A familiar is a colleague, not a pet — and every witch and wizard knows the name sets the terms of employment. Name a raven 'Ink' and you get a secretary; name him 'Bartholomew' and you get a critic. The generator above offers ten names a click; below are our favorites, sorted by temperament rather than species, because the temperament is what you're really naming.
Classic Familiar Names
For cats, owls, and ravens of the old school — dignified, watchful, unpaid.
- Grimalkin — the traditional witch's cat; answers to nothing, responds to everything
- Athenor — an owl named for an alchemist's furnace; runs equally hot
- Quill — a raven who edits spellbooks by removing pages he dislikes
- Nyx — a black cat who arrives precisely at moonrise, like clockwork with fur
- Barnaby Hoot — an owl of great dignity and no discernible skills
- Soot — a chimney-black cat; the household's unofficial fire marshal
- Corvus Rex — a raven who insists on the full title
- Mab — a tiny cat named for the fairy queen; the size is a disguise
- Whistler — a starling who repeats incantations at inconvenient moments
- Duskwing — an owl that delivers letters and reads them first
Uncommon Companion Names
For toads, foxes, serpents, and the stranger end of the familiar registry.
- Puddock — a toad of enormous age and calculated indifference
- Reynard Ashtail — a fox familiar; his contract has seventeen loopholes, all his
- Sibilus — a serpent who speaks only in questions
- Marrow — a hairless rat with an unsettling gift for arithmetic
- Thistle — a hedgehog warded like a fortress; the spikes are the least of it
- Old Pike — a one-eyed carp who lives in the tower cistern and knows things
- Vesper — a bat who keeps the wizard's appointments better than the wizard
- Bramblejack — a hare who crosses wards as if they were suggestions
- Umbra — a salamander who dims the room when she sulks
- Peewit — a magpie with a hoard the local dragon envies
Otherworldly Familiar Names
For imps, sprites, homunculi, and things summoned rather than adopted.
- Snickwick — an imp bound by contract; renegotiates annually, viciously
- Motley — a patchwork homunculus; each patch has opinions
- Glimmer — a will-o'-wisp on parole from a swamp with a grudge
- Fenwick the Lesser — insists there is no Fenwick the Greater; there is
- Kettle — a fire-sprite who lives in the hearth and steams when lied to
- Oddment — a mismatched-eyed shadow-cat that casts two shadows, neither hers
- Pinch — a sprite who collects exactly one small thing from every visitor
- Murmur — a whispering wisp that repeats secrets a day late
- Cogsworth Nine — the ninth attempt at a clockwork owl; the first eight watch from shelves
- Latch — a tiny door-spirit; no lock in the house dares stick
How to Name a Familiar
Familiar names run on contrast. A grand name on a small creature (Corvus Rex, Fenwick the Lesser) or a humble name on an uncanny one (Kettle, Soot) is instantly characterful. The name should also hint at the working relationship — familiars are partners with opinions, and the best names sound like they were negotiated.
- One-syllable names (Nyx, Soot, Pinch) suit creatures; grand titles suit comedy or menace.
- Name the temperament, not the species.
- Old folk-names (Grimalkin, Puddock, Peewit) ground a familiar in tradition.
- For summoned familiars, a contractual-sounding name (Snickwick, Latch) implies terms.
- If the familiar outranks the wizard socially, the story writes itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good names for a witch's familiar?
Traditional picks: Grimalkin for cats, Quill or Corvus for ravens, Puddock for toads. Modern favorites contrast the name with the creature — a tiny cat named Mab, an imp named Snickwick.
What is a familiar in fantasy and D&D?
A magical companion bound to a spellcaster — part assistant, part scout, part conscience. In D&D, the Find Familiar spell supplies one; in folklore, familiars are spirits wearing animal shapes, which is why the good names sound like colleagues rather than pets.
Can I use these familiar names in my campaign or story?
Yes — every name here and from the generator is free for personal and commercial use.
Should a familiar's name match its wizard's name?
Matched pairs read as cozy; mismatched pairs read as funny or ominous. A necromancer with a hedgehog named Thistle tells you more about the necromancer than three chapters could.