What is a good pirate name?

A plain first name plus a nickname people can picture: Ned Saltbeard, Anne One-Eye, Barnaby the Drowned. The nickname is the important part. Pick one that matches a look (beard, hook, red coat) or a story (the ship they sank, the treasure they lost).

What are some female pirate names?

Real female pirates include Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Grace O’Malley, Ching Shih and Jacquotte Delahaye. For a made-up one, switch Gender to Female in the generator for names like Scarlett Redsails or Pearl Blackwater.

What are some funny pirate names?

Funny pirate names usually poke fun at a pirate’s flaws: Squidlips, No-Beard, Bilgewater, Ropeburn or Barnacle. Pair a soft first name with a ridiculous nickname, like Barnaby Squidlips, for a pirate nobody takes seriously.

Is this name generator free?

Yes. It runs in your browser with no account and no limit. Click a name to copy it, or star it to keep it in a saved list in this browser.

Can I use these names in my book, game or D&D campaign?

Yes. Made-up names come from syllable lists we wrote ourselves and real historical names belong to nobody, so use them for characters, NPCs, pets, usernames or stories. For a commercial product, do a quick search to check a name is not already someone’s trademark.

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Pirate Names and Pirate Name Generator

Generate a pirate name for a costume, a game, a story or a party: a salty first name like Barnaby or Scarlett with a nickname earned at sea, such as Saltbeard, One-Eye or the Drowned. Pirate ship names are further down.

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Pirate names

Click a name to copy it. Star the ones you like.

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How do pirate names work?

Real pirates of the Golden Age (about 1650 to 1730) mostly had ordinary English, Irish, Dutch or French names: Edward, William, Mary, Anne. What made them memorable was the nickname. Edward Teach became Blackbeard, John Rackham became Calico Jack for his bright cotton clothes, and Bartholomew Roberts was Black Bart.

A good pirate nickname points at something you can see or something the pirate did: a beard, a missing eye, a hook, a favourite weapon, a ship they sank. Put it after the first name (Ned Saltbeard) or in place of the last name for a captain everyone knows on sight.

Pirate name list

Ready-made pirate names to browse or copy. Use the generator above for a fresh batch, or mix a first name from one list with a nickname from another.

Male pirate names

Obadiah
Coric
Gideon
Edward
Hamish
Mormac
Rufus
Elias
Barmac
Caleb
Bartholomew
Amos
Morwick
Jack
Ned
Samuel
Benjamin
Bram
Feneb
Calty
Thomas
Morgan
Flint
Cormac
Hector
Jemper
Henry
Isaac
Halwick
Rusley
Jemwick
Jemgan
Tobias
Gidley
Barwick
William
Calwick
Gidper
Gidnaby
Jem

Female pirate names

Mary
Morgana
Isla
Marina
Delette
Morly
Molly
Ruby
Pearl
Esme
Lotina
Belie
Mae
Kit
Belanne
Delia
Bess
Lottie
Tess
Delanne
Opal
Nell
Wren
Ada
Mora
Morie
Ivya
Wenina
Corel
Deley
Coral
Cordelia
Morey
Jacquotte
Coranne
Lotel
Corey
Delel
Sadie
Rosa

Pirate nicknames

Cutlass
Doubloon
Ropeburn
Saltbeard
Ironhook
Silvertooth
One-Eye
the Grim
Rumhand
the Mad
Redsails
Bones
Squidlips
Deadlight
Barnacle
Stormcrow
Plankwalker
the Red
Bilgewater
Blackwater
Gunpowder
Sharkstooth
Crowsnest
Brinebeard

Full pirate names

Thomas the Red
Scarlett Squidlips
Marly Bilgewater
Rosa Gallows
Esme Silvertooth
Maeve Gunpowder
Samuel One-Eye
Tobias Doubloon
Elias Krakenbane
Jasty One-Eye
Tobty Gallows
Caleb Plankwalker
Wren the Drowned
Gideon Ironhook
Isla Doubloon
Marette Silvertooth

