Ouroboros Name Generator

Ouroboros names and their meanings

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Echo Names

Names whose last syllable returns the sound of the first, forming a spoken circle.

• Lomalo'Lo' returns after the low note heard beneath the reed mat.
• RumuruThe first bubbling call circles back through its rounded middle.
• NarunaIts opening murmur returns after two slow sounds in the mud.
• MoramoA broad, warm call closes on the same sound it began.
• LuruluThe name follows a ripple outward, then folds back toward shore.
• ValavaA soft rumble is echoed in the pool's sheltered center.
• KorakoThe latchlike opening sound comes back through two liquid syllables.
• TuratuIts call circles once, like a ring widening among reeds.
• RovaroThe wyrm's low greeting returns after a long, rounded roll.
• MunamuA muddy first note is carried back by the name's final syllable.

Mere Epithets

A short given name followed by a phrase drawn from the water, season or ring size.

• Mora, Low Ring RiseNamed for a broad ring appearing as the mere slowly rises.
• Luro, Late Reed FloodThe wyrm sheds late, when floodwater reaches the reed beds.
• Ruma, Three Hand RingsIts visible water rings span about three marsh-dwellers' hands.
• Nalo, Warm Mud SeasonThis wyrm favors the season when mud stays warm overnight.
• Vora, Still Pool MarkA smooth mark remains where its broad back breaks water.
• Melu, First Rain LevelLocals named it for surfacing at the first rain's waterline.
• Luma, Narrow Ring CountIts bubbles form a narrow ring around the reed roots.
• Ralo, Deep Winter MereThe wyrm lies low through winter's deepest water level.
• Numa, Soft Spring RiseIts back appears when spring water rises softly over peat.
• Vanu, Two Reed RingsTwo rings form around it when the reeds bend outward.

Reed Names

Plain, low names taken from marsh plants and the sounds they make in wind.

• MeluA marsh plant with pale leaves that bow without breaking.
• LoraThe low reed-frond murmur heard in an untroubled breeze.
• RunaA soft-stemmed marsh growth that brushes the water at dusk.
• NoluNamed for the hollow reed note that carries over pools.
• VelaA broad-leaved water plant that trembles at the slightest current.
• MoruThe rounded rustle made by reeds pressed together in mud.
• LumaA small marsh reed whose tips curl above still water.
• ReloThe gentle clatter of seed heads touching in the wind.
• NaraA low-growing reed with warm-colored stems and open leaves.
• VanuA thick reed clump that hums softly when rain passes.

Counted Names

Names that fold in a number, such as the ring's width in hands or the years between sheddings.

• LotwohandsThe ring spans two hands; locals keep its measure on record.
• RufourringsFour bubble rings gather around the wyrm after each slow surfacing.
• NathreeyearsIt shed after three years, according to the marsh tally.
• VafivehandsFive hands across, its outer ring reaches the sedge bank.
• MutenringsTen narrow rings marked the pool after a night of rain.
• LusevenyearsSeven years passed between the pale scales found in its pool.
• RoeighthandsEight hands measure the broadest ring left around its resting place.
• NufouryearsThe local ledger records a four-year interval between its shed skins.
• VotwohandsTwo hands wide, its bubble ring fits between paired reed clumps.
• MasevenringsSeven rings spread from its nose when it breathes below water.

Toll Names

Dry, bureaucratic nicknames given by locals who treat the wyrm as a taxpayer.

• Clerk LomaruThe clerkly name appears beside a yearly levy of reed bundles.
• Assessor RunaloAn assessor's mark records the pool frontage occupied by this wyrm.
• Collector NavaruCollectors list its muddy bank as taxable marsh frontage each spring.
• Ledger VemoraThe ledger assigns a modest fee for bubbles disturbing ferry water.
• Bailiff MolunuA bailiff once measured its broad ring for the village register.
• Clerk VarumaClerks file its reed-bed claim under the seasonal water schedule.
• Assessor LoranuThe assessed pool includes three banks and one submerged alder root.
• Collector MaveloThe collector records its annual use of the communal landing place.
• Ledger RulavoIts name sits beside a charge for waterlogged boundary markers.
• Bailiff NuramoThe bailiff's entry notes a slow, repeated rise in the waterline.

How ouroboros names are made

Names for Ouroboros wyrms are built from long, liquid sounds. Consonants lean toward l, r, m, n and soft v, with an occasional hard k or t used to close a name like a latch. Vowels are open and rounded, o and u and a, so the names can be said slowly, the way the wyrm moves. Most are two or three syllables. Longer names exist but are usually a short name repeated or echoed, since the people who name these wyrms favor circular sounds, a syllable that returns at the end. Structure is a single name, sometimes followed by an epithet drawn from the mere: a season, a water level, a measurement.

Older wyrms collect epithets as the marsh people notice habits, such as a late shedding or a bubble pattern. Names come from the water, from reeds, from the count of rings, and from the first sound the wyrm was heard to make. Deeds are rare, since the wyrm does little. Names avoid sharp sibilants, anything that sounds like hissing, and any word for an end, because naming the wyrm's finish is thought to hurry it. Young wyrms get shorter names; elders gain a second echoing syllable. Example shapes: a soft liquid opening and a closing repeat; a two-syllable name plus a water epithet; a name that ends on the sound it began with.

The ouroboros: bestiary entry

Questions about ouroboros names