Did You Know?
- Gandalf's name comes from Old Norse and literally means 'wand-elf.' Tolkien borrowed it directly from the Dvergatal, a list of dwarf names in the Poetic Edda.
- The word 'wizard' comes from Middle English 'wysard,' meaning 'wise one.' It wasn't associated with magic until the 1500s.
- Many D&D spells are named after their fictional creators — Mordenkainen's Sword, Bigby's Hand, and Tasha's Hideous Laughter are all named after wizard characters from early campaigns.
This page lists wizard names that already exist, from Gandalf to Paracelsus, and generates new ones for D&D campaigns, novels and Harry Potter-style settings. Most lists stop at invented-sounding names; this one starts with where the famous ones came from, so you can see which sounds to copy. The generator then applies those patterns by tradition and magical specialty.
Tolkien, Arthurian and Other Classic Wizards
| Name | Origin / context |
|---|---|
| Gandalf | Tolkien took it from a dwarf in the Old Norse Dvergatal; gandr (staff, wand, magic) + álfr (elf) |
| Mithrandir | Gandalf's Sindarin name, "Grey Pilgrim" |
| Olórin | Gandalf's name in Valinor, before he came to Middle-earth |
| Tharkûn | Gandalf's name among the Dwarves, "Staff-man" in Khuzdul |
| Láthspell | One of Gandalf's insulting nicknames, "Ill-news" |
| Saruman | "Man of skill or cunning"; Old English in origin, presented as Rohirric |
| Radagast | "Tender of beasts"; the form matches the Slavic god Radegast |
| Alatar | One of the two Blue Wizards; Middle-earth name Morinehtar |
| Pallando | The other Blue Wizard; Middle-earth name Rómestámo |
| Istari | Quenya for "Wise Ones," the order Gandalf belongs to |
| Ithryn Luin | Sindarin name for the Blue Wizards |
| Merlin | Latinised by Geoffrey of Monmouth from the Welsh Myrddin |
| Myrddin | Welsh bard and prophet; proposed roots include "madman" and "myriad" (many names) |
| Ged | Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin); a true name given by the mage Ogion |
| Sparrowhawk | Ged's use name, from the wild sparrowhawks he kept near him |
| Duny | Ged's childhood name, before his naming ceremony |
| Ogion | Great wizard of Gont in Earthsea who named Ged |
| Rincewind | Terry Pratchett's failed wizard of Unseen University, first seen in The Colour of Magic (1983) |
| Prospero | Rightful Duke of Milan and the sorcerer of Shakespeare's The Tempest |
D&D and Dragonlance Wizards
| Name | Origin / context |
|---|---|
| Elminster | Elminster Aumar, "the Sage of Shadowdale," one of Ed Greenwood's first Forgotten Realms characters |
| Elmara | The female form Mystra briefly gave Elminster |
| Halaster Blackcloak | The Mad Mage of Undermountain; note the surname-as-epithet pattern |
| Mordenkainen | Gary Gygax's 1973 Greyhawk player character; Gygax blended Mordecai and Lemminkäinen |
| Bigby | Member of Mordenkainen's Circle of Eight |
| Tenser | Circle of Eight member in the novel version |
| Raistlin Majere | Dragonlance (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman); twin of Caramon, nicknamed "the Sly One" |
| Fistandantilus | Ancient evil archmage and lich whose power Raistlin takes in Dragonlance Legends |
| Solinari | Dragonlance moon worshipped by white-robed wizards |
| Lunitari | Dragonlance moon worshipped by red-robed wizards |
| Nuitari | Dragonlance moon worshipped by black-robed wizards |
Harry Potter Wizards
| Name | Origin / context |
|---|---|
| Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore | Full name of Hogwarts' headmaster |
| Dumbledore | Dialect word for "bumblebee"; Rowling pictured him humming to himself |
| Voldemort | Rowling's coinage from French vol de mort, "flight of death" or "theft of death"; the t is silent |
| Tom Marvolo Riddle | Voldemort's birth name; rearranged it spells "I am Lord Voldemort" |
| Snape | Borrowed from the village of Snape in Suffolk |
| Severus | Rowling took it from Severus Road in Clapham |
| Gellert Grindelwald | Dumbledore's friend, then rival, who wanted wizards ruling over Muggles |
| Nicolas Flamel | Real Paris scribe (c. 1340-1418); the alchemist legend dates from the 17th century |
| Perenelle | Flamel's wife, who shares his place in the legend |
Historical Occultists and Hermetic Names
| Name | Origin / context |
|---|---|
| Paracelsus | Born Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (1493-1541); the pseudonym first appears in 1529 |
| Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa | "von Nettesheim" (1486-1535); wrote De occulta philosophia |
| John Dee | Elizabeth I's astronomer and adviser (1527-1608/9); wrote Monas Hieroglyphica (1564) |
| Edward Kelley | Dee's scryer, through whom the Enochian angel language was recorded |
| Hermes Trismegistus | "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest," a Greek-Egyptian blend of Hermes and Thoth; credited with the Hermetica |
Real-language roots, 2-3 syllables, strong endings.
