How to pick a party name
A party name is a small piece of shared storytelling. It gives your group an identity, and NPCs, rivals and tavern keepers can refer to it. Before choosing, consider:
- Tone: does the campaign lean heroic, grim or comic?
- Origin: names often come from a deed, a shared trait or an inside joke.
- Fit: the name should be something all players are happy to say out loud.
- Flexibility: a name that suits level 1 and level 10 will last longer.
A quick approach is to let each player suggest two names, then vote. Some groups wait until something memorable happens in play and name themselves after it.
Heroic and epic
These suit classic high fantasy.
- The Company of the Owlbear
- Dawn of the Phoenix
- Knights of Stormhammer
- Arcadian Lorekeepers
- Heralds of War
- The Silver Vanguard
- Order of the Last Flame
- The Oathbound
- Wardens of the Pale Road
Gritty and mercenary
For darker or more grounded campaigns.
- Blade and Coin
- The Crossguard Cutters
- The Grim Legacy
- The Ash Road Company
- Salt and Iron
- The Unpaid Debt
- The Hollow Lanterns
- Rust and Ruin Outfitters
Funny and punny
Humorous groups often pick names that give the DM something to play with.
- Throw a Gnome at It
- Fish Fingers
- The Deriders of the Apocalypse
- Crows and Blows
- Some Assembly Required
- Dungeon Crawlers Anonymous
- The Reluctant Heroes Guild
- Rolls Against Humanity
Alliterative and rhyming
Alliteration and rhymes make names memorable. Random-table sites such as RandRoll organize adventuring group names into categories like alliterative, puns, rhyming and “suspiciously familiar”.
- Scarred Spider Stabbers
- The Rusty Rapier Raiders
- Goblin Slayers and Gold Takers
- The Brave and the Brawl
- Cinder Sword Society
- Dragon Dodgers
Names for D&D clubs and groups
If you are naming a club or a recurring meetup rather than a single party, choose something that does not tie to one campaign:
- The Dice and Dragons Society
- Guild of the Open Table
- The Natural Twenty Club
- Critical Hit Collective
- Tavern Night Adventurers
- The Wandering Dungeon Masters
Keep it welcoming to new players, and check that the name is not already used by a local group or business if you plan to publicize it.
Name ideas from your campaign
The best names often reflect something that happened in your game:
- The place where the party met, such as “The Rusty Anchor Irregulars”.
- The first monster or villain they faced, such as “Goblin Bane”.
- A shared goal, like “The Lighthouse Keepers”.
- An embarrassing moment that the group embraced.
If you are running a published adventure, let its setting inspire you. Our Lost Mine of Phandelver guide covers a campaign where names tied to Phandalin or goblin ambushes would fit.
Build your own formula
Try combining pieces:
- [Adjective] + [Animal or Monster]: The Crimson Owlbears
- The [Noun] of [Place]: The Wolves of Willowmere
- [Verb]ers: The Door Kickers
- [Number] + [Plural]: The Seven Sellswords
- [Item] and [Item]: Lantern and Lockpick
You can also use an online party name generator for a starting point. Starting a new game? See how to create a D&D campaign, and bring name ideas to session 0.