High elves are the oldest, proudest and most magical of their kind, and their names sound it: long vowels, soft endings, and a family name with a meaning. This high elf name generator pairs an elegant first name with a family name built from Quenya, the High-elven language Tolkien invented, and can tell you what it means: Isillótë, "Moonflower".
What makes an elf "high"
- In Tolkien, the High Elves are the ones who made the great journey west to the light of Valinor. Their language, Quenya, became a language of lore and ceremony, a little like Latin in our world.
- In D&D, high elves are the subrace of magic and old cities: proud, learned and long-lived, often a little distant with shorter-lived folk.
- In Warcraft they became the blood elves, after a disaster. See the Blood Elf Name Generator.
Family names with meanings
D&D's elves have family names that translate into Common: the Player's Handbook gives examples like Amastacia, "Starflower". The family names here work the same way, but the parts are real Quenya words from Tolkien's own vocabulary:
- elen star, isil moon, anar sun, laure gold, telpe silver, ilma starlight, menel heaven.
- lótë flower, lindë song, mírë jewel, calma lamp, fána veil, alda tree, súrë wind.
So Elenlindë is Starsong, and Laurealda Goldtree, a nod to Laurelin, the golden tree of Valinor. Choose "With what the family name means" to see the meaning every time.
Playing a high elf
- Use the full name rarely. A high elf might introduce themselves with first name, family name and lineage, and expect everyone else to remember it.
- Let the meaning matter. A family called Starsong might keep an old songbook; one called Silverlamp might guard a light that has never gone out.
- Elves live long. In D&D they don't take an adult name until around a hundred; the Elf Name Generator explains child names and adult names.