Pirate ship names

Every crew needs a ship. Classic pirate ship names pair a dark or bold word with a creature or a threat:

Pirate ship names

The Drowned Maiden
The Silver Gallows
The Howling Raven
The Salty Tide
The Cursed Maiden
The Rotten Storm
The Wicked Shark
The Black Revenge
The Jolly Storm
The Salty Maiden
The Wicked Gull
The Drowned Shark
The Midnight Doubloon
The Golden Gull
The Cursed Shark
The Midnight Shark
The Salty Kraken
The Cursed Siren
The Silver Raven
The Wicked Serpent
The Screaming Revenge
The Iron Fortune
The Rotten Raven
The Golden Revenge
The Drowned Revenge
The Screaming Widow
The Rotten Tide
The Howling Widow
The Salty Gull
The Silver Gull

Funny pirate ship names

The Leaky Bucket
The Soggy Biscuit
The Seasick Parrot
The Unsinkable II
The Rum Runner
The Wet Sock
The Lost Map
The Fishy Business
The Mutiny Pending
The Barnacle Bus

Famous pirates and their ships

Real pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy and beyond, with the nickname they were known by:

Known as	Real name	Ship
Blackbeard	Edward Teach	Queen Anne’s Revenge
Calico Jack	John Rackham	William
Black Bart	Bartholomew Roberts	Royal Fortune
Black Sam	Samuel Bellamy	Whydah Gally
Captain Kidd	William Kidd	Adventure Galley
The Gentleman Pirate	Stede Bonnet	Revenge
Long Ben	Henry Every	Fancy
Anne Bonny	Anne Bonny	William (with Calico Jack)
Mary Read	Mary Read	William (with Calico Jack)
The Pirate Queen	Grace O’Malley	Her own fleet off Ireland
Ching Shih	Zheng Yi Sao	The Red Flag Fleet

How to make your own pirate name

Keep your real first name, or swap it for an old-fashioned one like Barnaby, Silas, Bess or Nell.
Add a nickname from your look: a beard (Saltbeard, Brinebeard), a scar (One-Eye), a hook (Ironhook) or a colour (the Red).
Or from your story: what you sank, stole or survived. Krakenbane, Plankwalker and the Drowned all hint at a tale.
Add a rank for a captain. Captain Scarlett Redsails sounds like someone who owns the ship.

More name lists

Demon Names

Infernal names with a title from the pit

Viking Names

Real Old Norse names with -son and -dottir last names

Medieval Names

Real names from the Middle Ages with trade and place last names

Fantasy Name Generator

Elves, dwarves, orcs and towns, kingdoms and taverns

D&D Name Generator

Names for every D&D race and class

Need a different kind of name? Try the Japanese name generator or the random word generator.

Frequently asked questions

: A plain first name plus a nickname people can picture: Ned Saltbeard, Anne One-Eye, Barnaby the Drowned. The nickname is the important part. Pick one that matches a look (beard, hook, red coat) or a story (the ship they sank, the treasure they lost).
: Real female pirates include Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Grace O’Malley, Ching Shih and Jacquotte Delahaye. For a made-up one, switch Gender to Female in the generator for names like Scarlett Redsails or Pearl Blackwater.
: Funny pirate names usually poke fun at a pirate’s flaws: Squidlips, No-Beard, Bilgewater, Ropeburn or Barnacle. Pair a soft first name with a ridiculous nickname, like Barnaby Squidlips, for a pirate nobody takes seriously.
: Yes. It runs in your browser with no account and no limit. Click a name to copy it, or star it to keep it in a saved list in this browser.
: Yes. Made-up names come from syllable lists we wrote ourselves and real historical names belong to nobody, so use them for characters, NPCs, pets, usernames or stories. For a commercial product, do a quick search to check a name is not already someone’s trademark.