It can be tough to come up with a good name for a fantasy character. That’s why so many writers turn to tools like an orc names generator to take the frustration out of the process.
On this page you’ll learn:
- What a good fantasy orc name involves
- Tips on creating orc characters
- Ideas and inspiration for fantasy weapons and unique and interesting armor
- How characters are named in the likes of Skyrim (such as orsimer), Warhammer, DND and Warcraft
- How to use the orc names generator tool for male or female characters or those with a good or evil nature
Let’s dive in.
Use The Orc Names Generator
Select Race
- angel
- cavePerson
- darkelf
- demon
- dragon
- drow
- dwarf
- elf
- fairy
- gnome
- goblin
- halfdemon
- halfling
- highelf
- highfairy
- human
- ogre
- orc
To use the orc names generator, simply choose your desired race from the dropdown menu, select male, female or random, and hit the generate button. Easy!
Just keep pressing generate to get a fresh batch of names.
Choose A Chapter
You can find more help and guidance on naming fantasy characters below. Click what you’re interested to jump ahead.
- Guidance On Using The Orc Name Generator
- How The Orc Names Generator Can Help You
- What Is An Orc?
- What Are Good Orc Names?
- Orc Names In Skyrim, DND and Warcraft
- Discuss The Orc Names Generator With Other Fantasy Writers
Guidance On Using The Orc Name Generator
This generator tool has the ability to produce female orc names as well as male ones too. It’s also useful for creating half orc names, such as for characters who may be a mix of orc and human, or orc and elf.
You don’t have to simply use the names this tool generates. You can take bits and pieces of names, mix different ones together, or use them to help inspire your own concoctions.
This is what I do a lot of the time and it helps to ensure that the name you do decide to use is unique and original.
You may find the generator produces similar or the same names. If so, don’t worry, it’s not broken. Just keep clicking the generate button and you’ll find new names before you know it.
What Is My Orc Name?
Let’s have some fun, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to know what their orc name is?
To work out what your orc name is using the fantasy name generator, simply press “generate” 5 times. Then choose the first name that you see that shares the same first letter as your own name. If there are no names beginning with the first letter of your first name, just keep clicking generate until you get one.
And there you have it, your very own orc name! Wear it with pride and emblazon it on all of your orcish fantasy armor.
How The Orc Names Generator Can Help You
You’re not the first and by no means the last person to turn to a fantasy name generator tool to help them out.
Writing fantasy fiction is difficult. It’s probably the toughest genre to write, in my opinion. Not only do you have to build a world and setting, but you also have to create compelling characters, interesting plots and premises.
One of the challenges fantasy writers face is being drawn into what’s come before. We naturally gravitate to our favourite books and characters, may even re-use the tried and tested fantasy tropes that enchant us so much. The same applies to names.
But it’s important not to let those things interfere too much with our own creations. We can quickly lose originality and our ideas get shelved for imitations.
So while this orc name generator tool can be useful in giving you some ideas, don’t force names onto characters that don’t suit them. It’ll only do more harm than good and cause you frustration!
There are some best practices you can follow when it comes to naming fantasy characters. I’ve spent a lot of time analysing the works of bestselling authors to see how they do things. You can discover more in the link below.
Learn More – The Complete Guide To Naming Fantasy Characters
What Is An Orc?
A classic fantasy orc is a humanoid corrupted by evil. They typically have sickly, green or grey flesh, with sharp teeth or fangs and powerful muscles.
They reside in caves or darker places and seek to bring death and destruction of anyone remotely good.
Orcs first appeared in the epic medieval poem, Beowulf, in which they were referred to as “orcus”.
They found more mainstream stardom in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books as well as The Hobbit.
From there they took on a whole new dynamic as tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons (DND) and Warhammer developed them further and cemented the tropes we know today.
When computer games became commonplace, we saw orcs featuring quite heavily in the likes of the Elder Scrolls games (Skyrim in particular), and World of Warcraft.
Over time the perception of an orc has changed, however. People are tired of tropes and cliches now. One common one is how all orcs hate humans or other races, and that all they want is to kill, destroy and eat man flesh.
Lots of modern writers have sought to dispel that trope in their stories and have introduced new perspectives or cultures that are otherwise forgotten or ignored in other books.
Orcs by Stan Nicholls is a good example of a story told from the orc’s perspective.
Another example, which doesn’t apply to orcs as such but more villains and antagonists as a whole, is Grendel by James Gardner.
In this retelling of the classic poem Beowulf, Gardner takes the main villain, Grendel, as his main character and shows a completely different perspective to the evil monster we see in the story.
What Are Good Orc Names?
Determining a good orc name is really down to you. Yes, you can get feedback from other fantasy writers, but the final decision rests with you.
However, there are some guidance points that we can take on board.
One of them lies with your worldbuilding approach.
If your fantasy world is peaceful, which extends to orcs too, calling an orc character “Grima Smashy Fist” doesn’t quite work.
On the other hand, if your world features Tolkien-sequel orcs then such a name would almost be expected.
