This fantasy last name generator makes surnames for characters who already have a first name. Choose the people the character belongs to and it builds a family name the way that people would: a place name for a human, a pair of nature words for an elf, a deed name for an orc, a father's name for a Viking. Use it for D&D characters, novels and game worlds.

Seven Styles of Surname

Style	How the name is built	Examples
Human	An English-style place name	Ashford, Thornwood
Noble house	The same, as a house or a seat	House Hartwell, of Greybury
Elven	Two nature words joined	Dawnpetal, Mistbough
Dwarven	A material and a body or craft word	Flintbraid, Coalhand
Orc	A deed name, or a clan	Skullcleaver, of the Broken Tusk
Viking	The father's name, or a byname	Eriksson, Olafsdottir, the Tall
Vampire and witch	A dark place name	Ravenmoor, Ashgrave

Where Surnames Come From

Real surnames fall into four groups, and fantasy ones copy them.

Place: where the family lived. Ashford is the ford by the ash trees. Most of the human and gothic names here are of this kind.
Trade: what an ancestor did, as in Smith or Fletcher. Dwarven names lean this way, with forge, anvil and hammer.
Father: a patronymic, as in Eriksson. The Viking style uses these.
Nickname: a description of a person that stuck. Orc deed names and Norse bynames belong here.

Orc Last Names

An orc surname is earned, not inherited. The deed names in the generator join something broken with the act of breaking it: Skullcleaver, Bonesplitter, Shieldburner. The clan form puts the tribe after the first name, so a character is Urzul of the Red Fang. A half-orc raised among humans may carry a human surname instead. For first names, use the Orc Name Generator or the Half-Orc Name Generator.

Matching a First Name

Say the full name aloud. A long first name sits well with a short surname and the other way round. The Elf Name Generator, Dwarf Name Generator and Viking Name Generator give first names for those peoples, and the Vampire Name Generator and Witch Name Generator make full names in the gothic style.

How to Use the Fantasy Last Name Generator

Choose a people: Pick human, noble house, elven, dwarven, orc, Viking, or vampire and witch.
Generate: Each press gives eight new last names in that style.
Copy: Use the copy button beside the surname you want and add it to a first name.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good fantasy last name?

It tells you something about the family: where they are from, what they did, or who their ancestor was. Ashford is a place, Flintbraid is a look, Eriksson is a father. A surname that follows the habits of its people sounds right even when the reader has never seen it before.

What are orc last names?

Orcs in most settings do not pass down a family name. They are known by a deed name earned in battle, such as Skullcleaver or Shieldbiter, or by their clan, as in Gorak of the Broken Tusk. The D&D rulebooks list orc and half-orc first names and no surnames, so a deed name or a clan name is the usual choice at the table.

Do elves have last names?

In D&D they do. An elf has a family name in Elvish, and many elves use a translation of it among other peoples, which is why elven surnames in Common are pairs of nature words like Moonwhisper. The elven style in this generator makes names of that translated kind.

How do Viking surnames work?

The Norse did not have fixed family names. A person was known as the son or daughter of their father: Leif Eriksson is Leif, son of Erik, and his sister would be Eriksdottir. Many also carried a byname describing them, such as Forkbeard or the Deep-Minded. Iceland still uses the son and dottir system today.

What last names suit a vampire or a witch?

Old-sounding English place names with a dark first half: Ravenmoor, Ashgrave, Duskwick. They work because they sound like a real estate or village that has fallen on bad times. The Vampire and witch style makes these.

Can I use these names in a published work?

They are ordinary words joined at random, so you can. Some plain combinations are also real surnames or place names, so search for a name before you build a book around it.