Tiefling Name Generator

How tiefling names are usually built

Tieflings have two naming habits, and fiction usually uses both. The first is an infernal name, sharp and short, with sounds such as z, x, k and v: Zephira, Malkor or Ixel. It sounds like something a parent whispered in a hot room. The second is a virtue name, a plain word such as Mercy, Vigil or Candour that a parent chose as a hope, a defence or a dare.

The two can sit together. A tiefling raised among humans may carry Mercy as a first name and an old infernal name as a second, and a reader learns the family history from the order alone.

Keeping tiefling names consistent

Decide who gives the name and when. If virtue names are given at birth and infernal names are earned or inherited later, say so once and keep it. If a tiefling community picks virtues, avoid sliding in a modern word that breaks the tone: Honour and Resolve fit, Hustle does not. Keep house names a short list, since a tiefling family is often the only place the child is not stared at. A character who swaps a virtue name for an infernal name, or the reverse, has told the reader something about their year.

Twenty example tiefling names

• Mercy Ashveil a street healer who never turns anyone away.
• Zephira Cinderglass a sharp-tongued caravan guard.
• Vigil Hollowmark a night watchman named for his first job.
• Malkorix Duskbrand a scholar of forbidden texts.
• Candour Emberlock a gambler who tells the truth and wins anyway.
• Ixelith Soothand a quiet priestess of a forgotten cult.
• Solace Redfall a bard who plays for the sick.
• Valkos the Patient a duellist who waits for the third blow.
• Tamariel Gloamsong a street singer with a famous name.
• Resolve Sablecrest a young knight who inherited the word and the debt.
• Dravex Onyxshade a smuggler with a clean ledger.
• Wonder Thornbell a curious child who asks every question.
• Kalixa Umbrastride a rogue who sleeps in the day.
• Penance Wickward a pilgrim who walks without shoes.
• Zulrek the Unburned a survivor who never talks about the fire.
• Seraphine Vesperwind a courtier with a gentle voice.
• Dread Ironmourn a gentle baker with a cruel name.
• Nixara Charwell an apprentice alchemist, always singed.
• Gratitude Rueheart a beggar who thanks everyone, even the guard.
• Balthazor Coalcrown a self-declared lord of a small ruined keep.

Why a virtue name makes a good tiefling

A virtue name does a lot of work in a few letters. Mercy, given to a child with horns, asks every stranger to live up to the word. The child can wear it with pride, hate it, or grow into something the parent never meant. Either way the name is a conflict you do not have to write.

Use the virtue as a seed for a personality or as a contrast. A tiefling named Candour who lies for a living is a ready-made scene. A tiefling named Spite who is the gentlest person in the village is another.

Pairing infernal names with houses

Infernal names pair well with a house name built from two plain words, such as Ashveil or Emberglass. The mix of a hard given name and a soft house name suggests a family that has made peace with the world.

If you want a villain, drop the house name and add an epithet: a short phrase such as the Patient or the Unburned sounds like a title and reads like a threat.