Assassin Name Generator
Assassin working names built from a harmless cover word and a guild euphemism for the job, plus a forgettable cover surname.
84,150 combinations in this form
- Maltend Talley
Malt brewing grain + end an ending
brewing grain, an ending
Talley a counter's name
a counter's name
- Baypeace Talley
Bay cooking leaf + peace a peace made
cooking leaf, a peace made
Talley a counter's name
a counter's name
- Shutterpage Vessey
Shutter window board + page a page turned
window board, a page turned
Vessey a potter's name
a potter's name
- Reedline Ashby
Reed river cane + line a line drawn
river cane, a line drawn
Ashby a charcoal burner
a charcoal burner
- Plumrose Barrow
Plum purple fruit + rose a rose left
purple fruit, a rose left
Barrow a carter's name
a carter's name
- Streetwrit Whitlock
Street paved way + writ a writ served
paved way, a writ served
Whitlock a locksmith's name
a locksmith's name
- Pewterpart Ledgerwood
Pewter grey metal + part a parting
grey metal, a parting
Ledgerwood a bookkeeper's name
a bookkeeper's name
- Lilyharvest Dray
Lily white flower + harvest a harvest taken
white flower, a harvest taken
Dray a brewer's name
a brewer's name
- Mistlot Ledgerwood
Mist low cloud + lot a lot drawn
low cloud, a lot drawn
Ledgerwood a bookkeeper's name
a bookkeeper's name
- Candlehour Weald
Candle wax light + hour the hour kept
wax light, the hour kept
Weald a woodward's name
a woodward's name
- Mintfarewell Gaunt
Mint cooling herb + farewell a farewell said
cooling herb, a farewell said
Gaunt a tailor's name
a tailor's name
- Shutterfile Weald
Shutter window board + file a file closed
window board, a file closed
Weald a woodward's name
a woodward's name
- Quilline Talley
Quill writing feather + line a line drawn
writing feather, a line drawn
Talley a counter's name
a counter's name
- Buttersunset Quimby
Butter churned cream + sunset the sun down
churned cream, the sun down
Quimby a glover's name
a glover's name
- Harbourdeed Kettleby
Harbour sheltered water + deed a deed done
sheltered water, a deed done
Kettleby a tinsmith's name
a tinsmith's name
- Pitchchange Bexley
Pitch black tar + change change given
black tar, change given
Bexley a clerk's name
a clerk's name
- Juniperdawning Whitlock
Juniper berry shrub + dawning the morning after
berry shrub, the morning after
Whitlock a locksmith's name
a locksmith's name
- Chimneyrate Thorne
Chimney smoke flue + rate a rate agreed
smoke flue, a rate agreed
Thorne a hedger's name
a hedger's name
- Dustfold Ravensworth
Dust fine powder + fold a folding away
fine powder, a folding away
Ravensworth a steward's name
a steward's name
- Mustardblossom Wainwright
Mustard hot seed + blossom a blossom dropped
hot seed, a blossom dropped
Wainwright a cartwright's name
a cartwright's name
- Ferrydate Salter
Ferry river boat + date a date kept
river boat, a date kept
Salter a salt trader
a salt trader
- Hingewindow Penn
Hinge turning joint + window a window opened
turning joint, a window opened
Penn a scribe's name
a scribe's name
- Cottonfarewell Ormsby
Cotton soft boll + farewell a farewell said
soft boll, a farewell said
Ormsby a drover's name
a drover's name
- Marketorder Salter
Market trading square + order an order filled
trading square, an order filled
Salter a salt trader
a salt trader
How assassin names are built
¶A working name is chosen to be boring. The first element is something out of a shop or a kitchen — chalk, oakum, tallow, thimble, vinegar — because a name that sounds like a trade gets written into a ledger and forgotten. The second element is the guild's word for the work, and every guild uses euphemism: a close, a settle, a quiet, the long sleep, a wick trimmed. Chalkclose is a plain-looking name that says, to about forty people, exactly what its owner does.
The two halves are read differently by different rooms, and that is the whole design. Outside the guild the name registers as a nickname or a shop sign. Inside it, the second element is a job classification: contracts written as an errand, a delivery or a warrant served are different kinds of work with different rates. Names are reassigned when someone changes speciality, which means an assassin's name is closer to a rank than to an identity.
The surname is a cover, and covers are chosen whole rather than built. They are real, dull, regional family names that belong to a trade nobody looks at twice — Ashby, Rushton, Marris, Whitlock, Ledgerwood — and the point is that they can be verified. A good cover surname has a parish, a trade and two generations behind it. Characters usually hold several, and the one they use tells you which city they think they are in trouble in.
Questions
What are good assassin names?
Quiet ones. Pair an ordinary object with a soft word for the work: Chalkclose, Tallowquiet, Vinegarpeace, Latchwarrant. The name should be sayable in a market without anybody turning round. Anything with blade, shadow, death or night in it is a costume rather than a working name, and in most fiction it marks the character as an amateur.
What is a good assassin cover name or alias?
Use a whole, dull surname with a trade attached: Ashby, Marris, Rushton, Quimby, Ledgerwood. A cover should be checkable — a parish, a craft, an uncle. Invented exotic surnames are the fastest way to be remembered, which is the opposite of the requirement. Keep two or three and use a different one in each city the character works.
How is an assassin name different from a rogue name?
A rogue's byname is given by other people and it advertises: Nicklatch, Quickfingers, Crakebolt. An assassin's working name is chosen and it conceals, so it points at a harmless trade and hides the meaning in the second half. If people outside the profession can tell what the name means, it is a rogue name and it is doing the wrong job.
Should an assassin have a real name too?
Almost always, and it should be unremarkable. The structure that works in play is three layers: a birth name almost nobody knows, one or more cover names with documents behind them, and a working name used only inside the guild. Deciding which characters know which layer is a quick way to map every relationship your assassin has.
Can I use these names in D&D or my own fiction?
Yes. Every element here is an ordinary English word or a common regional surname pattern, glossed with its plain sense, and nothing is taken from a published setting or an existing character. Use the names for player characters, NPCs, novels or commercial modules with no attribution required.