Species Name Generator

Fantasy species names: Origin, structure, and meaning

Nothing makes a fantasy animal species come alive like a scientific name. The most important portion of that scientific name is the genus, the first-word portion of the binomial nomenclature—the “canis” in “canis lupus.” Let’s explore how to exploit your fantasy genus to sound rather...genius.

Remember: fantasy creatures can run the whole gamut, from the manticore athropods in A Song of Ice and Fire to the giant eagles of The Lord of the Rings. You’ll do well to give your fantasy species name the ring of reality…but with fantastical elements.

Fantasy species naming conventions

Fantasy species naming conventions often follow real-world scientific conventions: the genus, then the species. Humans, for example, are homo (genus) sapiens (species). Our fantasy name generator focuses on building a spectacular genus name to give your fantasy creatures the echo of real-world species naming.

Fantasy species name inspiration

Fantasy species names often combine real-world elements while blowing up one characteristic of a species up to fantasy proportions. A giant eagle or spider, a scorpion with a massive stinger, people with scales—look for real-sounding genuses, then have fun with the species name.

If you’re ready to scientifically label your unscientific species, try our fantasy species generator today!

List of fantasy species names

The Homo sapiens × Pan troglodytes was a hoax known as the “Humanzee,” but with a scientific-sounding name, you can make almost any fictional species sound real. You can even pull from legitimate genus names that sound Latin in origin, as many of our scientific classifications echo the Latin scientific heritage.