When creating your character, their name can sometimes feel more important than any other thing about them. If you’re looking for inspiration for that epic character name, the below Centaur Name Generator can help you out!
Sure, things like race and class, abilities and spells, feats and proficiency all matter mechanically, but when put all of those bits together, what name do you choose?
I mean, a name is a single word or phrase that is supposed to encompass all a person is. That’s a big deal.
Luckily, there are loads of name generators out there for every race or class combination.
But not everyone wants to rely on luck.
So how do you choose a name?
In this post on our series of name generation, we will focus on Centaurs, the chimeric horse-humanoid of folklore and mythology.
Choosing your Naming Convention
When generating your name you will have to choose your naming convention.
Naming conventions are the rules that different cultures use when determining a person’s name.
For example, in Old English, you had a personal name that was usually the name of a virtue or a religious figure, such as Prudence or John.
You had a surname, or family name, that was based off of your trade, such as Miller or Smith.
In certain Scandinavian countries, it was common to have a unique personal name, such as Ragner or Bjorn, followed by a surname that delineated who your father is and if you are their son or daughter, such as Ragnerson or Bjorndater.
In some cultures, you could have several names: one for each occasion. In other cultures, you could have a name for each clan of your matrilineal and patrilineal clans, such as the Dine` people living in the American Southwest.
For Centaurs, you have several options. We recommend either using a traditional fantasy name, a Greek name (for the country of origin for Centaur folklore, or a Rohanese name from the horse-master culture of Lord of the Rings.
Below we will have lists of surnames, masculine first names, feminine first names, and non-binary first names (if we can find them), along with their meanings (if we can find those, too).
Traditional Dungeons and Dragons Names for Centaurs in 5e
The Dungeons and Dragons 5e material does not give us any material to go on when creating our Centaur names. However, Centaurs do speak Sylvan, so we can expect their names to either resemble or directly translate to natural sounds and images in Common.
The easiest way to generate a Centaur name is to use the same convention you would for naming an elf character, but to give it an equine feel by including words like ‘hoofstrike’ or ‘wildmane’.
In addition, male centaur names tend to have hard consonants. Female names tend toward the melodic.
Surnames are compound words that tend to combine two nouns that relate to either a physical characteristic or an accomplishment of the family line.
Centaur Name Generator
DnD Surnames for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Name |
| 1 | Mossscreamer |
| 2 | Timberlaugh |
| 3 | Birchconqueror |
| 4 | Bloomrunner |
| 5 | Ridgechanter |
| 6 | Valleyconqueror |
| 7 | Hillroamer |
| 8 | Timberbark |
| 9 | Sunhoof |
| 10 | Floodreveler |
DnD Masculine Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | |
| 1 | Gwize |
| 2 | Madrath |
| 3 | Bet |
| 4 | Kikle |
| 5 | Zord |
| 6 | Egrud |
| 7 | Aegrederd |
| 8 | Zil’dald |
| 9 | Vathemod |
| 10 | Tith |
DnD Feminine Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | |
| 1 | Shernesh |
| 2 | Nerlileas |
| 3 | Shilnag |
| 4 | Lizylan |
| 5 | Nafnir |
| 6 | Nozrash |
| 7 | Darser |
| 8 | Fazan |
| 9 | Lizlas |
| 10 | Phefnash |
Names for Centaurs from Rohan
J.R.R. Tolkien was a linguist and a mythologist before he was a fantasy author. In his linguistic philosophy, he reasoned that language and mythology developed at the same time in human evolution, and that to truly understand a culture, you had to understand how their language evolved from their oldest stories to today.
When Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings, he did so with this philosophy in mind. Therefore, when he created a fantasy culture, he also created their language and their mythology to stem from that language.
And let’s be honest: without Lord of the Rings, we would not be playing Dungeons and Dragons today.
In Lord of the Rings, Tolkien created a nation of horse-masters called Rohan that existed in a land called the Riddermark. These horse-masters have their own language, and they also had naming conventions for their horses.
The Rohirrim were the horse-master knights that created the most feared and revered cavalry in the Third Age.
