Troll Name Generator
Heavy two-syllable troll names built from stone, moss and bog elements, every syllable glossed, with bridge and cairn epithets.
2,205,000 combinations in this form
- Grumsakk Damphide
Grum gloom + sakk sack
gloom sack
Damp clinging wet + hide tough skin
clinging wet tough skin
- Mossunga Gritchewer
Moss green growth + unga young one
green growth young one
Grit coarse sand + chewer gnawer
coarse sand gnawer
- Glumhollump Stumpback
Glumhol gloom hollow + lump shapeless mass
gloom hollow shapeless mass
Stump cut trunk + back broad shoulders
cut trunk broad shoulders
- Blodbak Stoneshank
Blod mud + bak back
mud back
Stone unmoving rock + shank leg bone
unmoving rock leg bone
- Fenhagga Fenchewer
Fen wet lowland + hagga old woman
wet lowland old woman
Fen wet lowland + chewer gnawer
wet lowland gnawer
- Snorbeknubb Boulderclub
Snorbek snow stream + nubb thumb
snow stream thumb
Boulder fallen rock + club heavy cudgel
fallen rock heavy cudgel
- Vardmog Toadhump
Vard cairn + mog kin
cairn kin
Toad squat croaker + hump bent hunch
squat croaker bent hunch
- Murklumpa Knotgut
Murk muddy dark + lumpa lump
muddy dark lump
Knot twisted tangle + gut innards
twisted tangle innards
- Rimstanhump Stumpclub
Rimstan frost stone + hump bent hunch
frost stone bent hunch
Stump cut trunk + club heavy cudgel
cut trunk heavy cudgel
- Troghidd Ironchain
Trog tunnel + hidd hide
tunnel hide
Iron hard metal + chain heavy links
hard metal heavy links
- Grotolda Stumpgut
Grot grotto + olda elder
grotto elder
Stump cut trunk + gut innards
cut trunk innards
- Fungrotald Sludgebelly
Fungrot fungus rot + ald old one
fungus rot old one
Sludge thick ooze + belly swollen paunch
thick ooze swollen paunch
- Dolmtunn Barrowback
Dolm standing stone + tunn weight
standing stone weight
Barrow burial mound + back broad shoulders
burial mound broad shoulders
- Hulmirna Bridgesack
Hulm river islet + irna ironworker
river islet ironworker
Bridge stone crossing + sack carrying bag
stone crossing carrying bag
- Tarnholdbakk Sludgeheap
Tarnhold pool hollow + bakk back
pool hollow back
Sludge thick ooze + heap great pile
thick ooze great pile
- Yrngrud Stumpgrumble
Yrn iron ore + grud grudge
iron ore grudge
Stump cut trunk + grumble low rumble
cut trunk low rumble
- Brogknokka Bridgethumper
Brog boulder + knokka knuckle
boulder knuckle
Bridge stone crossing + thumper pounder
stone crossing pounder
- Moldgravdolg Knotshank
Moldgrav mould pit + dolg mutterer
mould pit mutterer
Knot twisted tangle + shank leg bone
twisted tangle leg bone
- Bogokk Rimethumb
Bog sucking mire + okk eye
sucking mire eye
Rime frost crust + thumb blunt digit
frost crust blunt digit
- Vellwodda Gorsesitter
Vell spring + wodda heap
spring heap
Gorse spiny shrub + sitter squatter
spiny shrub squatter
- Cragvoldlump Stonetooth
Cragvold crag field + lump shapeless mass
crag field shapeless mass
Stone unmoving rock + tooth fang
unmoving rock fang
- Duruld Knotlurker
Dur grey + uld elder
grey elder
Knot twisted tangle + lurker skulker
twisted tangle skulker
- Brogulla Bogclub
Brog boulder + ulla wool
boulder wool
Bog sucking mire + club heavy cudgel
sucking mire heavy cudgel
- Bergrotfust Bridgedigger
Bergrot mountain root + fust fist
mountain root fist
Bridge stone crossing + digger burrower
stone crossing burrower
How troll names are built
¶A troll name is two closed syllables and no more. The first element names the ground the troll lives in or under — mog moss, bog bog, brud a boulder, krum scree, klod clay, stog sludge — and the second names a part of the troll or a habit it has kept for centuries: bak a back, gul a gullet, grud a grudge, thul a waiter, plodd a plodder. Mogbak is moss back. Krumgrud is scree grudge. Nothing is decorative and nothing is abbreviated.
The sound is deliberately dull. Troll speech has short vowels, doubled consonants and hard stops, no long vowels to draw out and no sibilant hiss, and the stress sits flat on the first syllable so the name lands like a dropped stone. This is what separates trolls from orcs, who bark and snarl and load their names with sharp edges. A troll is not angry, it is old and slow, and its name is built to be said once and understood.
Female names take an open -a on the second element, giving Moggrunna and Rimhulda, and the elder or neutral set uses two landscape words rather than a body word, because the oldest trolls are named for the ground itself: Aldstanhald, Bergrothodd. Beside the name sits a use-name given by the people who must deal with the troll, and it records the place it sits and the price it takes: Bridgetoll, Fordsitter, Cairnwaiter. Trolls never change either one.
Questions
What are good troll names?
Two heavy syllables, ground first and body second: Mogbak, Brudgul, Klodhump, Stoggrud. Keep the vowels short and let the consonants double at the join. If the name takes more than a second to say, or if it has a graceful vowel run in it, it belongs to some other creature. A troll name should sound like a rock settling.
How are troll names different from orc names?
Orc names are aggressive: sharp consonants, snarled endings, and meanings about killing and breaking. Troll names are dull and ancient. They are built from the vocabulary of stone, moss, bog and bridge, and the second element is usually a body part or a habit rather than a weapon. A troll is patient, not violent, and the name should read that way.
What are good troll last names?
Trolls do not carry family names, they carry use-names given by the people who deal with them, and those name a place and a price: Bridgetoll, Fordsitter, Cairnwaiter, Mosshoarder, Bogbelly. The first half says where the troll sits and the second says what it does to whoever comes past, which is all most travellers need to know.
Do female trolls have different names?
The elements are the same and only the ending changes. Female names take an open -a on the second element, so grunn becomes grunna and hulda closes softly, giving Moggrunna, Rimhulda, Sludkinna. It softens the landing without making the name light. The neutral set is used for elders of either sex, and it pairs two landscape words instead.
How long should a troll name be?
Two syllables for almost every troll, and three only for elders whose names have absorbed a second piece of landscape. Length in troll naming tracks age rather than status, so a long name means an old troll and an old troll means one that has watched a river change course. Short is the default and short is correct.