The first night your elf arrives, it needs a name, and the kids will have opinions. This Elf on the Shelf name generator has festive first names for boy and girl elves, full elf names like Pip Sugarplum, and funny ones like Agent Tinsel.
Where the Elf on the Shelf comes from
The Elf on the Shelf began as a picture book, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, self-published in 2005 by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell.
- The rules: the elf watches during the day, flies back to the North Pole each night to report to Santa, and turns up somewhere new each morning.
- No touching: in the book, an elf that's touched loses its magic, which is why children talk to it rather than pick it up.
- The name comes first: the book says an elf only gets its magic once the family names it, so the naming is the start of the whole thing.
Choosing your elf's name
A good elf name is easy for a small child to say, and sounds like it came from the North Pole.
- First names like Pip, Noelle or Nutmeg are the easiest for young children.
- Full names like Juniper Tinselworth sound official, which helps when the elf leaves notes.
- Funny names like Agent Frost or Detective Buttons Snowflake suit an elf that gets up to mischief at night.
- Let the children choose from a few: generate a batch, read out your favourites, and let them vote.
For a name made from your own, try the Christmas Elf Name Generator.
For the rest of the season, see all the Christmas name generators.