Lich Name Generator
Lich names in a dead scholarly register: a Latin or Greek assumed name plus a taken title, with every fragment glossed.
2,891,700 combinations in this form
- Tenebrofossor The Ninefold Canon
Tenebro darkness + fossor grave-digger
darkness grave-digger
The Ninefold nine times over + Canon authoritative rule
nine times over authoritative rule
- Glabraoratrix The Iron Decretal
Glabra smooth + oratrix pleader
smooth pleader
The Iron unyielding + Decretal binding decree
unyielding binding decree
- Papyrokeimelion The Deathless Compendium
Papyro reed paper + keimelion treasure
reed paper treasure
The Deathless past dying + Compendium abridged work
past dying abridged work
- Algidocurator The Sealed Registrar
Algido chill + curator overseer
chill overseer
The Sealed shut fast + Registrar roll-keeper
shut fast roll-keeper
- Arcanamoderatrix The Withered Compendium
Arcana secret + moderatrix regulator
secret regulator
The Withered dried up + Compendium abridged work
dried up abridged work
- Chronothesauros The First Scholiast
Chrono time + thesauros treasury
time treasury
The First earliest + Scholiast margin commentator
earliest margin commentator
- Surdoaudax The First Praeceptor
Surdo deaf + audax daring
deaf daring
The First earliest + Praeceptor instructor
earliest instructor
- Exiguaphiala The Wan Amanuensis
Exigua scanty + phiala shallow bowl
scanty shallow bowl
The Wan bloodless + Amanuensis copying secretary
bloodless copying secretary
- Taphosymbolon The Hidden Cipher
Tapho tomb + symbolon token
tomb token
The Hidden out of sight + Cipher hidden writing
out of sight hidden writing
- Mnemopertinax The Hollow Ordinal
Mnemo memory + pertinax persistent
memory persistent
The Hollow emptied out + Ordinal book of rites
emptied out book of rites
- Fuscalectrix The Nameless Sepulchre
Fusca dusky + lectrix reader
dusky reader
The Nameless without a name + Sepulchre burial vault
without a name burial vault
- Grammolexikon The Frozen Cipher
Grammo letter + lexikon word list
letter word list
The Frozen locked in ice + Cipher hidden writing
locked in ice hidden writing
- Ferratovictor The Unbound Cipher
Ferrato iron-bound + victor conqueror
iron-bound conqueror
The Unbound loosed + Cipher hidden writing
loosed hidden writing
- Asperalittera The Sunken Archivist
Aspera harsh + littera letter
harsh letter
The Sunken fallen inward + Archivist keeper of records
fallen inward keeper of records
- Semioeidolon The Hollow Prefect
Semio sign + eidolon phantom
sign phantom
The Hollow emptied out + Prefect appointed overseer
emptied out appointed overseer
- Mutovector The Bound Chancellor
Muto mute + vector carrier
mute carrier
The Bound held fast + Chancellor keeper of seals
held fast keeper of seals
- Pallidasera The Withered Sexton
Pallida pale + sera door bolt
pale door bolt
The Withered dried up + Sexton grave-keeper
dried up grave-keeper
- Kenologion The Deathless Quaestor
Keno empty + logion saying
empty saying
The Deathless past dying + Quaestor investigator
past dying investigator
- Solvoharuspex The First Homily
Solvo loosed + haruspex entrail-reader
loosed entrail-reader
The First earliest + Homily preached discourse
earliest preached discourse
- Sigillaruina The Bound Sepulchre
Sigilla sealed + ruina collapse
sealed collapse
The Bound held fast + Sepulchre burial vault
held fast burial vault
- Grammopinax The Unlit Threnody
Grammo letter + pinax tablet
letter tablet
The Unlit without light + Threnody song of mourning
without light song of mourning
- Mnemopraeceptor The Leaden Auditor
Mnemo memory + praeceptor instructor
memory instructor
The Leaden heavy as lead + Auditor one who hears
heavy as lead one who hears
- Xerafavilla The Silent Praeceptor
Xera desiccated + favilla embers
desiccated embers
The Silent making no sound + Praeceptor instructor
making no sound instructor
- Onomatopapyros The Nameless Sexton
Onomato name + papyros reed paper
name reed paper
The Nameless without a name + Sexton grave-keeper
without a name grave-keeper
How lich names are built
¶A lich does not keep the name it was given. The birth name is filed away with the rest of the estate, and what remains is an assumed name in the language the work was done in — Latin for the western schools, Greek for the older ones. The first element states a condition: pallido pale, arido parched, tacito unspoken, nihilo nothing, xero desiccated, vetusto ancient. The second states an office: lector a reader, fossor a grave-digger, artifex a craftsman, haruspex a reader of entrails.
The endings are grammatical, not cosmetic. Masculine offices take the Latin agent forms in -or, -fex and -ex: Pallidolector, Cinereofossor, Nihilovorax. Feminine offices take -trix, which is the real feminine of the same nouns, so lectrix, scriptrix, ultrix and obstetrix all sit correctly beside Latin nouns such as arca a chest and sera a door bolt. The third set is Greek and archival — biblion a book, soros a funeral urn, kenotaphion an empty tomb, stele a grave pillar.
The title is taken, not given, and it is the half that carries the threat. It follows the shape of a scholastic office: The Sealed Codex, The Wan Praeceptor, The Unlit Glossator, The Ninefold Threnody. Each of those is a real function in a library or a chapter house, which is the joke — the creature has kept the paperwork and discarded the person. When two liches share a title they are rivals for the same post, and only one of them holds it.
Questions
What are good lich names?
Build the assumed name from a condition and an office, then add the title: Aridoscriptor, The Sealed Codex. Sicconotarius, The Patient Auditor. The name should sound like something that would appear on a title page rather than in a family tree, because that is the point — the creature has replaced a person with a position.
Should a lich keep its living name?
Most tables play it the other way, and it works better. Give the character a mundane birth name that appears once in an old document, then have everyone use the taken name and title. Anyone who says the birth name aloud is claiming to know something, which is a scene, and it explains why the lich went to the trouble of shedding it.
What is a lich title?
A scholastic or clerical office, taken and held: Praeceptor, Archivist, Glossator, Quaestor, Cantor, Sexton, Exegete. Pair it with a qualifier that describes the body rather than the mind — wan, sallow, withered, sealed, unlit — and the pairing does the work. Titles like the Sealed Codex or the Unquiet Ledger name the thing the lich keeps rather than the lich.
Are lich names male or female?
Latin marks agent nouns for gender, so yes, and correctly. Masculine offices end in -or, -fex or -ex; feminine offices end in -trix, which is the genuine feminine of the same word — lector and lectrix, victor and victrix. The Greek set is unmarked and reads as older, which suits a lich that predates whichever school of magic is currently claiming it.
What is the difference between a lich and a necromancer?
A necromancer works on the dead; a lich has finished the work on itself. That difference shows in the names. Necromancer names are built from graveyard nouns in the vernacular, while a lich name is Latin or Greek, professional, and structured like a citation, because the creature's remaining vanity is bibliographic rather than sepulchral.