Celtic Name Generator
Continental Celtic and Brittonic names built from elements attested on Gaulish coins and Roman inscriptions, each with its real meaning.
50,160 combinations in this form
- Vindouxellos of the Senones
Vindo white + uxellos high
white high
of the Senones the old ones
the old ones
- Cintumora of the Senones
Cintu first + mora sea
first sea
of the Senones the old ones
the old ones
- Gabrobetuon of the Nemetes
Gabro goat + betuon birch stand
goat birch stand
of the Nemetes the sanctuary people
the sanctuary people
- Ateleucos of the Morini
Ate renewed + leucos shining
renewed shining
of the Morini the sea people
the sea people
- Catumaga of the Carnutes
Catu battle + maga field
battle field
of the Carnutes the horned ones
the horned ones
- Senoeburon of the Atrebates
Seno old + eburon yew grove
old yew grove
of the Atrebates the settlers
the settlers
- Argiogabros of the Allobroges
Argio silver + gabros goat
silver goat
of the Allobroges from another land
from another land
- Mandomarca of the Brigantes
Mando pony + marca mare
pony mare
of the Brigantes the high ones
the high ones
- Ateritum of the Cornovii
Ate second + ritum ford
second ford
of the Cornovii the horn people
the horn people
- Ialotascos of the Carnutes
Ialo clearing + tascos badger
clearing badger
of the Carnutes the horned ones
the horned ones
- Nemetocarna of the Brigantes
Nemeto sacred + carna horn
sacred horn
of the Brigantes the high ones
the high ones
- Lituglanon of the Atrebates
Litu festival + glanon clear spring
festival clear spring
of the Atrebates the settlers
the settlers
- Segolanos of the Ordovices
Sego victory + lanos plain
victory plain
of the Ordovices the hammer fighters
the hammer fighters
- Medumaga of the Senones
Medu mead + maga field
mead field
of the Senones the old ones
the old ones
- Litanoabona of the Bituriges
Litano broad + abona river
broad river
of the Bituriges world kings
world kings
- Tigernocintus of the Allobroges
Tigerno lord + cintus first
lord first
of the Allobroges from another land
from another land
- Nemetobriga of the Eburones
Nemeto sacred + briga hill
sacred hill
of the Eburones the yew people
the yew people
- Cambotegos of the Allobroges
Cambo crooked + tegos house
crooked house
of the Allobroges from another land
from another land
- Cambogenos of the Ordovices
Cambo crooked + genos born
crooked born
of the Ordovices the hammer fighters
the hammer fighters
- Carnomaglana of the Senones
Carno horn + maglana chieftain's
horn chieftain's
of the Senones the old ones
the old ones
- Boducondate of the Ordovices
Bodu crow + condate confluence
crow confluence
of the Ordovices the hammer fighters
the hammer fighters
- Bannomatus of the Senones
Banno peak + matus bear
peak bear
of the Senones the old ones
the old ones
- Tritomara of the Cornovii
Trito third + mara great
third great
of the Cornovii the horn people
the horn people
- Carnonemeton of the Caturiges
Carno cairn + nemeton sanctuary
cairn sanctuary
of the Caturiges the battle kings
the battle kings
How Continental Celtic names are built
¶This set is deliberately not Irish, Scottish or Welsh. It draws on Gaulish and early Brittonic, the Celtic recorded by Greek geographers, Roman writers and the coin legends and inscriptions of Gaul and Britain from roughly the third century BC to the third century AD. These are the ancestors of the later forms: catu here becomes Irish cath and Welsh cad, vindo becomes Irish finn and Welsh gwyn, rix becomes Irish ri and Welsh rhi.
A name is two words compounded, and the second usually carries the rank or the verb. Catu battle plus rix king gives Caturix. Sego victory plus maros great gives Segomaros. Dubno deep or world plus rix gives Dubnorix. Vindo white plus vassos servant gives Vindovassos. Feminine forms take -a rather than -os, so the same stock yields Vindomaros for a man and Vindomara for a woman, and rigana, queen, answers to rix.
Places were built from the same words, which is why so many modern towns still show them. Duno means a fort and gives Noviodunum, the new fort, and Lugdunum, now Lyon. Durum is a walled town, briga a hill, magus a market field, lanum a plain, bona a foundation: Vindobona, the white foundation, is Vienna; Mediolanum, the middle plain, is Milan. Nemeton was a sacred grove, and Condate a river confluence.
Questions
What is the difference between Celtic and Irish names?
Irish is one branch of Celtic, and a late one in written terms. The names here are Gaulish and Brittonic, recorded a thousand years before the Irish sources, in forms such as Catuvolcus and Segomaros. Irish Conall and Welsh Cynwal both descend from a Common Celtic Cunovalos, so the Celtic form is the parent rather than a variant.
Are these real Celtic names?
The elements are all attested in inscriptions, coin legends and classical authors. Many combinations here are documented names such as Caturix, Segomaros, Dubnorix and Vindomaros. Others are new pairings of the same stock, formed by the rule the language actually used, which is how Gaulish generated names in the first place.
What does -rix mean at the end of a Celtic name?
Rix means king, from the same Indo-European root as Latin rex and Sanskrit raja. It sits at the end of a compound and the first element qualifies it: Dubnorix is king of the world, Caturix king of battle, Ambiorix king round about. The feminine equivalent is rigana, queen, which survives in Irish rigan.
Did Celts have surnames?
Not in the modern sense. A person was placed by father and by people, so a Gaulish inscription gives a name, sometimes a patronymic in -cnos meaning son of, and the tribe. Tribal names are meaningful in themselves: the Bituriges are kings of the world, the Eburones the yew people, the Brigantes the high ones.
How do you pronounce Gaulish names?
Roughly as written, with Latin values: c is always hard, ou is a long u, and the final -os and -us are sounded. Segomaros is SEG-o-MAR-os. The spellings here follow the Latin-alphabet forms of the inscriptions, so v and u interchange freely, as they did for Roman scribes writing Gaulish down.