350 Elf Names: Unique Cool Fantasy Names for RPGs

Short answer

• This article lists 350 elf names for roleplaying games, stories and fantasy worlds: 120 high elf names, 115 wood elf names and 115 moon elf names, each name used once. For a quick pick, choose by kind of elf first. High elf names are the longest and most formal, built for nobles, scholars and rulers, and names such as Caelanor, Aelthas and Celewen set the tone. Wood elf names are quicker and closer to nature, suited to scouts, rangers and forest communities, with names such as Fenara, Wrenlor and Galwen. Moon elf names are the softest and quietest, suited to mages, seers and night cultures, with names such as Nivara, Silwen and Thalanor. Every name here is an invention built from elf style sound elements, shared beginnings and endings combined in different ways. None of them is copied from a published book, film or game, and none of them is presented as a genuine word from J. R. R. Tolkien's Elvish languages. They are names inspired by the sound of Elvish, not names taken from it. Say any name aloud with the character's title or surname before you commit to it, because a name that works on the page still has to work at the game table and in dialogue.

How This List Is Built, and How to Use It

A list of 350 names cannot be 350 unrelated inventions, and this one does not pretend to be. The names are built the way many fantasy naming systems are built: from a stock of beginnings, such as Ael, Cael, Fael, Gal, Luth, Nael, Quel, Sil and Thal, and a stock of endings, such as anor, ara, dor, iel, ien, or, ril, thas and wen. Combining one beginning with one ending makes a name. Changing either half makes a different name with a related sound, which is why families, houses and peoples in a story can share a naming style without sharing a name.

That structure is a feature if you use it deliberately. Characters from the same city or family can share a beginning, such as Caelanor, Caelara and Caeldor, which quietly tells the reader they belong together. Characters from rival peoples should keep their sound stocks apart, and let the contrast do world building work before anyone explains anything.

Use the lists in three passes. First, scan for sound only, and mark every name you enjoy saying. Second, check the shortlist against the character: age, role, temperament and how formal the character’s culture is. Third, run the practical tests in the choosing section below, including saying the full name aloud and checking that two characters in the same party or chapter do not end up with names other people will confuse, such as Aelara and Aerara in the same group.

If the tone you want is darker and stranger than elves usually allow, the companion list of eldritch names works through the opposite sound choices, hard clusters and blunt endings, for horror entities and the mages who study them. The two styles sit at opposite ends of fantasy naming, and keeping them apart makes both stronger.

Alternate Names for Elf

Elf is the common word, and it is an old one. Merriam-Webster traces elf to the Old English word aelf, notes a related Old Norse word, alfr, and dates the word in English to before the 12th century. The accepted modern plural is elves, not elfs. That long history is why writers often want a second word for the people as a group, even when individual characters still need personal names from the lists below.

The alternate terms most often used in fantasy writing and folklore flavored prose are these. Elven folk is a plain collective term for elf peoples as a group. Fair folk is an older, courteous folklore style term for elves and related beings, and it carries a note of caution: in the stories, people used polite names partly because naming such beings directly felt risky. Elder folk presents elves as an older people than the humans around them. Firstborn is used in some fantasy settings for elves as the first speaking people of the world, and it suits settings where elves remember a time before other peoples existed. Woodland folk, star folk and moon folk are descriptive group terms that match wood, star and moon themed elf cultures respectively.

Use the alternate terms for the people and the lists below for individuals. A sentence such as the fair folk gathered at dawn reads well, while the character leading them still needs a personal name. In a game, the alternate term is also useful before a character is introduced: the party can hear about the elder folk for two sessions before they learn that the envoy is called Quelwen.

What Makes an Elf Name Sound Like an Elf Name

Elf names in modern fantasy share a sound palette, and once you can hear it, you can judge any name, from this list or one you build yourself, in seconds.

Flowing sounds over hard clusters

The core palette is liquid and open: l, r, soft vowels and endings that finish on a vowel sound or a gentle consonant, as in Aelara, Feniel and Silwen. Hard clusters and blunt stops are used sparingly, if at all. That is the main difference between an elf name and a dwarf, orc or eldritch name, where weight and friction are the point. An elf name should feel easy to sing and slightly hard to shout.

