Witch's Familiar Name Generator

Witch\'s Familiar names and their meanings

Select a name to copy it. Every name below is free to use.

Hearth Names

Soft, sibilant names drawn from kitchen herbs, soot and tallow.

• Soothel'soot' softened into a small hearth-name, spoken over cooling coals
• Shushel'tallow' and a whispered hush, for a flame that burns low
• Thossum'thyme' steeped with the dark smell of a covered pot
• Shumush'mushroom' reduced to a low murmur beside the simmering broth
• Sootsush'soot' with a final hush, gathered from the kettle's blackened foot
• Thimbleth'thistle' trimmed to a quiet sound for the hearth's shadow
• Shossel'candle stub' smudged with soot and named beside the embers
• Mossuth'moss' and stove ash, tucked where the warm stones meet
• SuvushA hush of dried sage tucked beside the warm ash pan.
• SholumA curl of tallow smoke above the pot of stewed plums.
• ThusselThe soft scrape of thyme leaves against a soot-dark lid.
• SullushA little pool of candle grease beside the simmering herb broth.
• LomushThe dim scent of bruised fennel under a blackened kettle.
• SuthlowA pinch of dried mustard kept warm near the hearth stones.

Latch Clicks

Short, dry names that sound like a hinge or a catch closing.

• ThoktThe wooden knock of a latch caught fast before midnight
• TilkA hinge's dry squeak ending in a little iron knock
• KelkA hinge pin settling into its socket after midnight.
• MolkThe muted clack of a cupboard catch closing against wood.
• ThutA small iron latch dropping shut in the kitchen draft.
• LuskA soot-coated hook striking its bracket when the door settles.

Window Epithets

A short name followed by the place in the house where the familiar keeps watch.

• Suss of the KettleA watchful hush kept beside the kettle's rattling lid
• Moss of the PantryA soft shadow posted among jars of dried fruit and herbs
• Thim of the HearthA soot-dusted watcher curled beside the warm brickwork
• Shush of the LarderA quiet keeper among onions, salt crock, and hanging thyme
• Soot of the HingeA black-footed sentinel where the kitchen door turns inward
• Tallow of the WindowA pale, wax-scented watcher stationed behind the left pane
• Mubble of the StairA low murmurer guarding the shadow beneath each wooden step
• Thoss of the ShelfA patient watcher above the crockery and its gathered dust
• Shom of the LatchA silent keeper listening for the back door's small click
• Suss of the GrateKeeps watch where ash sifts through the iron bars.
• Lom of the CisternListens for drips beneath the covered rainwater jar each night.
• Thul of the Flour BinSleeps among flour dust and guards the wooden scoop.
• Mush of the Coal ScuttleWatches the coal pile and noses stray cinders back inside.
• Seln of the Back ShutterPerches behind the shutter and warns when its hinge loosens.
• Luth of the Tallow RackKeeps the candle stubs from sliding into the cold hearth ash.

Elder Titles

Long, low names with a title for a familiar that has outlived several witches.

• Old MorrowmossA hearth elder who outlasted three roofs and two iron kettles
• Elder SootlowA low-voiced veteran steeped in chimney ash and winter smoke
• Old TallowmurmA long-serving watcher with wax along its whiskerless muzzle
• Keeper of SallowmushAn ancient familiar who guards the last dried mushrooms
• Old HollowsootA hollow-voiced elder shaped by many nights beside banked coals
• Old SullenmoonA round-named sentinel that watched pale moonlight cross the pantry floor
• Keeper of TallowshushA seasoned watcher remembered for quieting every wavering candle flame
• Old MallowmurmurA gentle veteran scented with dried mallow and the stove's warm stone
• Elder HollowmutterA deep-voiced familiar whose soft mutter steadies the rattling pots
• Warden OolumaAn ancient watcher who slept beneath three witches' simmering pots.
• Keeper ShulumoA long-lived guardian of the soot seam above the old stove.
• Matron TholumaShe remembers every winter the kitchen windows clouded with steam.
• Sentinel MoolushuIts rounds follow the low creak of each settling floorboard.
• Custodian SuloomaIt guards the dried pears hidden in the darkest pantry crock.
• Warden LuthumoThe oldest familiar, patient beside the hinge that never quite shuts.

Clipped Young

Diminutive, quickly spoken names for a familiar still learning its witch.

• EebilA bright, clipped name for a new watcher learning the kitchen
• IshulA quick young name with a soft tail, like a brush of ash
• EthelA small bright syllable softened for a familiar near the warm stove
• IsselA brisk little name shaped like a whisper through dried sage
• EshulA young hearth-name with a bright start and a soot-soft ending
• ImmelA quick, gentle name for one still learning the pantry paths
• EkkulA tiny bright call softened at the end like a closing drawer
• IthelA small, sibilant name for a novice watcher under the table
• EssilA nimble young name like a curl of steam over soup
• EshmelA bright little hearth-name for a familiar newly trusted with embers
• SivvelA bright little wisp that naps beside the salt cellar.
• ShikkelA quick young shadow learning the cupboard's quiet corners.
• ThimmelA small soot-soft sleeper curled beneath the warming pan.
• LusselA new familiar sniffing the sweet crumbs near the kettle stand.
• SunnelA bright-eyed scrap that watches tallow drip into its saucer.
• MivvelA tiny hearth shadow that follows the spoon's slow stirring.

How witch\'s familiar names are made

Familiar names are given by the witch, quietly, at a hearth, and they sound like things said to keep a pot from boiling over. The sound palette is soft and sibilant: s, sh, th, l and m, with a dry stop such as k or t now and then to keep a name from going slack. Vowels run low and rounded, oo, o and short u. Most names are one or two syllables. Three is rare and usually marks an old familiar whose witch kept adding to it. Structure is a single name for the young, then a name plus a household epithet once the creature has served a season, such as "of the Left Window" or "Under the Stair". Sources are the house itself: herbs, soot, tallow, dried fruit, hinges and the sounds a latch makes.

Deeds earn epithets. Ancestry almost never does, since a familiar has no line. Names avoid human given names, anything that sounds like a call to an ordinary cat, and any word a visitor might mistake for a command. Young familiars carry clipped, diminutive forms. Elders drop the diminutive and pick up a title. Example shapes: two soft syllables ending in a hush; one dry-stopped syllable; a short name plus "of the" and a household object.

The witch\'s familiar: bestiary entry

Questions about witch\'s familiar names