About duergar names
Two registers mix in these results, terse personal names like "Emgrom" and "Tishmura" alongside trade bynames such as "Steelcrusher". The split mirrors how gray dwarves are known in deep-cavern tabletop lore, one name for the clan rolls and one earned at the forge or in a grudge. Give an NPC both and let the byname do the characterization.
How duergar names are built
Duergar names run on two distinct registers from separate banks. The given-name register joins a prefix to a suffix, in either of two pairings, drawing on 75 and 86 openers paired against 80 and 69 closers, producing dour forms like "Bardor", "Marglia" and "Sarvian". The second register is a translated epithet, with 62 first-words and 84 second-words that compound into grim occupational bynames such as "Steelcrusher".
Bardor
Bar (prefix) + dor (suffix)
Marglia
Marg (prefix) + lia (suffix)
Steelcrusher
steel (first epithet word) + crusher (second epithet word)
Naming notes
Duergar are the gray dwarves of the Underdark, so the given names lean clipped and dour, closing on endings like -dor, -eth or -ia rather than anything ornate. Use the epithet bank when you want a name that signals trade or menace at a glance: a duergar called Steelcrusher announces a forge-warrior before any stat block does. For a slave-driver or expedition leader, pair a clipped given name with an epithet (Bardor the Steelcrusher) to mark rank without inventing clan lore.
Questions about duergar names
- Why do some duergar names look like English words?
- Those are the epithet forms, which compound two translated words into a byname like Steelcrusher. They sit alongside the syllabic given names rather than replacing them.
- How are these different from regular dwarf names?
- Duergar given names are shorter and grimmer, built from just two fragments with closers like -dor and -eth. The register is meant to feel oppressed and martial, fitting the gray dwarves of the Underdark rather than mountain-hall dwarves.
- Should a duergar have both a given name and an epithet?
- It works well for named NPCs. Pair a two-fragment given name with an epithet for rank or reputation, like Bardor Steelcrusher, while rank-and-file duergar can carry just the given name.