Length signals formality

In these lists, length is doing social work. Three and four syllable names such as Caelanor, Thalanor and Naelanor read as formal, old and high status. Two syllable names such as Aeris, Fenis and Nimis read as younger, plainer or more intimate. Many writers use both registers for the same character: a ruler introduced as Silanor in council and called Sil by family. If you adopt that pattern, choose the long name first and make sure the short form is one you like, because other players and readers will use the short form most of the time.

Shared elements signal shared culture

Because the names are built from shared beginnings and endings, the pattern itself can carry meaning in your world. You might decide that names ending in wen belong to one house, that the Thal beginning marks a moon elf lineage, or that wood elf names in one forest avoid the letter q entirely. None of those rules comes from this list. They are examples of the kind of rule you can lay over it, and a simple naming rule, applied consistently, makes an invented culture feel older than any single name can.

Tolkien, Quenya and Sindarin: what this list is and is not

Modern elf naming cannot escape J. R. R. Tolkien, and honesty about that debt matters. Tolkien (1892 to 1973) was an English writer and scholar who taught English language and literature at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford, and whose best known works are The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954 to 1955). Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that he began creating his Elvish languages before writing those well known works, and that the two forms of Elvish commonly learned by fans are Quenya and Sindarin, based loosely on Finnish and Welsh. Tolkien was a philologist, a scholar of language history, and his Elvish languages have real grammars, vocabularies and histories of change over time. His own summary of his method, preserved in his letters, was that a name came first and the story followed.

The names in this article are not Quenya or Sindarin words, and this article does not claim Elvish meanings for them. They are modern inventions built to sit comfortably in the sound tradition Tolkien popularized, the same way a new inn name can sound medieval without being a genuine medieval word. If you need a name that is genuinely Quenya or Sindarin, with a real meaning in one of those languages, that is a different task: it requires Tolkien’s published linguistic material and careful checking, and fan enthusiasm is not a substitute for it. If you want the background story first, our guide to the Lord of the Rings viewing order covers the films and extended editions and gives a useful sense of the world those languages were built for.

One more honesty point follows from the same history. The famous elf names of published fantasy, the rulers, warriors and wanderers of Middle-earth and of later games and novels, belong to their creators. This list deliberately contains none of them. What it borrows is a sound, not a cast list.

High Elf Names

High elf names are the formal register: long, musical and built for courts, academies, temples and old families. Use them for nobles, diplomats, scholars, high mages and any character whose full name is meant to be announced. There are 120 names in this list.

1. Aelanor
2. Aelara
3. Aelbel
4. Aeldor
5. Aelel
6. Aelia
7. Aeliel
8. Aelien
9. Aelil
10. Aelis
11. Aelor
12. Aelril
13. Aelthas
14. Aelwen
15. Aeranor
16. Aerara
17. Aerbel
18. Aerdor
19. Aerel
20. Aeria
21. Aeriel
22. Aerien
23. Aeril
24. Aeris
25. Aeror
26. Aerril
27. Aerthas
28. Aerwen
29. Alanor
30. Alara
31. Albel
32. Aldor
33. Alel
34. Alia
35. Aliel
36. Alenor
37. Alil
38. Alis
39. Alor
40. Alril
41. Althas
42. Alwen
43. Aranor
44. Arara
45. Arbel
46. Ardor
47. Arel
48. Aria
49. Veyanor
50. Arien
51. Aril
52. Aris
53. Aror
54. Arril
55. Zoralin
56. Kelara
57. Belanor
58. Belara
59. Belbel
60. Beldor
61. Belel
62. Belia
63. Beliel
64. Belien
65. Belil
66. Belis
67. Belor
68. Belril
69. Belthas
70. Belwen
71. Caelanor
72. Caelara
73. Caelbel
74. Caeldor
75. Caelel
76. Caelia
77. Caeliel
78. Caelien
79. Caelil
80. Caelis
81. Caelor
82. Caelril
83. Caelthas
84. Caelwen
85. Celeanor
86. Celeara
87. Celebel
88. Celedor
89. Celeel
90. Celeia
91. Celeiel
92. Celeien
93. Celeil
94. Celeis
95. Celeor
96. Celeril
97. Celethas
98. Celewen
99. Eolanor
100. Eolara
101. Eolbel
102. Eoldor
103. Eolel
104. Eolia
105. Eoliel
106. Eolien
107. Eolil
108. Eolis
109. Eolor
110. Eolril
111. Eolthas
112. Eolwen
113. Elaanor
114. Elaara
115. Elabel
116. Elador
117. Elael
118. Elaia
119. Elaiel
120. Elaien

Wood Elf Names

Wood elf names are the practical register: quicker, closer to leaf, branch and stream sounds, and built for people who live outdoors and travel light. Use them for scouts, rangers, archers, herbalists and forest communities. Names here still share the wider elf sound stock, so a wood elf and a high elf from the same world will sound related without sounding the same. There are 115 names in this list.

