I was trying to name a new animal companion for my ranger in our Rise of the Runelords campaign, and I hit an all-too-familiar problem: what would an appropriate name be for him?
I am sure many of us have been there. I found a site that will generate random generic fantasy names for various things, including for pets and animal companions, but they were definitely generic. That meant I went from having a ... actually that would be a slight spoiler, so check the spoiler tag below for the original.
So I went from the name in the above to a rather generic sounding Maximus the wolf. Granted, he is a large wolf and has possibly the second highest HP total in the party (thank you boon companion feat), but I still have until Friday to come up with a better name, and I assume other people could use ideas for their animals, too.
So, how does everyone else go about naming their animal companions? Any suggestions on appropriate names, possibly with some kind of influence based on region? Did Paizo release any books that cover animal companion name suggestions?
I'm checking out Emily's name generator for you, and I've found her Fursona name generator, which if you click enough times might give you something to work with.
And then d'oh! I'm finding her pet wolf name generator, which is probably more to the point.
I hope these help. And aren't the "generic" site you already consulted! :)
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I like to use foreign languages. My cleric's large ape is called "Kernuffle" which is Dutch for "cuddle". My hunter/barbarian has a hippo called "Mvumbu" which means Hippo is Zulu (the character himself is named "Kiboko" which means Hippo in Swahili. Well he will turn into a hippo using Share Shape eventually).
I also have a divine verminous hunter but his giant mantis is somewhat unimaginatively named "Claw".
Come to think of it, I love the foreign language idea myself. And if the OP wants to draw from appropriate languages, the Pathfinder Name Generator will give you the right languages to draw from.
Doesn't he have any other attributes apart from size? Fur colour, waggy tail, slobber, big feet, likes chasing rabbits, barks at pigeons, likes tummmy rubs, etc? He's a character, not a stat block. Treat him as such.
Bitter lily - That pet name kink is the exact website I had used to reach Maximus. Thanks for the PF name generator link, I will try it out.
Supervillan - Thanks for the tip on foreign languages.
Mudfoot - I agree, but I have enough trouble coming up with my OWN characterization, and I'm playing a human. Now I need to figure out details on a wolf? I'm having issues picking the color, or if it has a pattern.
On a related note, I think I just settled on having a wolf with some interesting scars.
I, too, like to use foreign languages. If the animal is most common in a particular region, then I'd use a name that is in the dominant language of that region. Or, if the animal is common everywhere, use a name from my character's ethnicity.
Emily's Fantasy Name Generator is a great source for names of all kinds. Highly recommended. I will also plug my own Pathfinder/Golarion name generator as an option here, too, since it uses a different algorithm for name generation. Both Emily's approach and mine have their ups and downs, but between the two you should find something that works.