About medieval names
Rank comes attached to every result, from "Duke Gavinus" and "Empress Royse" at the top of the order down to working offices like "Reeve Bruiant". The spread makes it easy to populate a whole court, a tax roll, or a succession crisis in one sitting. Mind which rank you grab, since a reeve walking into a throne room changes the entire scene.
How medieval names are built
A result usually pairs a gendered title or honorific with a Markov-synthesised given name, though some pulls return the bare given name alone. Male names pair a title with a given name (31 titles plus a 1200-entry name bank), female names pair an honorific with a given name (25 honorifics plus a 1084-entry bank). The title slot supplies rank words; the name slot is synthesised letter-by-letter. Bank outputs include Baron Bertrand, Maid Sarey, and Chancellor Ferri.
Baron Bertrand
Baron (title, from the male title bank) + Bertrand (synthesised male given name)
Maid Sarey
Maid (honorific, from the female honorific bank) + Sarey (synthesised female given name)
Chancellor Ferri
Chancellor (title, from the male title bank) + Ferri (synthesised male given name)
Naming notes
The signature is the rank-prefix grammar: a small title bank (Baron, Maid, Chancellor) fronts a large Markov name bank, so the output reads as a styled medieval address rather than a bare name. Some pulls return just the synthesised given name (Berter, Derichier) without a title. The given-name chain leans on -er, -ier, and -ey tails typical of period spellings. Use the titled forms for nobles and officials, the bare forms for commoners; these are fiction coinages, not real medieval persons.
Questions about medieval names
- Why do many medieval names start with a title?
- A small bank of rank words like Baron, Maid, and Chancellor fronts the synthesised given name, so the output reads as a full styled address.
- How is the given name itself made?
- It is Markov-synthesised letter-by-letter from a large bank (1200 male, 1084 female), favouring period tails like -er, -ier, and -ey.
- Can I get a name without a title?
- Yes. Some pulls return just the synthesised given name like Berter or Derichier, which suits commoners rather than titled nobility.