1. Elail
2. Elais
3. Elaor
4. Elaril
5. Elathas
6. Elawen
7. Eldanor
8. Eldara
9. Eldbel
10. Elddor
11. Eldel
12. Eldia
13. Eldiel
14. Eldien
15. Eldil
16. Eldis
17. Eldor
18. Eldril
19. Eldthas
20. Eldwen
21. Faelanor
22. Faelara
23. Faelbel
24. Faeldor
25. Faelel
26. Faelia
27. Faeliel
28. Faelien
29. Faelil
30. Faelis
31. Faelor
32. Faelril
33. Faelthas
34. Faelwen
35. Fenanor
36. Fenara
37. Fenbel
38. Fendor
39. Fenel
40. Fenia
41. Feniel
42. Fenien
43. Fenil
44. Fenis
45. Fenor
46. Fenril
47. Fenthas
48. Fenwen
49. Galanor
50. Galara
51. Galbel
52. Corvain
53. Galel
54. Galia
55. Galiel
56. Galien
57. Galil
58. Galis
59. Galor
60. Galril
61. Galthas
62. Galwen
63. Gilanor
64. Gilara
65. Gilbel
66. Wrenlor
67. Gilel
68. Gilia
69. Giliel
70. Gilien
71. Gilil
72. Gilis
73. Gilor
74. Gilril
75. Gilthas
76. Gilwen
77. Ilanor
78. Ilara
79. Ilbel
80. Ildor
81. Ilel
82. Ilia
83. Iliel
84. Ilien
85. Ilil
86. Ilis
87. Ilor
88. Ilril
89. Ilthas
90. Ilwen
91. Ithanor
92. Ithara
93. Ithbel
94. Ithdor
95. Ithel
96. Ithia
97. Ithiel
98. Ithien
99. Ithvara
100. Ithis
101. Ithor
102. Ithril
103. Iththas
104. Ithwen
105. Laeanor
106. Laeara
107. Laebel
108. Laedor
109. Laeel
110. Laeia
111. Laeiel
112. Laeien
113. Laeil
114. Laeis
115. Laeor

Moon Elf Names

Moon elf names are the quiet register: pale, soft sounds suited to night cultures, star watchers, seers, moon priests and mages who work after dark. Use them where a high elf name would sound too grand and a wood elf name too earthy. There are 115 names in this list.

1. Laeril
2. Laethas
3. Laewen
4. Luthanor
5. Luthara
6. Luthbel
7. Luthdor
8. Luthel
9. Luthia
10. Luthiel
11. Nivara
12. Luthil
13. Luthis
14. Luthren
15. Luthril
16. Luththas
17. Luthwen
18. Melanor
19. Melara
20. Melbel
21. Meldor
22. Melel
23. Melia
24. Meliel
25. Melien
26. Melil
27. Melis
28. Melor
29. Melril
30. Melthas
31. Melwen
32. Moranor
33. Morara
34. Morbel
35. Volthas
36. Morel
37. Selanor
38. Moriel
39. Morien
40. Moril
41. Moris
42. Moror
43. Morril
44. Morthas
45. Ondara
46. Naelanor
47. Naelara
48. Naelbel
49. Naeldor
50. Naelel
51. Naelia
52. Naeliel
53. Naelien
54. Naelil
55. Naelis
56. Naelor
57. Naelril
58. Naelthas
59. Naelwen
60. Nimanor
61. Nimara
62. Nimbel
63. Nimdor
64. Nimel
65. Nimia
66. Nimiel
67. Nimien
68. Nimil
69. Nimis
70. Nimor
71. Nimril
72. Nimthas
73. Nimwen
74. Quelanor
75. Quelara
76. Quelbel
77. Queldor
78. Quelel
79. Quelia
80. Queliel
81. Quelien
82. Quelil
83. Quelis
84. Quelor
85. Quelril
86. Quelthas
87. Quelwen
88. Silanor
89. Silara
90. Silbel
91. Sildor
92. Silel
93. Silia
94. Siliel
95. Silien
96. Silil
97. Silis
98. Silor
99. Silril
100. Silthas
101. Silwen
102. Thalanor
103. Thalara
104. Thalbel
105. Thaldor
106. Thalel
107. Thalia
108. Thaliel
109. Thalien
110. Thalil
111. Thalis
112. Thalor
113. Thalril
114. Thalthas
115. Thalwen