Rohanian Masculine Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Meaning |
| 1 | Fennere |
| 2 | Dernblod |
| 3 | Heredan |
| 4 | Alhere |
| 5 | Déoror |
| 6 | Léoláf |
| 7 | Holdbald |
| 8 | Fram |
| 9 | Fulgar |
| 10 | Baldor |
Rohanian Feminine Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Meaning |
| 1 | Baldwell |
| 2 | Leofwyn |
| 3 | Dernlith |
| 4 | Léofdis |
| 5 | Théodrun |
| 6 | Derewyn |
| 7 | Léogyth |
| 8 | Dúnwena |
| 9 | Guthwara |
| 10 | Folchild |
Rohanin Non-binary Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Name |
| 1 | Fulgrim |
| 2 | Hereheort |
| 3 | Balhelm |
| 4 | Guthgel |
| 5 | Eóblod |
| 6 | Leofwell |
| 7 | Dererun |
| 8 | Goldwine |
| 9 | Dernrid |
| 10 | Gléoryth |
Greek Names for Centaurs
Centaur legends as we know them today come from Greece.
One of their original Centaurs was named Chiron, and he was the tutor of the gods, ostensibly acting as their teacher and live-in tutor on Olympus when they were young.
Other famous Centaurs from Greece are XXXX, who XXX.
Below is a list of classical Greek names you can use to inspire or randomly roll your name. Each list has 10, so keep your 1d10 handy.
Greek Surnames for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Surname | Meaning |
| 1 | Aetos | Eagle |
| 2 | Drivas | Tree |
| 3 | Laskaris | Soldier |
| 4 | Samaras | Saddler |
| 5 | Bouras | Reddish-brown hair |
| 6 | Ekonomos | Steward |
| 7 | Chloros | Green |
| 8 | Filo | Horse-friend |
| 9 | Paptonis | Bad-ass |
| 10 | Levntis | Fearless |
Greek Masculine Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Personal Name | Meaning |
| 1 | Alex | Defender of Humanity |
| 2 | Dennis | From Dionysus, God of Wine |
| 3 | Theo | Gift of God |
| 4 | Kayson | Healer |
| 5 | Zephyr | Westerly Wind |
| 6 | Ares | Battle or Strife |
| 7 | Cletus | Called Forth, Glorious |
| 8 | Andrew | Warrior |
| 9 | Athen | Derived from Athena, Goddess of Battle and Wisdom |
| 10 | Zeus | Derived from Zeus, Father of the gods. |
Greek Feminine Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Personal Name | Meaning |
| 1 | Penelope | Faithful |
| 2 | Melanie | Gloomy |
| 3 | Ella | Beautiful Fairy |
| 4 | Melissa | Honey Bee |
| 5 | Teresa | Harvester |
| 6 | Margaret | Jewel |
| 7 | Anastasia | Resurrection |
| 8 | Doreen | God’s Gift |
| 9 | Athena | Goddess of War and Wisdom |
| 10 | Cindy | From the Island of Cynthus |
Greek Non-binary Names for Centaurs
| Roll 1d10 | Personal Name | Meaning |
| 1 | Admentus | Untamed |
| 2 | Adria | From the Sea |
| 3 | Amethyst | A precious stone |
| 4 | Angel | God’s messenger |
| 5 | Anstice | Resurrection |
| 6 | Arius | Immortal |
| 7 | Artemis | Butcher; the goddess of the moon and the hunt |
| 8 | Artimus | Follower of Artemis |
| 9 | Calais | Changing Color |
| 10 | Calypso | One who hides |
List of centaurs
In addition to Greek human names, there is a long list of named Centaurs from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and other traditional works of Greek legend and mythology.
If you would like to use one of these, grab 1d100. There are 82 different names here.
- Abas, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Agrius, repelled by Heracles in a fight.
- Amphion, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine and was killed by Heracles.
- Amycus, son of Ophion. He attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths. Amycus was killed by Pelates.
- Anchius, repelled by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Antimachus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Caeneus.
- Aphareus, killed by Theseus in the fight at Pirithous’ wedding.
- Aphidas, killed by Phorbas in the fight at Pirithous’ wedding.
