Greek Name Generator
Greek names built the way Greek builds them: two real elements joined, plus modern surnames in -opoulos, -akis and -idis.
1,814,400 combinations in this form
- Polyboulos Petraki
Poly many + boulos counsel
many counsel
Petr stone + aki small one
small one stone
- Stephanopistis Kalogeroglou
Stephano crown + pistis faith
crown faith
Kaloger monk + oglou son of
son of monk
- Agathodoulos Kalogeratos
Agatho good + doulos servant
good servant
Kaloger monk + atos from
from monk
- Hippognome Mavropoulos
Hippo horse + gnome judgement
horse judgement
Mavr black + opoulos son of
son of black
- Polyxenos Kalatos
Poly many + xenos stranger
many stranger
Kal good + atos from
from good
- Theodote Panagiotakou
Theo god + dote given
god given
Panagiot all-holy + akou daughter of
daughter of all-holy
- Thymolykos Kokkinaki
Thymo courage + lykos wolf
courage wolf
Kokkin red + aki small one
small one red
- Praxikore Nikoladis
Praxi action + kore maiden
action maiden
Nikol victory + adis child of
child of victory
- Ouranipistos Angelis
Ourani heavenly + pistos faithful
heavenly faithful
Angel messenger + is one called
one called messenger
- Dorodoxa Christodas
Doro gift + doxa renown
gift renown
Christod christ's servant + as one called
one called christ's servant
- Theobios Kondadis
Theo god + bios life
god life
Kond short + adis child of
child of short
- Xenothalia Georgou
Xeno guest + thalia blooming
guest blooming
Georg farmer + ou of the family
of the family farmer
- Pyrodikos Vasilou
Pyro fire + dikos justice
fire justice
Vasil king + ou of the family
of the family king
- Praxicharis Christodos
Praxi action + charis grace
action grace
Christod christ's servant + os one called
one called christ's servant
- Timostratos Papadakou
Timo honour + stratos army
honour army
Papad priest + akou daughter of
daughter of priest
- Rhodotherme Mavroudis
Rhodo rose + therme warmth
rose warmth
Mavr black + oudis descendant
descendant black
- Demomedes Psaropoulou
Demo people + medes cunning
people cunning
Psar grizzled + opoulou daughter of
daughter of grizzled
- Aglagalene Anagnostakos
Agla splendour + galene calm
splendour calm
Anagnost reader + akos little one
little one reader
- Heliodoulos Georgos
Helio sun + doulos servant
sun servant
Georg farmer + os one called
one called farmer
- Praxipistis Psaroudis
Praxi action + pistis faith
action faith
Psar grizzled + oudis descendant
descendant grizzled
- Anaxikrates Mavradis
Anaxi lord + krates might
lord might
Mavr black + adis child of
child of black
- Iphiphylla Stavris
Iphi mighty + phylla leaves
mighty leaves
Stavr cross + is one called
one called cross
- Telenomos Mavreas
Tele far + nomos law
far law
Mavr black + eas hailing from
hailing from black
- Hedycharis Asprou
Hedy pleasant + charis grace
pleasant grace
Aspr white + ou of the family
of the family white
How Greek names are built
¶A Greek name is two words welded together, and both halves still mean something. Nike victory plus laos people gives Nikolaos, victory of the people. Theos god plus doron gift gives Theodoros. Philos loving plus hippos horse gives Philippos, the horse lover. Kleos glory plus pater father gives Kleopatra. The ending carries the gender: os for a man, a or e for a woman, so Alexandros defends men and Alexandra does the same work in the feminine.
Classical Greece had no surnames. A citizen was identified by three things: his own name, his father's name in the genitive, and his deme or home town. Perikles was Perikles son of Xanthippos of Cholargos. The suffix ides or iades did the same job as a family label for a whole clan, giving the Peisistratidai, the sons of Peisistratos, and it survives in modern surnames as idis and iadis.
Modern surnames map the country. Opoulos, from the Latin word for a young animal, means son of and clusters in the Peloponnese; akis is the Cretan diminutive; idis and iadis are Pontic; oglou is the Turkish word for son, carried west by refugees from Asia Minor. Papa marks descent from a priest and Chatzi from an ancestor who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Women take the genitive: Papadopoulos, but Papadopoulou.
Questions
What are common Greek surnames?
Papadopoulos, Papadakis, Nikolaou, Georgiou, Vasileiou, Ioannou, Karagiannis, Makris and Oikonomou are among the most frequent. Most are patronymic or occupational: Papadopoulos is the priest's son, Georgiou is of George, Makris is the tall one, Oikonomou is the household steward, Karagiannis is black-haired John.
What does -opoulos mean at the end of a Greek name?
It means son of, and it comes from the Latin pullus, a young animal, borrowed into Greek as poulos. Papadopoulos is the son of the priest. The ending is concentrated in the Peloponnese, which is why it looks so typically Greek abroad, where Peloponnesian emigration was heaviest.
Why do Greek women's surnames end differently?
Because the surname is a genitive, meaning of that family. A man is Papadopoulos, and his wife or daughter is Papadopoulou, of the Papadopoulos house. Karagiannis pairs with Karagianni, Makris with Makri. The practice is standard in Greece, though Greeks abroad often keep the masculine form to match official documents.
What are ancient Greek names made of?
Two meaningful elements. A small stock of them recombines endlessly: nike victory, kleos glory, theos god, hippos horse, demos the people, kratos power, philos loving, stratos army, doron gift. Sokrates is safe power; Demosthenes is strength of the people; Aristoteles is best purpose. Children were often named for a grandparent, so the same compounds run down a family.
Are these real Greek names?
The elements are genuine and carry their standard meanings, and the endings follow the real gender rules. Many results are attested names such as Nikolaos, Theodoros and Kalliope. Others are new but well-formed compounds of the same kind the Greeks themselves coined, which is exactly how the stock of names kept growing.