Religion Name Generator

How religion names are built

Faiths are often named by the thing they teach, the god they follow or the road they walk. A one-god faith names its god or its law: the Faith of Ulmar, the Radiant Creed. A faith with many gods names its pantheon by number or by family, as in the Twelve Houses or the Old Sisters. A nature faith names the thing it reveres: the Rooted Oak, the Way of the Tide. The words faith, way and creed feel steady, while covenant, rite and vow suggest a promise with a price.

The name members use and the name outsiders use are often different. A faith that calls itself the Way may be called the Whisperers by people who dislike it.

Keeping a religion believable

Give the religion a story, a symbol, a few words people say when they greet each other and a set of habits that fit the name. If the faith names a river, its festivals should be at the river and its sins should have something to do with water. Keep the vocabulary of one faith distinct from another, so readers can hear who is praying. And remember that a faith has a history: the oldest names are usually the plainest, and splinter groups add adjectives. Think about what the religion is called in a prayer, in a law and in an insult, and use the right one in each scene.

Twenty example religion names

• The Faith of Ulmar a single god of law and long roads.
• The Eternal Flame of Sarandel a fire cult that became a state church.
• The Twelve Houses of Kordheim a pantheon where every god keeps a hearth.
• The Way of the Tide sailors' faith with a monthly rite.
• The Rooted Oak of Maralis a forest faith with a living shrine.
• The Old Sisters of Elorenne three goddesses of birth, work and death.
• The Radiant Creed a young faith that spreads by its schools.
• The Seven Lamps a pilgrim faith that follows a lantern road.
• The Temple of Brakmund a warlike faith with a hard god.
• The Patient Word of Vesperan monks who speak once a day.
• The Keepers of the Living Stone a mountain faith that fears collapse.
• The Covenant of Ashmar a faith built on promises and debts.
• The Nine Wanderers a travelling pantheon with road shrines.
• The Silent Hearth a household faith that lives without priests.
• The Way of the Harvest a farmer's faith with a feast calendar.
• The Faith of the Two Moons a night faith that argues about the sky.
• The Gentle Path of Orsendal a faith of healers and quiet rules.
• The Winter Court a cold faith that prizes patience.
• The Voice of Tyranth an oracle faith with a painful price.
• The Old Faith of the Fen marsh folk with a charm for every season.