- Arctus, attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
- Areos, attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
- Argius, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Asbolus, an augur who had attempted in vain to dissuade his friends from engaging in battle against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding.
- Bienor, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Theseus.
- Bromus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Caeneus.
- Chiron
- Chromis, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Pirithous.
- Chthonius, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Nestor.
- Clanis, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
- Crenaeus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Dryas.
- Cyllarus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths. Killed by a javelin thrown from an unknown hand. He was married to Hylonome.
- Daphnis, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine and was killed by Heracles.
- Demoleon, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
- Dictys, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Pirithous.
- Dorylas, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
- Doupon, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine and was killed by Heracles.
- Dryalus, son of Peuceus who attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
- Echeclus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Ampyx.
- Elatus, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine. Heracles shot an arrow at him, which, passing through his arm, stuck in the knee of Chiron.
- Elymus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Caeneus.
- Eurynomus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding. Killed by Dryas.
- Eurytion, acted in an insulting manner towards Hippolyte when she was being joined in marriage to Azan or in the house of Pirithous. He was killed by Heracles.
- Eurytus, the wildest of the wild Centaurs. He started the fight at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Theseus.
- Gryneus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Exadius.
- Helops, attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought in the battle against the Lapiths. While fleeing from Pirithous fell from a precipice into the top of a tree and impaled his body.
- Hippasus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding. Killed by Theseus.
- Hippotion, another Centaur, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Hodites, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding. Killed by Mopsus.
- Homadus, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine. Some time after he attempted to rape Alcyone, a granddaughter of Perseus. He got killed in Arcadia.
- Hylaeus, tried to rape Atalanta but was shot by her (same thing happened to Rhoecus).
- followed Dionysus in his Indian campaign and was killed by Orontes, an Indian General.
- Hyles, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
- Hylonome, attended Pirithous’ wedding together with her lover Cyllarus. Having seen the latter dead, she threw herself upon the spear which had killed him.
- Imbreus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Dryas.
- Iphinous, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Peleus.
- Isoples, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Latreus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Caeneus.
- Lycabas, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Lycidas, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Dryas.
- Lycopes, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Theseus.
- Lycus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding was killed by Pirithous.
- Medon, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Melanchaetes, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Melaneus, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Mermerus, wounded by the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and fled.
- Mimas, attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
- Monychus, attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought in the battle against the Lapiths. He was conquered by Nestor, mounted on his unwilling back.
- Nedymnus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding. Killed by Theseus.
- Nessus, a black Centaur. Fled during the fight with the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding. Later he attempted to rape Deianira and before dying gave her a charm which resulted in the death of Heracles. He was killed by the latter.
- Ophion, father of Amycus.
- Orius or Oreius, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Orneus, attended Pirithous’ wedding fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Perimedes, son of Peuceus and attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
- Petraeus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Pirithous.
- Peuceus, father of Perimedes and Dryalus.
- Phaecomes, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Nestor.
- Phlegraeus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Peleus.
- Pholus
- Phrixus, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Pisenor, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Pylenor, having been wounded by Heracles washed himself in the river Anigrus, thus providing the river with a peculiar odor.
- Pyracmus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Caeneus.
- Pyraethus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Periphas.
- Rhoecus, He also tried to rape Atalanta and was killed by her.
- Rhoetus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Dryas.
- Ripheus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Theseus.
- Styphelus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Caeneus.
- Teleboas, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Nestor.
- Thaumas, attended Pirithous’ wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
- Thereus, this Centaur used to catch bears and carry them home alive and struggling. Attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought in the battle against the Lapiths. Killed by Theseus.
- Thereus, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
- Ureus, attended Pirithous’ wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
Adapted from Wikipedia’s page on Centaurs
- About the Author
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Rich is an avid D&D player and DM. He has been playing since the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st and 2nd editions. He has run campaigns of various editions with family and friends for over 20 years. Playing DnD 5th Edition in person at local game stores and online with VTT’s over the past 10 years has provided a consistent connection to how the game has grown. He strongly believes in understanding the source material, but catering the games to your individual players. Feel free to ask anything in the comments or drop him an email: rich@blackcitadelrpg.com.
