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Even inDungeons & Dragons, humans can exist and fight alongside various fantasy species! Humans are known for being jacks-of-all-trades, with a wide variety of subcultures, characteristics, and passions. Humans in the Forgotten Realms are known to be respected and feared just as much as any fantastical being.
If you’ve chosen human as your species in Dungeons & Dragons, you might be wondering what to name them. There are plenty of options at your disposal, as well as guidance offered on fantasy human naming conventions in several sourcebooks. Here’s a breakdown of how to generate human names for Dungeons & Dragons.
How Human Names Work
Like humans in general in Dungeons & Dragons,there’s no singular set of naming conventions for humansin the Forgotten Realms and beyond.
Rather,human names can take on a variety of different forms, taking inspiration from famousDungeons & Dragons locationsand cultures, or even real-world heritages.
The appendix of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything has a table of human namesfrom various real-world cultures that you can roll on for inspiration.
The 2014 Player’s Handbook offers nine human cultures common to the Forgotten Realms, which all take inspiration from real-world cultures. They are as follows:
Each of these human cultures also has various name examples listed beneath them, which can be used by themselves or as inspiration.
While it’s always nice to have a fantastical-sounding name,there’s nothing wrong with using more common-sounding names, and using them in your campaign.
Tips And Tricks To Create Human Names
When it comes to creating human names for Dungeons & Dragons,there are a few tips and tricks to employ, as well as some caveats:
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Use Forgotten Realms Subcultures
As mentioned,the 2014 Player’s Handbook has a list of nine different subspecies of humans, each with corresponding naming conventions.
This can serve as excellent inspirationfor naming human characters.
Draw Inspiration From Real-World Cultures
you’re able to alwaysborrow from real-world cultures to name humansin a Dungeons & Dragons setting, or use other real-world names you are familiar with as a player.
Borrow From Other Species
Some humans in the D&D multiverse will simply name their children withnames from other species.This is always an alternative option.
While borrowing from real-world cultures is always an option,be wary of misused appropriation.
Fantasy has always borrowed and drawn inspiration from real-world culture, but you shouldbe wary of borrowing from cultures you are not familiar with.
Examples Of Human Names
Using the above naming conventions,here are some examples of human namesyou can use for your campaign, as well as their corresponding sub-heritage, if any.
