Pirate Name Generator

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pirate names

Pirate names

The "Golden Age of Piracy" (roughly 1650 to 1730) crewed ships with sailors from several nations, and the generator reflects that: it rolls among 4 real national name pools (English, Spanish, Dutch and French) plus a fifth pool of fixed legendary epithets, each with a different weight, and optionally attaches a command title and a quoted nickname.

The 4 national pools, the weighting, and the quoted nickname

In the default mode, each name's style comes from a weighted roll, not a uniform one: 35% chance of English, 25% Spanish, 15% Dutch, 15% French and 10% a fixed legendary epithet. The English pool is also the largest: 75 masculine first names plus 46 feminine ones, crossed with 117 real period surnames (Ashmore, Blackwood, Hawkins), which alone opens 14,157 full-name combinations before any title or nickname enters the count. The Spanish pool totals 67 first names and 113 surnames, the Dutch pool 65 and 48, and the French pool 77 and 68, all pulled from real period naming conventions for those four nations.
On top of the national name, the generator rolls a title from a 31-entry list, but 13 of those entries are empty strings, meaning roughly 42% of names come out with no title at all. The 18 real titles mix ranks (Captain, Admiral, Quartermaster, Boatswain) with nation-specific forms of address (Señor, Don, Doña for the Spanish pool, Monsieur, Madame for the French one) and the catch-all "Old", which fits any nationality. That means "Captain Jasper Vane" and "Isaac Ashmore" (no title at all) are equally valid results from the same English pool, only the title roll differs.
The quoted nickname, on by default, has a 50% chance of being a "color plus body part" combination (30 colors like Black, Bloody, Salt crossed with 31 parts like Beard, Hook, Compass, 930 combinations) and a 50% chance of being one of 51 fixed adjective epithets ("the Cruel", "the Keelhauler", "of the Sea"). The fifth style, "legendary", skips the national name entirely and rolls straight from a list of 49 fixed unique names, like "The Reef Tyrant" or "Wavecutter", which still receive the same quoted nickname layered on top.

Three pirate names, three different recipes

English style, with title and epithet

Input: style: english
Expected output: Captain Jasper Vane, epithet "the Unsunk"

The title "Captain" came from a 31-entry list (13 of them empty), "Jasper Vane" combines one of 75 English masculine first names with one of 117 surnames, and "the Unsunk" is one of 51 fixed adjective epithets.

Spanish style, rolled with no title

Input: style: all (rolled spanish)
Expected output: Juan Orozco, epithet "the Shark-Eyed"

This result landed in the Spanish pool (25% chance in the weighted roll) with no title (one of the 31-entry list's 13 blank entries), pairing one of 47 Spanish masculine first names with one of 113 surnames.

Legendary style, fixed name

Input: style: legendary
Expected output: The Reef Tyrant, epithet "the Keelhauler"

In the legendary style (10% chance in the weighted roll), the whole name comes fixed from a 49-entry list, with no first name or surname involved, and it still gets an extra epithet layered on top.

Full tool FAQ

Are the names based on real pirates?

The naming patterns are based on real historical conventions. The generated names are fictional but follow the same structures as historical pirates.

What is a pirate epithet?

Do epithets differ by tradition?

Does it work for pirate tabletop RPGs?

Can I use these for privateers too?

Do the names sound authentic for the golden age of piracy?

Works for games like Sea of Thieves and similar?

Are epithets always negative/threatening?

Frequently asked questions

Why do most generated names come out English?

Because the roll is weighted, not uniform: the English style has a 35% chance of being picked, double the weight of Dutch or French (15% each), reflecting English dominance in Caribbean piracy of the period. To force another nationality, pick that specific theme instead of "all".

What does the quoted epithet in the name mean?

It is the crew nickname, the name a pirate would be known by on other ships, either in "Color + Body Part" form (like "Ashen Compass") or as one of 51 fixed adjectives (like "the Cutthroat"). It splits 50/50 between those two formats whenever the epithet option is on.

Are the "legendary" names based on real historical pirates?

Not directly: they are 49 fictional epithets built to sound like classic pirate lore ("The Reef Tyrant", "Old Ironsides", "The Flying Dutchman"), inspired by the genre but not mapped to any specific documented corsair, unlike the first and last names in the 4 national pools, which are real period-appropriate names.

Can I generate a name with no command title, just the plain name?

Yes, and it already happens naturally: 13 of the 31 entries in the title list are empty strings, so roughly 42% of names come out with no "Captain" or any other title, ready for a regular crew member rather than the ship's captain.

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pirate names

Pirate names

The 4 national pools, the weighting, and the quoted nickname

In the default mode, each name's style comes from a weighted roll, not a uniform one: 35% chance of English, 25% Spanish, 15% Dutch, 15% French and 10% a fixed legendary epithet. The English pool is also the largest: 75 masculine first names plus 46 feminine ones, crossed with 117 real period surnames (Ashmore, Blackwood, Hawkins), which alone opens 14,157 full-name combinations before any title or nickname enters the count. The Spanish pool totals 67 first names and 113 surnames, the Dutch pool 65 and 48, and the French pool 77 and 68, all pulled from real period naming conventions for those four nations.

On top of the national name, the generator rolls a title from a 31-entry list, but 13 of those entries are empty strings, meaning roughly 42% of names come out with no title at all. The 18 real titles mix ranks (Captain, Admiral, Quartermaster, Boatswain) with nation-specific forms of address (Señor, Don, Doña for the Spanish pool, Monsieur, Madame for the French one) and the catch-all "Old", which fits any nationality. That means "Captain Jasper Vane" and "Isaac Ashmore" (no title at all) are equally valid results from the same English pool, only the title roll differs.

The quoted nickname, on by default, has a 50% chance of being a "color plus body part" combination (30 colors like Black, Bloody, Salt crossed with 31 parts like Beard, Hook, Compass, 930 combinations) and a 50% chance of being one of 51 fixed adjective epithets ("the Cruel", "the Keelhauler", "of the Sea"). The fifth style, "legendary", skips the national name entirely and rolls straight from a list of 49 fixed unique names, like "The Reef Tyrant" or "Wavecutter", which still receive the same quoted nickname layered on top.

Three pirate names, three different recipes

English style, with title and epithet

Input: style: english
Expected output: Captain Jasper Vane, epithet "the Unsunk"

Spanish style, rolled with no title

Input: style: all (rolled spanish)
Expected output: Juan Orozco, epithet "the Shark-Eyed"

Legendary style, fixed name

Input: style: legendary
Expected output: The Reef Tyrant, epithet "the Keelhauler"

In the legendary style (10% chance in the weighted roll), the whole name comes fixed from a 49-entry list, with no first name or surname involved, and it still gets an extra epithet layered on top.

Full tool FAQ

Are the names based on real pirates?

The naming patterns are based on real historical conventions. The generated names are fictional but follow the same structures as historical pirates.

What is a pirate epithet?

Do epithets differ by tradition?

Does it work for pirate tabletop RPGs?

Can I use these for privateers too?

Do the names sound authentic for the golden age of piracy?

Works for games like Sea of Thieves and similar?

Are epithets always negative/threatening?

Frequently asked questions