Bear this in mind, however—a name can help characterise. By this I mean we can get an image, an understanding of what this character is like without telling the reader anything more than just their name.
Let’s look at an example. Perhaps our world is a vicious one—Mordor multiplied by a hundred. We have an orc character, but not a typical kill-smash-kill one. Instead, they play the lute and try to pacify others with their songs. An altogether gentler nature than what we’d expect.
A name like “Barzog The Bludgeoner” wouldn’t suit them well, or at least not as much as “Saxak Stringsmith”.
So if you’re looking for good orc names, there are a few things to bear in mind.
Ogre Names
Ogres find themselves associated with orcs no doubt for their unfortunately poor looks.
Throughout history, ogres have been depicted s legendary monsters; giant, ugly men with big heads and lots of hair, who delight in eating young children. A good example is the man-eating giant in Sinbad The Sailor.
Ogres have featured in mythology, folklore, fairy tales and other types of fiction.
In terms of ogre names, one of the most famous is Grendel from the epic poem, Beowulf.
Another example is Polyphemus, the Cyclops from Homer’s Odyssey.
More Tips On Coming Up With Names For Orcs
Something that’s helped me out a lot when coming up with orc names is to place myself in their world as much as possible.
If you’ve created your own fantasy race, then you may find this a useful worldbuilding exercise. Think about things like:
- How their society is structured – is it male or female-dominated or balanced?
- What are the challenges in their day-to-day lives? For example, food may be scarce so they might have to eat insects, like worms or maggots, which is where common usage of such words or names may come from.
- What do they worship or hold dear in their lives? In many ancient or early societies, the sun and stars were held in the highest regard. Other groups might identify with animals or with spirits.
These can all be important considerations when coming up with the ideal orc name.
Orc Names In Skyrim, Warhammer DND and Warcraft
Some of my favourite orc names are in Skyrim and other games like Dungeons and Dragons and World of Warcraft.
The elder Scrolls games have a rich heritage when it comes to orcs. They’re complicated beings, with a detailed past. If you’re looking for an Orsimer name generator, then my tool will certainly help. Here are some examples from the ever-popular game Skyrim in particular:
- Borgakh the Steel Heart
- Ogol
- Chief Burguk
- Chief Yamarz
One of the hallmarks of Skyrim orc names is the use of uncommon letters, such as Z and K. The sound that these letter combinations give is quite harsh and brutal, which can help to characterise.
You can use the tool above as an effective Skyrim orc name generator if you’re looking to create a character from scratch and need a hand with the naming process.
Here are some orc names from World of Warcraft:
- Ner’zhul
- Gul’dan
- Garrosh Hellscream
- Broxigar
As you can see, these orc names follow a similar pattern as to the Skyrim ones. They make use of unusual letters, but they also include a few apostrophes. This feature of fantasy names is quite controversial as they can create uncertainty in the reader’s mind. However, with short names, the problem isn’t as common.
What about Warhammer fantasy orc names? Orcs, or orruks as they’re called, as well as Greenskins, play a massive part in the world of Warhammer. They’re particularly well known for their descriptive titles, which help to give an idea of what the character is about:
- Grimgor Ironhide
- Grom The Paunch
- Morglum Necksnapper
- Azhag The Slaughterer
Very illustrative. And again, you can see the use of unusual letters, which is definitely a common theme when it comes to orc names.
Discuss The Orc Names Generator With Other Fantasy Writers
I hope you’ve found some useful names for your characters. If you’d like to discuss your suggestions with other fantasy writers to sound them out, I have the perfect place for you to do so.
My online writing group is made up of 190+ passionate and helpful writers. And the numbers are growing all the time.
You can find other help and support too, such as beta readers for your work in progress, idea and concept discussion, and cross-promotional opportunities, like newsletter swaps.
To join, just click below.
For more name ideas, check out these guides below:
- Fantasy writing – for advice and guides on writing fantasy stories, head here
- How to write a fantasy novel – this guide breaks down the process of writing a fantasy fiction novel
- How to write battles and fight scenes – if you want to learn more about writing intense fight scenes, check out this guide
- Elven names generator and guide – if you need a hand naming your elves, check out this name generator
- Fantasy character names – for more general advice and guidance on naming characters, head here
- Wizard name generator – to learn about wizards and mages and their names, head here
- The knight of chivalry – medieval knights – this fascinating guide discusses knights in the middle ages and the code of conduct they lived by
- Demon name generator – if you have demons in your story you can get name ideas here
- Try out the knight name generator here if you’re looking for help naming a medieval warrior
- Human name generator and guide – this fantasy name generator tool can help give you unique names
- The best communities for fantasy writers – if you’re looking to connect with fellow writers, head here
- Fantasy archery – a complete guide – this piece offers useful insights on bows, arrows and archers
- Worldbuilding in fantasy – to learn more about building fantasy worlds, head here
- Fantasy name generator – this tool and guide offers deep insights into naming characters
- Worldbuilding guide and tips – you can find a complete set of tips and advice on world building here
If you have any questions about this orc names generator tool, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Most nights you can find him up into the wee hours scribbling away or watching the NBA.
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