Name generator

Guild and order name generator for fantasy factions

Twenty guild names per click, built from a kind of organisation, the craft its members practise and the emblem on their seal. Choose noble, grim, arcane, comic or ancient to get anything from a chartered trade guild to a society that officially does not exist.

These are 20 seeded examples. Press Generate for a new batch.

The First Assembly of EmbalmersThe First kind of organisation of members' craft
The Embalmers CircleThe members' craft + kind of organisation
Keepers of the Old IbisKeepers of the Old emblem
Court of the Chiselkind of organisation of the emblem
Brotherhood of the Exalted Cordkind of organisation of the describing word + emblem
Chapter of the Ninth Spiderkind of organisation of the Ninth emblem
The First Union of EmbalmersThe First kind of organisation of members' craft
Sodality of the Ancient Eyekind of organisation of the describing word + emblem
The Most Well-meaning ChamberThe Most describing word + kind of organisation
The First Cabal of ClockmakersThe First kind of organisation of members' craft
The Inkwell ChapterThe emblem + kind of organisation
Chapter of the First Mirrorkind of organisation of the describing word + emblem
Keepers of the Old CompassKeepers of the Old emblem
Sodality of the Waspkind of organisation of the emblem
League of the Knotkind of organisation of the emblem
The Hermetic Loom BrotherhoodThe describing word + emblem + kind of organisation
The Bookbinders BrotherhoodThe members' craft + kind of organisation
The Eminent MootThe describing word + kind of organisation
The Prismatic MessengersThe describing word + members' craft
Lodge of the Well-meaning Chiselkind of organisation of the describing word + emblem

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Guild and order name generator: example names by style

Each group below is a fixed batch made with this generator, with only the style filter changed. 50 names are on this page before you press anything.

Noble and grand

The Exalted Covenant
Chapter of the Lily
The Venerable Collegium
The Stonecutters Concord
Sodality of Vintners
Society of the Venerable Feather

Grim and dark

Moot of the Nameless Viper
Veilbearers
The Worshipful Alchemists
The Common Seal Consortium
The Hooded Comet Brotherhood
Order of the Pale Lamp

Arcane and strange

The Glassblowers Lodge
The Occult Circle
The Unbound Veilbearers
The Sworn Order
Collegium of the Common Compass
Assembly of the Trowel

Comic and light

League of the Overdue Viper
The Perfumers Chamber
Beetlehands
The Torch Council
The Reluctant Chiselbearers
The Ledger and Feather

Ancient and mythic

The Seal Brotherhood
The Viper and Chalice
The Bellringers Moot
The Bonesetters Covenant
Chiselbinders
Keepers of the Old Signet

How these guild names are built

This generator draws from 160 hand-picked words in 5 lists and uses 17 naming patterns, plus 6 more that wrap around a keyword you type. The patterns can combine into up to 129,434 different names before filters. Every name in the list shows the pattern behind it, so you can see why it reads the way it does.

Word lists

List	Words	A few of them
Kind of organisation	24	Chapter, Assembly, Society, Guild, Moot, Concord, Fellowship
Members' craft	32	Falconers, Herbalists, Locksmiths, Translators, Stonecutters, Wayfinders, Minstrels
Emblem	34	Spider, Trowel, Eye, Feather, Loom, Inkwell, Viper
Describing word	60	Chartered, Well-meaning, Worshipful, Pale, Eldest, Black, Silent
Ending	10	seekers, makers, wardens, sworn, hands, binders, guard

Patterns

Pattern	Example	Used for
The members' craft + kind of organisation	The Couriers Society	any style
kind of organisation of the emblem	Sisterhood of the Signet	any style
The describing word + kind of organisation	The Undying Brotherhood	any style
kind of organisation of the describing word + emblem	Fellowship of the Ashen Moth	any style
The describing word + members' craft	The Eminent Wayfinders	any style
The emblem and another emblem	The Spider and Ledger	any style
kind of organisation of members' craft	Union of Messengers	any style
The emblem + kind of organisation	The Loom Conclave	any style
emblem + ending	Eyebearers	any style
The describing word + emblem + ending	The Ready Mirrorwardens	any style
The Most describing word + kind of organisation	The Most Astral Brotherhood	Noble and grand
The emblem in the Dark		Grim and dark
kind of organisation of the Ninth emblem	Consortium of the Ninth Signet	Arcane and strange
Keepers of the Old emblem	Keepers of the Old Chisel	Ancient and mythic
The First kind of organisation of members' craft	The First Concord of Herbalists	Ancient and mythic
members' craft Anonymous	Gemcutters Anonymous	Comic and light
The describing word + emblem + kind of organisation	The Reluctant Mask Conclave	Comic and light, Grim and dark
The your keyword + kind of organisation	The Tallow Covenant	any style
kind of organisation of your keyword	Brotherhood of Tallow	any style
The describing word + your keyword + kind of organisation	The Chartered Tallow Moot	any style
your keyword + ending	Tallowwrights	any style
The your keyword and emblem	The Tallow and Feather	any style
The members' craft of your keyword	The Stonecutters of Tallow	any style

The words are written by hand for guild names, not scraped. Pressing Generate runs the same seeded routine that built the names above, so the same seed always gives the same list.

Naming guide for your guild

A guild name is built from up to three facts: what kind of body it is, who belongs to it and what is stamped on its seal. The plainest pattern states the first two, The Cartographers Guild, and suits any honest trade body with a hall and a charter. The second pattern uses the emblem instead, Order of the Lamp, and at once sounds less like a trade and more like a vow.

The kind of organisation carries weight. A guild or a league regulates work and sets prices. An order or a covenant swears an oath. A circle, a conclave or a collegium studies something. A syndicate, a cabal or a moot meets where it will not be overheard. Lock the organisation word that fits the group and re-roll the rest.

The moods set how the group describes itself. Noble guilds call themselves the most honourable or the most venerable of their kind, and are known in the street by a one-word nickname. Grim and arcane names belong to groups that would rather not be named at all. Ancient ones claim to be the first of their kind. Comic ones are underfunded, part-time and good for a session of light relief.

Before you commit to a name

Say the name aloud twice. If you stumble, your players or readers will too, and a name nobody can say gets replaced by a nickname.
Check that it does not sound like another name already in your campaign or story. Two places that start with the same letter and end the same way get mixed up at the table.
Search the web for it. The names are built from this site's own word and syllable lists, but a random blend can match a name from a published book, game or setting by chance. If it does, pick another.
If you plan to publish or sell your work, treat the name like any other: you are responsible for checking it is not a trademark or a well-known name from someone else's world.
Write it on the map or the character sheet and read it small. Long names get shortened in play, so check that the short form also works.

Questions

How do I name a thieves' or assassins' guild?

Choose the grim mood. It uses words such as Hooded, Masked and Unseen with emblems such as the key, the moth and the viper, and adds the pattern The Key in the Dark. A group like this never names its trade, so prefer the emblem patterns.

How do I name a mages' guild or a scholarly order?

Choose the arcane mood and lock an organisation word such as Circle, Conclave or Collegium. You get names such as a conclave of the ninth mirror, built from this page's own emblem list.

Is there a short form for everyday use?

Yes. Set the number of words to one for compounds such as Lampbearers or Keywardens, which join an emblem to an ending. Keep the full name for charters and let the street use the short one.

Can the guild be named after a city or founder in my world?

Yes. Type it into the include-my-word box for forms such as The Tallow Lodge, Order of Tallow or The Mapmakers of Tallow.