King Name Generator

How monarchs are named

A monarch is known by a given name, a number and, often, an epithet. The number counts the rulers who held the same name in the same line, so Aldric IV is the fourth Aldric to sit on that throne. An epithet separates rulers when numbers are not enough and records what people remembered: the Bold, the Just, the Hollow. A kingdom adds a place, because a monarch is always the ruler of somewhere. The generator builds each of these shapes for kings and for queens who rule in their own right, so you can pick the one that fits a title page, a chronicle or a gravestone.

Making a line of kings believable

If you give your monarchs numbers, make the numbers mean something. A king numbered IX suggests eight earlier kings with the same name, so your royal family tree needs them, or at least a tradition of reusing a handful of throne names. Keep epithets earned: they are usually given after the fact, unkind for the living and kind for the dead, and the ruler seldom chose his own. A queen who rules in her own right takes a number like a king, while a queen consort takes her title from her husband and rarely has one. Say each name aloud, and avoid two monarchs whose names start with the same letter and sit close in time.

Twenty example monarch names

• King Aldric IV the Stern a cautious ruler who inherited an unpaid war.
• Queen Maren II a monarch whose reign is told in tax records.
• High King Theodoric XV a ceremonial title for a very old line.
• Eadric the Bold of Highmarch a border king who believes in riding first.
• Queen Sigrid the Wise a ruler with a cabinet of old advisers.
• King Osric VII the Gilded a spendthrift who is loved in the capital.
• Queen Regent Hilda the Patient rules for a child king and does not hurry.
• Konrad II of Ironvale a quiet king who owes his throne to a marriage.
• King Baldwin the Hollow a name given after his death, and not kindly.
• Dowager Queen Ermengarde the Elder a retired queen who still holds the court.
• King Gorm V the Builder a king who built walls and left debts.
• Queen Theodora VI of Silverwick a patron of scholars, hated by the nobles.
• Valdemar the Sleepless a king who trusts nobody after dark.
• Queen Alienor the Restless a wandering queen with a passion for borders.
• King Tancred XII the Merciful a ruler whose mercy was a useful habit.
• Queen Isabeau XI the last in a long line of Isabeaus.
• King Leofric the Lame a wise king who walked slowly and thought quickly.
• High Queen Wilhelmina the Lawgiver wrote the code that her heirs now break.
• Ulric IX the Unlucky of Greywater a king who never won a battle he chose.
• King Hartmann the Traveller a ruler who is more often abroad than at home.