Name generator

Tavern and inn name generator for game masters and writers

Twenty tavern names per click, built the way real inn signs were: a describing word and a creature, two things joined by an ampersand, or the keeper's name over the door. Choose cosy, grim, noble, comic or ancient and heart the ones you want.

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

Rusk's Taproomkeeper's name's house word
The Blind PilgrimThe describing word + traveller
The Toad RoadhouseThe creature + house word
The Fiddle & StirrupThe sign object & another sign object
The Badger and HareThe creature and another creature
The Peddler's MilestoneThe traveller's sign object
The Kelpie & LanternThe creature & sign object
The Unicorn & HearthThe creature & sign object
The Hare InnThe creature + house word
The Laughing WheelThe describing word + sign object
The Lichened Ferryman's ArmsThe describing word + traveller's house word
The King's MagpieThe King's creature
The Pilgrim's Last BedpostThe traveller's Last sign object
The Platter & TrencherThe sign object & another sign object
The Cross-eyed Ogre AlehouseThe describing word + creature + house word
The Queen's PlatterThe Queen's sign object
The Poacher's MilestoneThe traveller's sign object
Tobin's Proud Platterkeeper's name's describing word + sign object
The Knight's Last PlatterThe traveller's Last sign object
The Knight's PipeThe traveller's sign object

My favourites (0)

Nothing saved yet. Press the heart next to a name and it appears here, saved in this browser only.

Tavern and inn 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.

Cosy and homely

The Drowsy Barrel
Ogrenest
The Whistling Flagon
Odo's Rest
The Buttered Sickle
The Mule and Boar

Grim and dark

The Bagpipe & Barrel
The Trencher & Pitcher
The Hanged Stirrup
The Goblin & Bell
Wyvernburrow
The Wandering Troll

Noble and grand

The Sleeping Boot
The Gallant Wizard
The Ivory Crow
Sorrel's Taproom
The Proud Ram
The Valiant Manticore

Comic and light

The Hedgehog Lodge
Tobin's Hostelry
The Ogre's Tab
Hops and Dreams
Jory's Spotted Flagon
The Ram and Manticore

Ancient and mythic

The Dancing Crow
The Moss-grown Wizard
The Rooster & Flagon
The Leaning Crow
The Runed Ostler
The Rooster & Pitcher

How these tavern names are built

This generator draws from 202 hand-picked words in 8 lists and uses 22 naming patterns, plus 5 more that wrap around a keyword you type. The patterns can combine into up to 88,930 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
Describing word	64	Runed, Wobbly, Sunken, Muddy, Spotted, Thirsty, Nodding
Creature	32	Manticore, Kelpie, Hare, Ram, Magpie, Heron, Weasel
Sign object	30	Pitcher, Spoon, Wheel, Pillow, Boot, Goblet, Fiddle
House word	12	Tap, Hostelry, Tavern, Rest, Inn, Taproom, Roadhouse
Keeper's name	20	Pell, Aldous, Tilda, Willa, Brenna, Old Meg, Hesk
Traveller	20	Bard, Tinker, Peddler, Miller, Shepherd, Juggler, Wizard
One-word ending	8	nest, hollow, den, hall, nook, burrow, roost
Tavern joke	16	The Troll Under the Bar, The Barely Standing, The Quest Can Wait, Mead Me Halfway, The Nag's Complaint, Last Orders and First Fights, One More Round Table

Patterns

Pattern	Example	Used for
The describing word + creature	The Wobbly Boar	any style
The describing word + sign object	The Rampant Tankard	any style
The creature & sign object	The Goose & Plough	any style
The creature and another creature	The Mermaid and Ram	any style
keeper's name's house word	Sorrel's Hostelry	any style
The traveller's house word	The Wizard's Taproom	any style
The describing word + traveller	The Lucky Bard	any style
The sign object & another sign object	The Trencher & Bedpost	any style
The creature + house word	The Hare Arms	any style
The traveller's sign object	The Squire's Wheel	any style
The Old creature	The Old Toad	any style
creature + one-word ending	Manticoreden	any style
The creature by the Fire		Cosy and homely
keeper's name's describing word + sign object	Jory's Stately Horseshoe	Cosy and homely, Comic and light
The traveller's Last sign object	The Poacher's Last Ladle	Grim and dark
The describing word + traveller's house word	The Merry Bard's Hostelry	Grim and dark, Noble and grand
The King's creature	The King's Kelpie	Noble and grand
The Queen's sign object	The Queen's Stirrup	Noble and grand
tavern joke	The Quest Can Wait	Comic and light
The creature That Got Away	The Toad That Got Away	Comic and light
At the Sign of the sign object		Ancient and mythic
The describing word + creature + house word	The Rampant Manticore Inn	Ancient and mythic, Noble and grand
The your keyword + house word	The Marrow Cellar	any style
your keyword's house word	Marrow's Inn	any style
The describing word + your keyword	The Buttered Marrow	any style
The your keyword & sign object	The Marrow & Flagon	any style
The creature of your keyword	The Basilisk of Marrow	any style

The words are written by hand for tavern 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 tavern

Most tavern names in this generator follow the oldest rule of inn signs: the name is a picture. A sign-painter can paint a crooked stag or a kettle and a goose, and a carter who cannot read can still be told to turn left at it. The first three patterns do exactly that, pairing a describing word with a creature or an object, or joining a creature and an object with an ampersand.

The second family of names belongs to a person. A keeper's name over the door, such as Marta's Taproom, suits a small village house where everybody knows who pours. A traveller's name, such as The Ferryman's Rest, says who the house was built for and tells your players something about the road outside: pilgrims, drovers or poachers pass this way.

The mood filter changes the describing words and adds patterns of its own. Cosy houses get creatures by the fire, grim ones get last things and hanged men, noble ones borrow the colours of heraldry, and the ancient style reaches for the old form At the Sign of. Comic adds a list of tavern jokes written for this page; use them sparingly, one joke inn per town is plenty.

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

What is the difference between a tavern name and an inn name?

In play, very little. An inn has beds and stabling, a tavern or alehouse only pours. The house word at the end of some patterns (Inn, Rest, Lodge, Taproom, Cellar) carries that difference, so re-roll or lock the house word that matches what the place offers.

How do I get a tavern name that fits one town?

Type the town, the keeper or a local legend into the include-my-word box. The generator then uses patterns with a slot for your word, such as The Marrow Arms or The Stag of Marrow.

Why do so many names start with The?

Because sign-board names are spoken that way: you meet at The Crooked Stag. If you want names without it, set the number of words to two and pick patterns with a keeper's name, or simply drop the article in your notes.

Can I get more names with a word I like?

Yes. Open Lock a word on any name and press the word. The next batch keeps it and changes the rest, so one creature you like can be tried with every describing word in the mood you chose.