Good Names for a High Elf

The primary question many readers bring to this page is narrower than the full list: what are good names for a high elf, specifically? A good high elf name has three qualities. It is long enough to carry ceremony, usually three or four syllables. It ends openly, on a vowel sound or a soft consonant, so it can be announced without sounding clipped. And it survives being shortened, because a formal name that shortens badly will be shortened badly, at the table and in the reader’s head.

From the high elf list above, these names show the range well. Caelanor and Celewen suit rulers and senior nobles, formal from the first syllable. Aelthas and Aerthas suit stern characters, judges, generals and keepers of law, because the thas ending adds weight without breaking the elf sound. Aelara, Aerara and Belara suit diplomats and performers, all music and no edge. Caelien and Celeien suit scholars and loremasters. Eolwen and Elaien suit older characters with a quieter authority. Zoralin, one of the least pattern bound names in the list, suits a character who does not quite fit the court they serve.

Test any of them the same way: say the name with a title, with a surname if the character has one, and in an angry sentence. A high elf name that can be announced, whispered and shouted by a furious guard captain has passed the only examination that matters.

Elf Surnames and House Names

The 350 names above are given names. Many characters also need a second name, and elf surnames reward a different approach. Rather than another flowing given name, build the second element from a picture: a place, a feature of the landscape, a craft or a celestial object. English picture compounds work well because they contrast with the given name and are easy for readers to remember: Starfall, Silverleaf, Moonmere, Thornwood, Brightriver, Dawnmantle, Frostveil, Nightbrook, Goldenspire and Emberfall are examples of the pattern, offered as patterns to adapt rather than as part of the counted list.

Combine one given name and one picture surname and check the join. Silwen Starfall is all sky. Fenara Thornwood is all forest, which may be exactly right for a wood elf and too much of one note for a courtier. Keep the surname stock consistent inside one culture: if one high elf house uses star names, its rivals should not use them too.

How to Choose an Elf Name

Start with the kind of elf, because the three lists encode three registers: formal, practical and quiet. A name from the wrong register will fight the character in every scene. A moon elf assassin called Naelwen sounds right. The same character called Caelanor sounds like she is about to address a parliament.

Next, decide how the name will mostly be used. In a tabletop game, the name will be spoken constantly, often over other conversation, so prefer names that cannot be confused with another party member’s name and that have an obvious short form. In a novel, the name will be read silently far more often than it is spoken, so spelling clarity matters more: check that the name cannot be misread at a glance, and that two characters’ names do not look alike on the page even if they sound different. The same discipline applies to a whole cast, and our guide to how to write a novel covers the wider craft of keeping names, voices and story promises consistent across a manuscript.

Then check the name against your world. If your elves have a language of their own in the fiction, the name should at least not contradict it. If your setting has real Quenya or Sindarin speakers in it, remember the distinction drawn above: these names are in the style, not from the languages, and your most knowledgeable reader will know the difference. Finally, search the exact name before you publish anything with it in. Invented names collide surprisingly often, with other novels, with games, with bands and businesses, and a two minute check before publication is cheaper than a rename after it.

Building Your Own Elf Name

The lists above double as a kit. Take a beginning from one name and an ending from another and you have a new name in the same style: Ael, Aer, Bel, Cael, Cele, Eol, Fael, Fen, Gal, Gil, Ith, Lae, Luth, Mel, Nael, Nim, Quel, Sil and Thal are productive beginnings, and anor, ara, bel, dor, el, ia, iel, ien, il, is, or, ril, thas and wen are productive endings. Cael plus wen gives Caelwen, already in the list. Luth plus ara gives Luthara, also in the list. Sil plus anor gives Silanor, in the list as well, which shows how thoroughly the kit and the lists overlap.

Two rules keep home built names in register. Keep the sound flowing: if your combination creates a cluster you stumble over, change the ending, not the character. And keep the length in register: two syllables for wood elf informality, three or four for high elf formality, soft endings for moon elf quiet. A name you build yourself may already exist somewhere public, so run the search test from the choosing section before it appears in print.

