Goblin Name Generator
Short, sharp goblin names built from clipped roots and small nasty nouns, each part glossed, with a clan name to match.
1,440,000 combinations in this form
- Flikscuttle Toadfingers
Flik flicking + scuttle hurried run
flicking hurried run
Toad warty hopper + fingers grasping digits
warty hopper grasping digits
- Tikkiburr Snatchhollow
Tikki ticking + burr clinging seed
ticking clinging seed
Snatch hasty theft + hollow sunken ground
hasty theft sunken ground
- Quogprong Mudscratcher
Quog boggy + prong forked point
boggy forked point
Mud wet soil + scratcher clawer
wet soil clawer
- Chitbit Scrapfilcher
Chit chattering + bit bite
chattering bite
Scrap leftover bit + filcher pilferer
leftover bit pilferer
- Glimmaclaw Gnatgnawer
Glimma glimmering + claw hooked nail
glimmering hooked nail
Gnat tiny fly + gnawer nibbler
tiny fly nibbler
- Fritrope Ditchfilcher
Frit fretting + rope twisted cord
fretting twisted cord
Ditch dug trench + filcher pilferer
dug trench pilferer
- Zikshiv Tinthief
Zik darting + shiv knife
darting knife
Tin soft metal + thief stealer
soft metal stealer
- Blettawire Grotgnawer
Bletta blotted + wire drawn metal
blotted drawn metal
Grot grotto + gnawer nibbler
grotto nibbler
- Scragchew Wartthief
Scrag scraggy + chew grinding bite
scraggy grinding bite
Wart skin lump + thief stealer
skin lump stealer
- Fizznose Fleaprodder
Fizz fizzing + nose smelling organ
fizzing smelling organ
Flea jumping pest + prodder pusher
jumping pest pusher
- Scabbabile Ratjabber
Scabba scabby + bile bitter gall
scabby bitter gall
Rat gnawing vermin + jabber stabber
gnawing vermin stabber
- Stotwrench Gutterfilcher
Stot stumbling + wrench twisting tool
stumbling twisting tool
Gutter water channel + filcher pilferer
water channel pilferer
- Gribbtooth Bogpoker
Gribb grabbing + tooth jaw spike
grabbing jaw spike
Bog soft marsh + poker fire iron
soft marsh fire iron
- Prittahook Fleacobbler
Pritta prattling + hook bent point
prattling bent point
Flea jumping pest + cobbler shoe mender
jumping pest shoe mender
- Hobspring Ticksquabbler
Hob hobbling + spring coiled steel
hobbling coiled steel
Tick blood mite + squabbler bickerer
blood mite bickerer
- Grikscuttle Crookdodger
Grik creaking + scuttle hurried run
creaking hurried run
Crook bent hook + dodger evader
bent hook evader
- Skivaknot Tickbiter
Skiva shirking + knot tied loop
shirking tied loop
Tick blood mite + biter snapper
blood mite snapper
- Thogsnare Tinchewer
Thog thuggish + snare wire noose
thuggish wire noose
Tin soft metal + chewer grinder
soft metal grinder
- Hixtack Tickdodger
Hix hiccupping + tack short nail
hiccupping short nail
Tick blood mite + dodger evader
blood mite evader
- Jinxabroth Guttercobbler
Jinxa jinxing + broth meat stock
jinxing meat stock
Gutter water channel + cobbler shoe mender
water channel shoe mender
- Drubjig Gnatwarren
Drub drubbing + jig guide template
drubbing guide template
Gnat tiny fly + warren rabbit burrows
tiny fly rabbit burrows
- Chitboil Snatchfilcher
Chit chattering + boil skin swelling
chattering skin swelling
Snatch hasty theft + filcher pilferer
hasty theft pilferer
- Shivvatar Slopguts
Shivva stabbing + tar tree resin
stabbing tree resin
Slop spilled swill + guts belly innards
spilled swill belly innards
- Whitgrip Wartchewer
Whit slight + grip firm hold
slight firm hold
Wart skin lump + chewer grinder
skin lump grinder
How goblin names are built
¶Goblin names are short because goblins are loud and in a hurry. The root is a single clipped syllable naming an action or a fault — snik snipping, kwik quick, skiv shirking, pox pocked — and it lands on a stop consonant so the name can be shouted across a tunnel without being mistaken for a different one. Nothing in the language tolerates a long vowel, which is why goblin sounds thin and quick where orc sounds heavy and thrown.
The second element is always a small concrete noun, and it is almost always something on the body or something in a pocket: tooth, thumb, snout, scab, coin, needle, purse, crumb. Snikpocket is snipping pocket, and every goblin hearing it knows exactly what the bearer does for a living. Because the nouns are tiny, the whole name stays two or three syllables. A goblin name of four syllables belongs to somebody putting on airs.
Clan names are the one place goblins are grandiose, and they still fail to be grand. A clan pairs a squalid noun with a job — Ratfingers, Bilgethief, Gutterscratcher, Cindersnatcher — and it is inherited, boasted about, and rewritten the moment a better theft happens. Female forms take an extra vowel on the root, which is the only softening the language allows, and pair with sharper nouns: barb, thorn, hex, quill, switch.
Questions
What is a good goblin name?
Something a goblin could shout twice in a fight and still be understood. One clipped root, one small noun, a stop at the end: Snikthumb, Kwikpocket, Poxgrin. If the name takes longer to say than the goblin takes to run away, it is the wrong name. Keep it under three syllables and put the insult in the second half.
How are goblin names different from orc names?
Orc names are heavy and open — long back vowels, growled clusters, endings like ash, ug and arg. Goblin names are thin and front, built on short i and e vowels, and they stop dead on a hard consonant. Say Grubbnash and then Sniktooth and you can hear the whole difference: one is thrown, the other is spat.
Do goblins have last names?
They have clan names, which behave like surnames but change hands. A clan name pairs something squalid with an occupation, as in Mudsnatcher or Ratfingers, and it is claimed rather than inherited in any strict sense. A goblin who does better work than the clan it was born to will simply start using a better clan name and dare anyone to argue.
What are good female goblin names?
The feminine forms add a vowel to the root, so Snik becomes Snikka and Krit becomes Kritta, and they take the sharper nouns rather than the grubby ones: Snikkathorn, Nixabarb, Kritahex. The extra syllable does not soften the name. It just makes it possible to say the whole thing while pointing at somebody.
Can I use these goblin names in my campaign?
Yes. Every root and noun here is invented or an ordinary English word, so nothing is taken from a published setting and you can use whatever the generator gives you in games, fiction or art. The glosses are provided so you can decide what a goblin did to earn its name before the party ever meets it.