Genderless names for games

03 Jul, 2026

Knave 2e - Post Campaign System Review at Goblin Zone is an interesting, insightful read and as a complete aside mentions how 'a table of 100 good genderless names would be GMing gold dust' and as the proud bearer of a semi-genderless name myself I thought, "I don't know about good but I can certainly do a hundred."

Obviously, really, any name is a genderless name. We bring the gender. Some of these names were gendered in their original source, or would have been historically, or whatever. But to me they feel pretty androgynous. Lots of names exist with the same root but different suffixes to denote gender.

These, especially the IRL names, are all examples. There are so many. I've only listed three Latin names, for example, but there could be a hundred just of Latin names and a thousand Sikh names. There are lots of cultures and conventions I will have missed. Again: for example!

First thing that comes to mind is Sikhs with a deliberately non-gendered system. Names come straight out of the Guru Granth Sahib and are used for anyone.

Many older cultures use a conceptual, historical, situational naming system that would be more gender neutral - names could be as easily genderless as gendered. I'm thinking some Native American or Yoruba names. I'll not comment on the ethics or appropriation of such things.

Roots with gendered suffixes:

1. Octavia / Octavius (Latin)
2. Julia / Julius (Latin)
3. Claudia / Claudius (Latin)
4. Sigrid, Sigrun / Sigmund, Sigurd (Viking / Scandinavian)
5. Bogdana / Bogdan (Slavic)
6. Aminah / Amin (Arabic)
7. Jameela / Jamil (Arabic)
8. Samira / Samir (Arabic)
9. Françoise / François (French)
10. Bénédicte / Bénédict (French)

Nature names:

Trees, birds, landscapes. Literally any tree name would be perfect. These are great, probably my favourite category.

1. Elm
2. Alder
3. Rowan
4. Ash
5. Willow
6. Cedar
7. Swallow
8. Hawk
9. Peregrine
10. Robin
11. Lark
12. Fen
13. Glade
14. River
15. Ocean
16. Rain
17. Vale
18. Moss
19. Bramble
20. Root
21. Talon
22. Shell
23. Silver
24. Flint
25. Copper
26. Shale
27. North, South, East, West
28. Day, Dusk, Dawn, Noon, Night, Morrow
29. Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer
30. Solstice, Equinox, Zenith

Name someone after an area in the world, a mountain, a river. Or give character names to places on the map. It's very likely that would be the case.

Nickname style:

1. Lyric
2. Quill
3. Tank
4. Wash
5. Tip¹
6. Forge
7. Knife
8. Bucket
9. Silence
10. Swift

Bonus points if Knife is short for Knife At My Enemies' Throat or something.

Mythic:

1. Artemis
2. Orion
3. Ariel
4. Zephyr
5. Phoenix
6. Echo
7. Osiris
8. Avalon
9. Loki
10. Amaru

Fantasy-style:

1. Glorimm
2. Esca²
3. Avon, Aven
4. Dag, Loe, Cid, Mio, and other very short names
5. Dee, Vee, and other letters
6. Kael, Kaelithon
7. Tae, Tai, Tay, Taz, etc
8. Valerian (also a herb)
9. Literally any random name generator
10. Literally any name from fantasy canons

Don't tell me Glorfindel isn't a great name for a woman. And maybe all Tolkien's dwarf names are gender-neutral. Who can say. It was made up!

IRL names. Any baby names website will have a 'unisex' list:

1. Soren
2. Taylor
3. Morgan
4. Kiran
5. Krishna
6. Ren
7. Quinn
8. Blake
9. Kit
10. Monroe

Surnames. Just use a surname either because that's what they are called or because they go by their surname.

1-10. Imagine there's a list of ten surnames here.

Anything c. 1650 Puritan from A Boy Named Humiliation: Some Wacky, Cruel, and Bizarre Puritan Names and similar lists.

1-10. That's another ten at least.

And that's a hundred.

Previous •

#prompts