No other creature is as evocative of the contemporary fantasy genre as the dragon. They combine snakes, lizards, dinosaurs, large mammalian predators, and human intellects into one massive, armored, fire-breathing package. (Their drives, however, are their own.)
The current version of the dragon dates from within the last 100 years. Tolkien gave us a deadly foe in The Hobbit’s Smaug, but it was really the 1960s when the dragon literally and figuratively took off. Perhaps it was folk trio’s Peter, Paul and Mary’s song Puff the Magic Dragon, or the very dragon-like Cecil the Sea Serpent in the Cecil and Beanie TV kid’s show. It may have been excerpts from Walt Disney’s The Reluctant Dragon (1941) shown ad nauseum on The Walt Disney Show every Sunday night, or the spectacular metamorphosis of Maleficent from evil witch into dragon form in the animated film Sleeping Beauty. Or, perhaps, the many dragon-like creatures populating such Saturday morning fare like The Herculoids. But whatever the case, dragons arrived and made their titanic footprint on the scene, supported in no small way by the growing popularity of dinosaurs among the small set.
That presence eventually bore fruit in novel series like Anne McCaffrey’s The Dragonriders of Pern (begun in 1967) and Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea, and fantasy writers began using them more frequently. But what really lit the fuse was the mass-marketing of the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game, with its creatures color-coded to evil (primary colored) and good (metallic) dragons, with different breath weapons and tendencies for each. Over the years these germinal reptiles mutated into dozens if not hundreds of other forms, some fairly ridiculous (Fairy dragons anyone?)
And dragons continue to stretch out their snaky necks in new directions. They’ve recently claimed a section of the urban fantasy market, transforming into slabs of beefcake for the delectation of romance readers who enjoy shapeshifter characters.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to come up with a distinctive name for a dragon character. Here’s a list of randomly generated names to use for your own creations, following the Tolkien, McCaffrey, and LeGuin conventions, sprinkled with some Latin and sibilant sounds.
Dragon Names
| Zynth
Shezuth Star-song Ronth Enuphion the Tyrant Ancalasez the Scourge The Skyghost Jucaumer Grisgrax Ancalpyax Stormwreck the Great Wyrm King Kraitbandar Ansrit Thisme the Burning Maw Nagrumox the Great Worm Sjiag the Clawed Shadow Cnothgon the Wise Gauntgrim the Gray Empress Flamegorger Meblak the Vengeful Ftafer the Burning Plague Ancaruhan Rain-bringer Master Hellscream Luthigne, the Winged Destroyer Tyrlon the White Luthanzi Sun-jewel Ballag the Tyrant Shashos Moongray Ancalluth the Armored Anhkphar the Erudite Rievetaur, Plunderer of the Badlands Incamodan Spyug Tyrphaz the Ancient Nagnaw Thristhrax the Red Grisgrund the Stormlord Unthaug, Ravager of the Western Hills Nagaes the Ice Storm Magraulle Skyribbon Skymourn the Blizzard Queen The Coalstriker Old Hellscrew Flamespark the Wise Aneylong, Bane of the Elven Forests Grisbagon the Terror of the Canyon |
Old Greenfellow
Mistress Moongray Bharcant Sun-ribbon Naegnaw Luthang the Gray Anliredon the Peaceful Anshas the Despoiler Drakpang, Empress of the lands of men Kakunth the Icy Destroyer Balsez Cloudseeker Steug Krautch Unshulagon Scheig Yetroid Cnaufier the Brown Blauph Braum Wynth Vinsripan the Deadly Sveug Smaucnau Mnetzlong the Ravager Sazsent Storm-mist Kletaur Hfaux Yevkhaat Augrund the Dark Watcher Itzelagon Sziug Irsagon Yaluoj Vermaur Essrit the White Ansrinx Eutrapyon the Protector Vermischan the Invulnerable Angme, the Icy Furnace Luthkas the Blue Harkrieve the Wicked Onzilagon Phdaugh Ainsez Stormjoy Bharin Baluin |