- Gandalf
- Saruman
- Radagast
Shorter, harder consonants, Z and X sounds.
- Voldemort
- Fistandantilus
- Raistlin
What the Famous Names Have in Common
Nearly every name above is built from an existing word, place or language, then bent slightly. Gandalf is Old Norse, Saruman is Old English, Dumbledore is a dialect word, Snape is a village. Readers feel the weight of a real root even when they cannot say where it comes from.
Two things the list also shows. Wizards often carry more than one name: Gandalf has at least four, Ged has three, Voldemort has a birth name he hides. And a surname or epithet does a lot of work, as in Halaster Blackcloak and Elminster, the Sage of Shadowdale.
How the Generator Shapes Output
The generator is told that a wizard name is not simply an old man's name: "Harold" fails and "Saruman" passes. The Tradition field then steers the pattern.
- Classic / Tolkien: two or three syllables with firm endings such as -alf, -man, -ast or -lin.
- D&D / Forgotten Realms: longer names with unusual consonant clusters, often paired with a surname or title.
- Dark / Gothic: shorter, hard consonants, with Z and X sounds.
- Whimsical / Harry Potter: twisted English or Latin words, with surnames that hint at personality.
- Historical / Alchemist: names in the style of Paracelsus and Agrippa.
- Original Fantasy: invented names that fit none of the above.
The Magical Specialty field (elementalist, necromancer, enchanter, diviner, archmage, battlemage, healer) then adjusts the sound within that tradition.
A quick test for D&D play: say "[Name]'s Arcane Shield" aloud. Mordenkainen and Bigby gave their names to spells, so a name that works as a possessive fits that tradition. If you are filling out a party, D&D names and elf names cover the rest of it.
Common Questions
What does the name Gandalf mean?
It comes from Gandálfr, a dwarf in the Old Norse Dvergatal. The parts are gandr (wand, staff, magic) and álfr (elf), so it reads as "staff-elf." Within the story it is the Dwarves' name for him; they also call him Tharkûn.
What are good female wizard names?
Canon has fewer women wizards than men, so most female wizard names are invented. Use the Gender field and the same tradition patterns: for Classic, soft liquid sounds with a firm ending; for Dark, shorter and sharper. Elmara, the female form Elminster briefly took, is one of the few attested examples on this page.
Is Dumbledore a real word?
Yes. It is a dialect word for "bumblebee," and Rowling chose it because she imagined the character humming as he walked. Snape, by contrast, comes from a village in Suffolk.
Where does the name Merlin come from?
It is the Latinised form of the Welsh Myrddin, used by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Scholars disagree on the root; proposals include "madman," "myriad" and the town of Carmarthen (Caerfyrddin).
Sources
Updated October 2026: replaced the essay with sourced wizard names from fiction and history, plus a breakdown of how the generator uses tradition and specialty.
