OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Monk Name Generator
Monastic Order, Virtue Epithet and Monastery Rank Names for Fantasy Monks
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How the Monk Name Generator works
Use this monk name generator to fill a shortlist in seconds. Generate monk names: plain names such as Anselm, Wren and Tessaly Stillwater, order names such as Brother Halvard and Sister Ilsabet of the Quiet Hand, names with a virtue or epithet such as Corwen Iron-Palm, Mirabel the Unmoving and Brother Adalric, called Still Water, names with a rank or monastery such as Elder Elowen of the Cloud Steps Monastery and Orlan, who walked the Nine Winters barefoot, and monastic order names such as the Order of the Bare Hand and the Brothers and Sisters of the Empty Cup. Choose female, male or either and generate up to a hundred at once.
Monk name generator: the patterns behind each name
A monk gives up a name on entering the monastery and takes a plainer one, and the generator gives both halves. The plain name is a short, old, cloister-sounding given name in the public language, Anselm, Wren, Tessaly, Cuthbert, Hild, Aldhelm, Winifred, Perpetua, and a few of the shared saint names of this section for the monk named after a patron, Ysolde, Corwen, Adalric, Ilsabet, Mirabel. The order name is the name with the honorific the house uses, Brother, Sister, Mother, Father, Novice, and often the house behind it, Brother Halvard of the Quiet Hand. The virtue name is the epithet a fighting monk earns, a compound of a quality and a part of the body, Still-Water, Iron-Palm, Bare-Hand, Empty-Fist, Quiet-Step, or a plain virtue, Constance, who is called Patience. The rank is the place in the house, Novice, Initiate, Elder, Prior, Abbess, Grandmaster, Hermit, and the monastery is named for a virtue or for a high place on the shared map, the Cloud Steps Monastery, the Still Water Monastery, Cairnhold, High Yew, Nine Wells, Hollow Hill. The deed is the story, drawn from the shared events, walked the Nine Winters barefoot, sat unmoving through the Burning of Ostia, taught the Iron Duke to sit still.
Plain name gives the given name alone, with a surname, or with a virtue compound. Order name gives the honorific and the house. Name with virtue or epithet gives the compound, the adjective or the virtue. Name with rank or monastery gives the rank, the house or the deed. Monastic order name gives the order, the Order of the Bare Hand, the Still Water, the Cloud Steps Monastery, the Brothers and Sisters of the Empty Cup.
The gender option splits the given names and the honorific, Brother and Sister, Father and Mother, and leaves surnames, virtues, monasteries and orders shared; the rank list carries Abbot and Abbess, Prior and Prioress both.
The lists are original. The given names are old European and cloister names in the public language or shared saints of this section, the virtues, monasteries and orders are coined for this page, and no name is copied from a published monk, monastery or order; a match with a novel or a game would be chance, and a name intended for commercial use should be searched first.
For the priest who serves from the altar rather than the cloister, the cleric page; for the saint the monastery is named for, the saint page; for the hermit's mountain, the landmark page; and for the knight with a vow, the paladin page.
FAQ
What is an order name?
The name the house gives on entry, with the honorific in front, Brother Halvard, Sister Wren, Mother Ilsabet, Novice Corwen, and often the house behind it, Sister Tessaly of the Quiet Hand. The Order name kind gives it; the honorific follows the gender option.
What is a virtue name?
The epithet a fighting monk earns, a compound of a quality and a part of the body, Still-Water, Iron-Palm, Bare-Hand, Empty-Fist, or a plain virtue, Constance, who is called Patience. The Name with virtue or epithet kind gives it alone or behind the honorific.
How are the monasteries named?
For a virtue or for a high, quiet place on the shared map of this section, the Cloud Steps Monastery, the Still Water Monastery, Cairnhold, High Yew, Nine Wells, Hollow Hill. The Name with rank or monastery kind joins one to a rank and a name, Elder Elowen of the Cloud Steps Monastery.
How do I name a monastic order?
Use the Monastic order name kind. It joins a quiet adjective to a plain thing, the Order of the Bare Hand, the Still Water, the Iron Palm, names the house, the Nine Wells Monastery, or gives the long form, the Brothers and Sisters of the Empty Cup.
Are any of these names from published works?
No. Every list is original. The given names are old European and cloister names in the public language or shared saints of this section, the virtues, monasteries and orders are coined for this page, and no name is copied from a published monk, monastery or order, so a match would be chance, and a name meant for commercial use should be searched first.
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