.
How this list was compiled: 8 kinds of volcano and vent. Each line follows the entry for that word in the US Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program glossary (https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary, read on 2026-10-03; a work of the US government, in the public domain), put in plainer words; a script checked the words behind each line. Licence: own selection; the lines follow the US Geological Survey's glossary (public domain)
State: all 30 states
Active 10
active, last erupted 110 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, last erupted 15 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, last erupted 2 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
Show all 30 states (27 more)
Active, continued
active, last erupted 30 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, last erupted 4 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, last erupted 60 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, last erupted 9 years agoActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, last erupted the winter before lastActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, with small earthquakes again this springActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
active, with the ground swelling a little each yearActive: the US Geological Survey calls a volcano active when there are signs of unrest under it, such as swarms of small earthquakes, swelling ground or unusual amounts of volcanic gas.
Dormant 10
dormant, quiet for 1,200 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 2,000 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 3,500 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 300 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 450 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 5,000 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 600 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 800 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet for 9,000 yearsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
dormant, quiet since before anyone kept recordsDormant: a volcano that shows no signs of unrest now but could become active again. Many dormant volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years.
Extinct 10
extinct, last erupted 1 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 12 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 150 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 2 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 30 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 300 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 5 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 60 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, last erupted 8 million years agoExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
extinct, with no magma left under itExtinct: a volcano that scientists think is unlikely to erupt again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.
How this list was compiled: 30 states in three groups. What active, dormant and extinct mean follows English Wikipedia's article Volcano (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano, read on 2026-10-03, CC BY-SA 4.0), which gives the US Geological Survey's definitions and says that volcano scientists do not all define the words the same way. The years are made up for stories and are not measurements of any volcano. Licence: own work; the meanings follow English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)