Using Elf Names in Roleplaying Games

At a game table, a name is a piece of shared equipment. The other players have to learn it, remember it and say it under time pressure, so do the table the courtesy of picking a name from your shortlist that a tired person can pronounce at midnight. If you love a long formal name, offer the short form in the same breath: Celewen, called Wen. Most groups will adopt the short form for play and save the full name for ceremonies, introductions and dramatic moments, which is exactly how formal names behave in fiction as well.

For game masters naming non player characters, ration the long names. One Caelanor per court is dignified. Six similar names in one council scene is a memory test the players did not agree to take. Vary the registers on purpose, and the party will track who is who by sound before they track it by notes. Finally, match name weight to character weight: a name like Thalanor promises history, so give it to a character with history to reveal, and give the cheerful young scout a name like Fenis or Aeris.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many elf names are in this article?

There are 350 names: 120 high elf names, 115 wood elf names and 115 moon elf names. Each name appears once in the numbered lists. Highlighted examples in other sections repeat names from those lists and are not additional names.

Are these names taken from Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons or other published works?

No. The names are inventions built from shared elf style sound elements, beginnings and endings combined in different ways. Distinctive character names from published fiction and games have deliberately been left out. Two cautions apply to any invented name list: a name can resemble an existing name by chance, and a familiar looking element, such as a classical name used as a building block, does not make the combination a historical name. Search any name before using it in published or commercial work.

What is a good name for a high elf?

Choose a long, open ended name from the high elf list and test it with the character’s title. Caelanor and Celewen suit rulers, Aelthas and Aerthas suit stern authority figures, and Aelara and Belara suit diplomats and performers. Say the full name aloud, check the short form it will naturally produce, and make sure no other character in the same story or party has a confusingly similar name.

What are alternate names for elf?

Elven folk is the plain collective term. Fair folk is an older, courteous folklore style term with a note of caution in it. Elder folk presents elves as an older people, and firstborn is used in some fantasy settings for elves as the first speaking people. Woodland folk, star folk and moon folk are descriptive terms for specific kinds of elf. Use these terms for the people as a group, and the numbered lists for individual characters.

What is the difference between high elf, wood elf and moon elf names in this list?

Register. High elf names are the longest and most formal, built for courts and ceremony. Wood elf names are shorter and quicker, with nature sounds, built for outdoor life. Moon elf names are the softest, built for night cultures, mages and seers. The three lists share one sound stock, so characters from the three groups sound like members of one wider elf world.

Are the names in Quenya or Sindarin?

No. Quenya and Sindarin are the Elvish languages J. R. R. Tolkien constructed, with real grammars and vocabularies, loosely based on Finnish and Welsh respectively according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. The names here are modern inventions in the broader elf sound style that Tolkien popularized. They carry no claimed Quenya or Sindarin meanings.

Are these names for male or female characters?

The lists are not divided by gender, and elf naming in most fantasy settings is not strongly gendered by sound in the way some real world naming traditions are. Choose by register, role and sound instead. If your own world has a gender pattern in its naming, apply it consistently across the names you pick, and the pattern itself will read as part of the culture.

Can I use these names in my own game or book?

Yes, for home games, stories and other creative projects. The names are suggestions offered for that use. Before using a name in anything published or commercial, search the exact name first, because another writer, game or company may already be using the same or a very similar invented name, and a collision is much easier to fix before publication than after it.

Sources & references

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, J. R. R. Tolkien (English writer and scholar, 1892 to 1973; taught at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford; The Hobbit, 1937, and The Lord of the Rings, 1954 to 1955; began creating his Elvish languages before the well known works; Quenya and Sindarin based loosely on Finnish and Welsh). https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien
• Elvish languages of Middle-earth, Wikipedia (the Elvish languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien include Quenya and Sindarin, the two most fully developed; Tolkien began with a created set of languages and the stories followed; a name comes first and the story follows). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvish_languages_of_Middle-earth
• Merriam-Webster, Elf (definition: a small, often mischievous fairy; word history: Middle English, from Old English aelf, akin to Old Norse alfr; first known use before the 12th century). http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elf
• Merriam-Webster, Elfs or Elves: What is the plural of elf? (the accepted modern plural is elves; in Germanic folklore elves were believed to cause illness and bad dreams and to steal children, replacing them with changelings; modern folklore elves are more often industrious and helpful). https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/elf-vs-elves-plural-difference